By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
A landlord told Bowling Green City Council Monday evening that a rental housing ordinance will drive a wedge between good landlords and city government.
Matt Bostdorff said he agreed with city council’s concerns about substandard and non-conforming rental housing in Bowling Green.
“I’m with you guys 1,000%,” he said, calling the quality of some rental housing embarrassing. “We’ve got some properties bringing down property values.”
But the city is making a mistake lumping all landlords together, Bostdorff said.
“They have become the demons in town,” he said of landlords.
Of the estimated 7,000 residential rental units in the city, there are some “bad apples,” who don’t take care of their properties, he said. But the result of a rental housing registration, licensing and inspection ordinance is the equivalent of the city “backing over an entire bushel of apples,” he said.
“We’re punishing the many for the sins of the few,” Bostdorff said.
Instead, he suggested that the city use the mechanisms already in place – such as code enforcement for the exterior of homes. The city and Wood County Health Department have existing requirements that just need to be enforced, he said.
“Let’s hold these property owners accountable,” he said. “This ought to be a targeted approach for problem properties.”
And tenants should be educated about their rights, he added.
“You’re driving a wedge between a hard-working person, like myself, and city officials,” Bostdorff said.
However, while there are provisions in place to identify exterior problems, there are no mechanisms currently in place to ensure the safety inside rental homes. And while some landlords have expressed concerns about the costs of inspections that will be passed on to tenants, the city’s proposal is looking at ways to perform inspections at a low cost.
And the committee working on the ordinance has made an effort to differentiate between good and bad landlords. Provisions are planned that will allow landlords whose properties pass muster to avoid regular inspections.
Another meeting of the City Council committee working on the rental housing ordinance will be held Thursday at 5:30 p.m., in the Veterans Building in City Park. This meeting will focus on the inspection portion of the ordinance.
No public input will be taken during this meeting. Council member John Zanfardino explained that public comment has been accepted at several meetings on the topic.
The next issue to be discussed by the council committee is a checklist for each rental property. Council member Bill Herald asked if the checklist could be devised at a later date, so it did not delay the adoption of the rental housing ordinance.
Mayor Mike Aspacher reminded the committee that a draft checklist had already been provided by the city administration.
