New Florissant Real Estate Rental

Rules Gets Council Approval and Comments

By Carol Arnett

The Florissant City Council Monday passed a bill that will change residential rental real estate regulations The bill will allow a rental license to be suspended or revoked if the tenant does not pay utility bills. It also requires tenants to have a federal or state issued ID, and makes criminal activity by the tenant or tenant’s guest a reason for eviction.

The council first accepted a substitute bill that changed several changes to the bill originally proposed.

“Many that are against this bill appear to be absentee landlords,” said Councilman Tim Lee. We have to live here and be here. We have the same maintenance codes for homeowners and for renters. We applaud and welcome responsible landlords. We have several responsible landlords, some of whom are resident and some of whom are not.

Councilman Jeff Caputa agreed. “What it boils down to is responsible landlords. Why we’re putting this into effect is because of the irresponsible landlords. Responsible landlords are the great one. One bad apple spoils the bunch.

Councilman Gerard Henke said that this was an issue that residents have repeatedly brought to the council and wanted them to look at.

Several landlords spoke against the bill. Lee and Alex McKay live in St. Peters and own four rental houses in Florissant. The McKays said that they bought their houses before the housing market crashed, and they are unable to sell them now.

Lee McKay is also a realtor. “This law prevents landlords like myself to be successful in this business,” she said. “It discourages rentals and then the house sits vacant. Then I have to list a house will all the copper stolen.”

McKay said that as a landlord, the only utility bill she pays in the sewer bill. Everything else, she said, is the tenant’s responsibility. “If I’m evicting someone because they’re not paying rent, they’re not paying their utility bills either,” she said. “My license might be revoked while I’m trying to evict someone.”

“You may work here, you do not live here,” Council President Jackie Pagano said. “My property values are going down because I have absentee slum landlords. If you can’t afford it, come back and live in one of the houses.”

Pagano said there is a difference between absentee landlords and homeowners. “Homeowners have invested in the city also,” she said. “And we want this city to be as nice as the one in which you live.”

Lee McKay said the new rules expect too much policing from the landlord. “This is almost like being a dorm mother. I did not sign up to be a dorm mother,” she said.

City Attorney John Hessel said that the revocation of the landlord’s license is only a possibility. “We will provide notice to the landlord when utilities are cut off for non-payment. That doesn’t mean the city is going to revoke license. It means city will work with landlord to deal with tenants,” he said.       (continued on

“We’re not just building wealth in our neighborhoods,” Henke said.” We are living in our neighborhoods. Ask the neighbors about your tenants.”

Vanessa Star with Smart Rentals Management Company also spoke to the council. “The things we need to do to keep house in shape are not out of line, but there needs to be more communication,” she said. “I represent investors with about 45 homes in Florissant zip codes. My name is all over the Public Works department on licenses,” she said. However, she said, the department still uses a paper filing system, making information difficult to find. She questioned whether the city would be able to inform her of tenants not paying bills.

“We cannot live in our tenants’ homes,” she said. “We just cannot.”

Mustafa Abdul, lead organizer for the ACLU of Missouri, said that the ACLU opposes the bill for three reasons: it targets victims of crime, it targets people of color, and it doesn’t protect victims and minorities as required by the Fair Housing Act. The ACLU has suggested several amendments to the bill, he said.

Several homeowners spoke in favor of the bill. “I do respect good landlords but everything I’ve heard tonight is from landlords who don’t live here,” said Cathy Wood. “I’m looking to build my neighborhood and keep it nice for my family.”

   In other matters, the council:

• Held a public hearing on the proposed budget for the city for fiscal year 2017. The city’s fiscal year runs from Dec. 1 to Nov. 30.

Randy McDaniel, director of Finance for the city, presented the budget to the council. Some residents spoke, asking about specific budget items, including money spent for a survey regarding pit bulls. The council has scheduled work sessions on the budget. They will review and change, if they desire, before approving it.

• Passed a bill that will amend the zoning code for clarification of a special use for education development centers in a B-3 Zoning Distract.
• Passed a bill that authorizing the appropriation of the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) for the 2016 fiscal year.

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