{"id":16387,"date":"2016-10-11T13:43:41","date_gmt":"2016-10-11T19:43:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.flovalleynews.com\/?p=16387"},"modified":"2016-10-11T13:43:41","modified_gmt":"2016-10-11T19:43:41","slug":"florissant-city-council-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/flovalleynews.com\/?p=16387","title":{"rendered":"FLORISSANT CITY COUNCIL"},"content":{"rendered":"

New Florissant Real Estate Rental<\/h1>\n

Rules Gets Council Approval and Comments<\/h1>\n

By Carol Arnett<\/h4>\n

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\u2019s guest a reason for eviction.<\/p>\n

The council first accepted a substitute bill that changed several changes to the bill originally proposed.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany that are against this bill appear to be absentee landlords,\u201d 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.<\/p>\n

Councilman Jeff Caputa agreed. \u201cWhat it boils down to is responsible landlords. Why we\u2019re putting this into effect is because of the irresponsible landlords. Responsible landlords are the great one. One bad apple spoils the bunch.<\/p>\n

Councilman Gerard Henke said that this was an issue that residents have repeatedly brought to the council and wanted them to look at.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Lee McKay is also a realtor. \u201cThis law prevents landlords like myself to be successful in this business,\u201d she said. \u201cIt discourages rentals and then the house sits vacant. Then I have to list a house will all the copper stolen.\u201d<\/p>\n

McKay said that as a landlord, the only utility bill she pays in the sewer bill. Everything else, she said, is the tenant\u2019s responsibility. \u201cIf I\u2019m evicting someone because they\u2019re not paying rent, they\u2019re not paying their utility bills either,\u201d she said. \u201cMy license might be revoked while I\u2019m trying to evict someone.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou may work here, you do not live here,\u201d Council President Jackie Pagano said. \u201cMy property values are going down because I have absentee slum landlords. If you can\u2019t afford it, come back and live in one of the houses.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pagano said there is a difference between absentee landlords and homeowners. \u201cHomeowners have invested in the city also,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd we want this city to be as nice as the one in which you live.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lee McKay said the new rules expect too much policing from the landlord. \u201cThis is almost like being a dorm mother. I did not sign up to be a dorm mother,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

City Attorney John Hessel said that the revocation of the landlord\u2019s license is only a possibility. \u201cWe will provide notice to the landlord when utilities are cut off for non-payment. That doesn\u2019t mean the city is going to revoke license. It means city will work with landlord to deal with tenants,\u201d he said.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 (continued on
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not just building wealth in our neighborhoods,\u201d Henke said.\u201d We are living in our neighborhoods. Ask the neighbors about your tenants.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vanessa Star with Smart Rentals Management Company also spoke to the council. \u201cThe things we need to do to keep house in shape are not out of line, but there needs to be more communication,\u201d she said. \u201cI represent investors with about 45 homes in Florissant zip codes. My name is all over the Public Works department on licenses,\u201d 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe cannot live in our tenants\u2019 homes,\u201d she said. \u201cWe just cannot.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u2019t protect victims and minorities as required by the Fair Housing Act. The ACLU has suggested several amendments to the bill, he said.<\/p>\n

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Several homeowners spoke in favor of the bill. \u201cI do respect good landlords but everything I\u2019ve heard tonight is from landlords who don\u2019t live here,\u201d said Cathy Wood. \u201cI\u2019m looking to build my neighborhood and keep it nice for my family.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 In other matters,<\/strong> the council:<\/p>\n