Landlords are an asset to the city; they are victims of crime, not the cause of it

EDITOR:

During a blockwatch meeting extensively publicized by The Vindicator, local television and radio stations earlier this month, landlords were widely criticized and unjustly slandered by homeowners and blockwatch leaders. Landlords were unfairly and inaccurately accused of being the cause of crime and blight in the city. This skewed perspective results from placing the cart before the horse. The crucial problems that landlords are experiencing with their rental properties are the result of, not the cause of, the city’s crime and deterioration. Landlords, just like homeowners, are victims of the city’s crime and blight. But whereas a homeowner’s damages are usually limited to just one house, the landlord’s losses are multiplied and magnified by the number of properties he owns.

Just as local banks and General Motors are hard pressed to deal with the escalating financial challenges of these bleak economic times, so too landlords are struggling to survive in this sink-or- swim economy with no one standing by to bail them out.

Tenants constantly express their fears and frequently move out because of drive-by shootings, drug activity, break-ins, etc. Consequently, many properties are vacant for extended periods of time during which they are repeatedly vandalized. An increasing number of landlords are experiencing such overwhelming problems with vacancies and vandalism that they are contemplating just giving up and walking away from what appears to be a losing battle. These landlords need assistance and cooperation, not yet another financial burden imposed on them and their tenants at this difficult time.

Just as General Motors is often proclaimed to be the economic backbone of the Mahoning Valley, so too the landlord/rental business is the stabilizing backbone of the city of Youngstown. Landlords provide affordable housing for the inner city population. Landlords create jobs; they purchase hundreds of thousands of dollars in materials and services from local suppliers. Landlords pay city taxes, payroll taxes and property taxes which provide funds for numerous local services. Losing the landlord business in Youngstown would be tantamount to General Motors closing its doors in the Mahoning Valley. The far-reaching negative impact would be devastating.

Although Councilman Swierz contends that the landlord registration legislation would solve the problems of crime and blight in the city, the opposite is true. Implementing this program, especially at this time when the city is facing dire economic cutbacks, will legislate the expending of money for the duplication of services already in place. A homeowner or tenant has always had the right to call a city housing inspector to request an inspection of a rental property at any time. Also, a tenant has the legal right to escrow the rent money through the court system if he feels a deficiency requires correction. Furthermore, the Housing Code Enforcement Division of the City’s Housing and Demolition Department regularly inspects all sides of town and issues citations for those in noncompliance. Youngstown Metropolitan Housing Authority already has inspectors who inspect Section 8 units on an annual basis, and the Mahoning County Health Department also has an inspection procedure in place. To propose yet another form off inspection program would indeed be redundant as well as discriminatory, since it singles out and targets only landlords. However, if it is concluded that some sort of program is necessary, then I would propose a program similar to the City of Campbell’s occupancy inspection program in which properties are inspected only when a new tenant moves into a unit.

It is essential that homeowners, tenants and landlords become allies, not enemies, who cooperate and work together with the mayor and city council, the police chief and his police force to combat crime, drug activity and blight to once again bring back pride to our city neighborhoods.

GARY M. CRIM

Youngstown

X The writer is a developer in the city, a landlord and president of Gary Crim Inc.