Landlord lawsuit dropped — for now

Opposition to rental registrations lingers

By DAVID SKOLNICK

skolnick@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

A local landlord association withdrew a lawsuit seeking to stop the city’s rental-registration program, but the dispute over the plan is far from being settled.

The Mahoning Valley Real Estate Investors Association agreed to have the case dismissed, but reserved the right to refile it.

The organization’s decision didn’t surprise city Prosecutor Jay Macejko, who previously predicted either a withdrawal of the lawsuit or a dismissal by a Mahoning County Common Pleas Court magistrate who was supposed to hear the case Tuesday.

When asked if the withdrawal would resolve the dispute, Macejko said: “No. But we’ll be ready for any challenges. We are confident the new law is legal. If there are any issues, we invite them to talk with us.”

That’s what the association is doing.

Sherry DeMar, president of the 70-member association, said she plans to talk shortly with Maureen O’Neil, the city’s rental property registration administrator, to discuss potential changes to the new rental-registration program.

The program requires those with rental property to pay the city $20 per unit for an annual license. If a property is a multifamily dwelling, the first unit is $20, and each additional unit in the structure is $15.

Rather than that, DeMar wants the city to inspect when a new person rents a property. Also, inspecting only rental properties is unfair, she said.

“The city should be going after anyone who does not take care of their properties,” she said.

The city could also be heading for a showdown with Gander Properties LLC, a company that owns two apartment buildings with 148 total units.

The company filled out portions of the city’s rental forms, but refused to list the names of its tenants and didn’t submit the license fees.

“The names of our tenants is a matter of privacy,” said Michael G. Anderson, Gander’s owner. “Also, we get inspected twice a year by our lender and insurance company. We pay for those inspections. We’re constantly monitored. To be inspected a third time is a waste of time and money, and is totally unnecessary.”

The deadline for landlords to register with the city has passed, but they can still submit registration forms during the next few days, said Bill D’Avignon, the city’s community development director.

So far response from landlords to the registration requirement has been poor.

Landlords for about 800 of the 4,000 rental units in the city to receive rental-registration forms have filled them out, D’Avignon said. Most of the larger rental property owners haven’t turned in registration forms, he said.

The city met Friday with officials from the Youngstown Metropolitan Housing Authority. The city hired that agency to do annual inspections for $15 per rental unit.

The inspections will start in about two weeks, D’Avignon said.

Those who fail to register would face fines, he said.

The program is designed to improve the quality of life in the neighborhoods by requiring landlords to keep their properties in good shape, city officials say. Some landlords say the new regulation will only drive them out of the city.