Posted by Speaking Just For Me on March 08, 2005 at 19:52:03 (PST):
In Reply to: Re: New Ordenance posted by Honz on March 08, 2005 at 19:23:05 (PST):
: : Can some one explaine to me about the new Landlord city ordenance and who is responsable for what.
:
: Go to pittsburghlive.com and click on the Leader Times, it seems they are going to have some meetings at #4 firehall to explain it all.
The ordinance in Kittanning came from examples of other ordinances that have been initiated across the Commonwealth. Beaver Falls and Bloomsburg are the two primary ordiances that are used by other boroughs or municipalities ro form their oridnances.
Most of them are unique to the place where they are originated. The oridance basically puts some teeth into a municiplaity to fight off slum landlords.
Examples of some of the similar language in these ordinances are:
All rental units will be registered within the borough with information that contains address, units on the property and the people living in the unit(s).
Each rental unit must have a contact person within so many miles of the borough limits.
(Some rental units are owned by people out of the area, and they have no idea of what is going on at their properties.)
If the police are called repeatedly to a residence that is a rental, the landlord will be put on notice that this type of behavior needs to be ceased. If the incidents can continue to occur, then sanctions can be placed agains the landlord with the ultimate punsihment of his/her landlord license revoked in the borough.
That is a very generic description. The reason for these types of ordinances becoming popular in the Western PA area is due to the depressed areas. Slums landlords like to prey on old mill towns where the factories have closed and the housing becomes cheap. The other place that this style of oridnace is familiar are on college campuses where landlords buy property and rent to students and have no regard for the year-around town residents.
Many local residents seem to be fearful of the ordinance due to the possible consequences, but in reality, if you know the people you are renting to and take care of your properties, then you have nothing to worry about.