Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Rental Registry ordinance proposed

Springfield landlords would have to register their apartments, and subject them to inspection, according to a proposed ordinance.
http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20130327/NEWS02/703279940

32 comments :


  1. This is a great ordinance and an important first step in controlling slum lords, thank you to Ms. Gibson and Mr. Knoras for moving this forward.

    Once it is in place, start inspecting these places, perhaps hope is not lost for Springfield.

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  2. i agree with knowing how many people live in an apartment building,but the inspection sounds like an invasion of privacy to the tenants to me

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    1. It certainly is an invasion of privacy! Even a landlord cannot enter an apartment without 24hrs notice unless it's a legitimate emergency. The number of tenants in a building is usually listed on the lease.

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    2. Actually, a landlord cannot enter an apartment without 48 hours notice as stated in the Current Tenant Rights handbook unless an emergency. The number of tenants is usually on the lease, IF there is a lease in place, but I have seen people NOT on leases, stay at people's homes for more than a month plus, meaning that they are also living there and the landlord does not always know this.

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  3. I agree that this is a great idea. I feel there is a conflict of interest for Mr. Yesman being a selectman and a landlord. It sounds like he is going to protect his personal interests before what is best for the town of Springfield. I'm not sure I understand why he was allowed to run for selectboard.

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    1. Well technically and if the town uses the code of ethics he will have to recuse himself from the vote. I believe he can take part in discussions just not in the ultimate decision. That is a statewide code of ethics for select board operations.

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  4. There was another group that did this,,,who was it? Oh yea,,, it was the Nazis.

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    1. Ummm what made sure their citizens were same from slum lords?

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  5. I remember seeing a film about inspectors who come into your home to see who's living there and how many of them there were. It was kind of difficult to watch because it was grainy black and white and the subtitles where in German.

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    1. I'm sure the tunnels will be coming back soon! If you rent near the Hartness house you'd be all set!

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  6. fifty percent chance this is chuck gregory, sewer rat3/27/13, 10:27 AM

    The article implies that Section 8 apartments are subject to inspection. Are these at-will inspections, pre-rental inspections, or what? At-will would, I think, be a constitutional issue, but if the Section 8 inspections pass a constitutional muster, there's little reason why they can't be applied to privately-rented apartments as well.

    I don't see firefighters as wanting to know how many people are in a building until it's burning. The town I lived in previously used the fire department to notify the municipality of anything they noticed in the building that offended their personal beliefs-- such as "tenanted by hippies."

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    1. the section 8 inspections are yearly to make sure they are suitable but my question is when an how often will these inspections occur an who will pay for them i'm sure nobody will to donate the time an if they want to know how many people are in an apt when will they want to know how many people live in a house?If a fire breaks out in an apt or house will they have time to reach this info?maybe create a data base on every building in the town wow this is atarting to sound like a full time position.

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  7. Remember, if you have a lady friend over for the evening be sure to contact SFD to let them know, otherwise she may be left behind in the event of a fire.

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    1. Your right because she is probably too stupid to leave on her own when the building is burning.

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  8. Don't worry. With the increasing amount of fires occurring there won't be any rentals left in a few years.

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    1. Only if we are lucky anon 12:08

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  9. Well, there are definitely too many low income housing units and consequently too many low income people in Springfield. The balance is way off, and the town and school system suffer because of it. Blame the housing trust for much of this. But their attitude is that there is never enough low income housing--I know this first hand.

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  10. Government inspections already...hahah how does that chit on wall, valley, etc. Pass section 8 inspections????? Tear them down...they are beyond repair.

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    1. Section 8 inspections happen every year, whether the tenant is in a housing project - westview, southview, etc. - or in a privately rented apartment or house. If more housing inspections were done on private rental units and landlords were made to comply with simple safety and health guidelines there would be fewer slum apartment units in town. Section 8 tenants are not all welfare people - many of them hold full time jobs. This is a subsidy program that "helps" pay the outrageous rents charged locally. If there is a household with, say 4 children, two parents, both working barely above minimum wage jobs, there is usually not enough income to pay rent, utilities - which also continue to go up and up - buy food and maintain even a simple quality of life. There is rarely enough for any luxuries, so getting some kind of subsidy assures this family at least a clean and safe place to live. Without this subsidy, they would be either on the streets or in some kind of slum that is ignored by landlords who just want to make a buck, but rarely ever do enough to assure quality living. Mandatory inspections might eliminate some of these slums and that can't be bad for the town, can it?

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    2. However, in the article it states that those already required to have inspections would not be a part of this. I know not all section 8 are on welfare, but there are many houses that should be condemned and then torn down, and some of those are section 8.

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  11. what about rental houses? if its good for 1 group its good for all. this is about public safety right? when the town elite made the choice to bring in all the social services this is the bed that was made. now sleep in it.

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  12. The Springfield Odyssey - From machine tools to slumming fools...

    Keep an eye out for those "Town Rental Property Inspector" job postings. $60,000 per year with full benefits and pension provisions, courtesy of the hapless Springfield taxpayers. I smell more "aptly justified" budget increases!

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  13. What the...why? The only upshot might be giving our firefighters something to do besides hang out when there's no 'burning issues'(yeah, I went there).

    To even hint that part of the reason might be to control how much affordable housing options are available reeks of elitism and any legitimate claims for 'safety' are negated.

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    1. I don't know about elitism, but I would be happy if the landlord fixed up his tenement across the street. Peeling paint, rotten wood, un-mowed grass and trash everywhere do nothing for my property values.

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    2. It amazes me what qualifies someone as elite in this town. If you hold any sort of standards for your community, property, school system, you are considered an elitist.

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    3. It's pretty clear to anyone who has not lived in Springfield very long that the over abundance of low income housing and the tenants they attract are a major problem for the town. If that makes me an elitist, fine. In fact I may be an elitist, and that does not bother me at all. I went to a top high school, and graduated with honors. I went to college, and graduated. I went to graduate school, and graduated. I worked. So please tell me, why should I care about low income people??

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    4. I wish this town had more of this so called elite I keep hearing about.

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  14. chuck gregory3/28/13, 4:41 PM

    What about the principle of "A man's home is his castle, and even the King must not enter without his permission"?

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    Replies
    1. What about not having a commenton everything?

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    2. Please keep your comments on topic.

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  15. A Better Way3/29/13, 5:52 PM

    @Anonymous 3/28/13 5:30
    There is a clear difference between being an elitist and being elite.

    Elitists believe they are better than others.

    Elite is a group of people perceived to be the best of a particular group.

    You are clearly a privileged, self-righteous elitist who feels compelled to prove yourself by throwing about so-called credentials, but you will never be among the elite.

    I dare say it is the systemic disregard for our neighbors that has brought this town to its knees. Judgement will not be the pivotal point we need.

    First we must believe that as a community we can be better. Then, we must value everyone in that community, acknowledge what they have to offer and invite them to fully participate.

    Getting to know each other, valuing everyone, and believing in the community are the only way to truly transform.

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    1. That is fine, but let's start with inspections of unsafe property.

      You can lead the charge of getting everyone together and seeing what we all bring to the table.

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