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Thread: Cheektowaga may fine landlords whose tenants need police action

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    Cheektowaga may fine landlords whose tenants need police action

    http://www.buffalonews.com/city/comm...icle547704.ece

    Landlords in Cheektowaga could soon face fines if their tenants repeatedly require police intervention — something officials say has become a major problem in this town of 94,000.

    The Town Board is pursuing a plan that would require all landlords to be licensed by the town.

    It’s part of a new effort, led by Supervisor Mary F. Holtz, to reduce disorderly conduct and problem tenants. The idea is that if landlords are more closely watched and monitored by the town, they can easily be fined when their tenants are repeatedly the targets of police intervention.

    Landlords whose tenants have three such incidents in the same calendar year could face a fine of $50, four incidents will lead to a fine of $100, five incidents will lead to a $500 fine, and any more incidents will net a fine of $1,000.
    They didn't mention that the $10 license fee would allow background checks on tenants by CPD.

    Keep an eye on this to see what Depew and Lancaster do....If this passes (which I personally think it should), are they ready to react?

    As a homeowner in the Village of Lancaster, the number of absentee landlords in my neighborhood and subsequent poor renting decisions have made my home lose significant value because of the quality of the neighborhood. In speaking with some of the village leadership, it isn't just an issue on my block - it's all across the area..I can't think of anything that would be a bigger plus than this to force improvement. Put the tenants on notice right away - you act like a jackass, there will be consequences - just like in real life.

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    Member mikenold's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by SafeWNY View Post
    you act like a jackass, there will be consequences - just like in real life.
    Just like in real life LOL

    It is real life Hahaha!
    **free is a trademark of the current U.S. government.

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    Good point Mike - I didn't catch that. I think you get the point though....

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    Member run4it's Avatar
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    Oh my goodness, where would we all be if we didn't have the All-Knowing Benevolent Government of Leaders to tell us how to screen renters????
    But your being a dick
    ~Wnyresident

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    Member mikenold's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by SafeWNY View Post
    Good point Mike - I didn't catch that. I think you get the point though....
    Sure I got the point but it was quite funny too!
    **free is a trademark of the current U.S. government.

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    Member DR_GONZO's Avatar
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    Another fee!!!! Wonderful! Could this not be done minus a fee? Go after landlords for problem tenants. Scrap the fee nonsense. Issue fines if you must but a fee for any and all landlords is fleece.

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    Tony Fracasso - Admin
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    Quote Originally Posted by DR_GONZO View Post
    Another fee!!!! Wonderful! Could this not be done minus a fee? Go after landlords for problem tenants. Scrap the fee nonsense. Issue fines if you must but a fee for any and all landlords is fleece.
    The small group of people who have been controlling our community "negociated" themselves some rather expensive labor contracts. They have to figure out a way to pay for all of that.

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    I think that being able to do background checks as part of being licensed by the town instead of paying for them through a vendor is a great perk. I know that our company typically pays a minimum of $60 to run a background on someone who wants to get hired.

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    Tony Fracasso - Admin
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    Why should home owners pay town employees to do background checks for landlords?

    They didn't mention that the $10 license fee would allow background checks on tenants by CPD.
    I'm pretty sure if we add up the labor cost it takes for a town employee to do a background check on a tenant we are losing money on each search.

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    No more than the amount of time it takes for them to respond to the call when people decide to be a-holes. An officer who is tied up handling a neighbor dispute can't respond to a true emergency. I'll bet that the true cost is significantly less. Especially because most of the domestic calls have more than one car show up, and it's generally 15-20 minutes on scene versus 1 officer spending 2-3 minutes running a background check. For all we know, there may be a portal for the landlord to log in and run their own check (but I doubt it).

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    Tony Fracasso - Admin
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    Quote Originally Posted by SafeWNY View Post
    No more than the amount of time it takes for them to respond to the call when people decide to be a-holes. An officer who is tied up handling a neighbor dispute can't respond to a true emergency. I'll bet that the true cost is significantly less. Especially because most of the domestic calls have more than one car show up, and it's generally 15-20 minutes on scene versus 1 officer spending 2-3 minutes running a background check. For all we know, there may be a portal for the landlord to log in and run their own check (but I doubt it).

    So then tell me... lets say 25% of rental tenants fail the check... where do they go? Off to Buffalo to look for an apartment?

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    Hence the problem.

    It becomes another NIMBY scenario.

    But, people need to protect their investment. If they have someone with a criminal background, I don't know if they could refuse to rent to them, or if they can just modify the terms of the lease - maybe a higher security deposit or something.

    Take my situation for example. Behind me is rental properties. All 3 are absentee landlords. They rent to whomever they can, and it shows. We have more police presence in our neighborhood on the weekends than any other area that I can think of. Fights, huge fires, and other things you can classify as "disorderly conduct" are a nightly occurrence. This legislation would put consequences for actions where there currently is none. Threaten them with eviction because it hits the owner's pocketbook, and now you have teeth. They are still subpar renters, but at least there are controls in place to keep the disruptive activities to a minimum.

    Someone on this board a few years ago had an idea for a renter database - I think that you may have liked the idea Res - but don't quote me on that. It was supposed to be a way to let other landlords know about tenants that were undesirable. So, the same argument applies, right? Where do they go? Rochester? Syracuse?

    Unfortunately, more and more people are becoming less and less responsible.

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    Member FMD's Avatar
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    Why should people take responsibility for their actions? whats the incentive?

    On the flip side, people leave the city to get into the burbs because its 'safer' and has 'better schools' but unless you can pay the taxes and become a contributing part of the local economy in which you live, then all your doing is leaching off of other's hard work.
    Willful ignorance is the downfall of every major empire in history.

    "Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun." - Mao, 1938

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    I think the landlord can write it into the lease that the tenant pays for the fine should the tenant incur a fine. At least, they should be able to.
    I get moving out to the burbs to make a better life, but leave the hood in the hood.
    First Amendment rights are like muscles, if you don't exercise them they will atrophy.

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    Agreed Sue. I'm the first person to say that if you have a POS for a neighbor, then hey - it's too bad, but it happens. The problem that occurs is that with rentals and poor management of the property, you have a revolving door of crap that changes over every six months.
    The guy across from us rents out two apartments and lives in the third. He has lived there all his life, and is now in his 70's. He was telling me the other day that he had to get around to telling his one tenant that the pot plants he put in need to go before something happens. Then, he said that the problem is that all he can get to rent is felons, drugbags, drunks or pedophiles. When I asked him why, with a straight face he said "who wants to live in a place that looks like this?" while pointing to his house.

    What the hell has happened to society and the neighborhoods that we all grew up in. The neighborhood where if you were outside and were thinking about getting into trouble, you gave it a second thought because everyone knew your mother and father. The neighborhood where everyone pitched in to help the elderly cut their lawn or shovel their driveway. You know, the one that helped raise us??? No wonder kids today are so messed up.

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