Time is now to challenge behavior of landlords

By Dale Todd

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For more than 25 years, I have been involved in efforts to stabilize some of Cedar Rapids neighborhoods from issues of crime and blight. Regretfully, today it is my belief that certain impoverished sections of our neighborhoods have reached a tipping point where they have simply become concentrations of poverty and dilapidated housing stock.

The negative impact that slum landlords and problem tenants have had on the deterioration of our neighborhoods comes as no surprise. What city government has lacked has been a legal means to intervene and challenge the behavior of problem tenants and landlords. The crime-free lease addendum (recently struck down by a judge) was a step in the right direction.

Contrary to what the Landlords of Linn County would have you believe, as a developer and property manager, I have used this tool effectively and with no complaints from our tenants. They see it as a mechanism that can be used to protect them from problem tenants. It simply requires tenants to refrain from a list of criminal activities and to be responsible for the actions of their guests. Is this too much to ask?

Landlords, is there something with this basic premise that makes you uncomfortable?

Performing a background check during the application process on a potential tenant should not be the responsibility of the police department, as you are insisting. It should be yours. Subscribe to one of the many landlord-friendly companies that provide this service professionally and at an affordable fee (that your tenant pays).

The City of Cedar Rapids should appeal the dimwitted ruling that was handed down from the court and the Landlords of Linn County (of which I belong to for the time being) should stop being an impediment to efforts to improve our neighborhoods' quality of life. Get serious in your attempt to have a meaningful dialogue with the city.

The foot-dragging on this issue has been a disservice to good landlords and neighborhood residents alike and does nothing to stop the downward spiral that some of our neighborhoods have been experiencing for years.

Dale Todd of Cedar Rapids, former city Parks Commissioner, is the director of Eastern Iowa Development for Hatch Development Group. Comments: DTODDPARKS@aol.com