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Most landlords aren't, but let's face it, some are do-nothing slobs. They don't care if tenants are nuisances or drug dealers or criminals who make the neighborhood a miserable place to live. Sometimes, especially if the property owner is an out-of-state corporation, a responsible party is tough to find and slow to act.
So the city's on the right track in studying a proposal to register landlords, so that police can find them more quickly and easily, set deadlines for improvement and issue fines if landlords don't clean up their act. The City Council heard a briefing on the proposal Monday.
Several council members were forthrightly in favor of such a measure, but others expressed concerns.
To be sure, there is reason to move carefully. For instance, the final ordinance should take care not to be punitive against landlords for crimes or police calls that occur on public sidewalks or streets that happen to be in front of, but not part of, a rental property in a high-traffic area. It's in no one's interest if the result is closing down – instead of cleaning up – affordable housing options for low-income Charlotteans.
Some question whether registering all landlords is needed, since only a small proportion cause problems. Mayor Pat McCrory said he wants to make sure the new registry is truly needed and that ownership information isn't already easily available through online databases. While that's a fair point, we suspect police investigators and attorneys have already checked that out. Certainly, it's not hard to find neighborhood activists all over the city to vouch for how hard it can be to find a property owner who doesn't want to be found.
Council members have rightly said they want more information from cities such as Houston, Raleigh and Pittsburgh that have successfully used the registries to reduce crime and disorder at rental properties.
But in the end, it's important, in dealing with multiple concerns from council members, not to let the proposal be so watered down that it becomes ineffectual.
Charlotte's had problems with rental housing for years. This ordinance won't be a silver bullet to vanquish all those problems. But, if crafted smartly, it could become an important weapon to help the city make a positive difference.
