Scott McGerik brings us a teachable moment.
I
>If I am correctly understanding the debate regarding landlords and
>problem tenants, the City of Minneapolis is holding the landlord
>responsible for the actions of problem tenants. Since a landlord is
>not present on the property all of the time, that means that the
>landlord can not eject the problem tenant immediately as can a
>bartender eject a problem patron. Also, it is my understanding that a
>landlord can not just eject a tenant, that instead, the landlord must
>use the legal system to evict the tenant (is this correct?).
This is absolutely correct. You and your property will be held responsible
for the actions of your tenants, their guests and any one else who comes on
your property. Even people who don't live there but come walking down the
street.
A little about the eviction process.
Time= minimum of 14 days. Average time 21 days.
Cost= Filing and subpoena service fees $200
Lost Rent $750-$1500
Damage to your apartment by high risk renter( not my term Linda Berglin's)
while we wait for court date ???????
Ability to collect your losses after it is all over= slim to none.
Time involved= Plenty
Chances that tenant will call city inspector and report damages they may
have caused ---not as rare as you would believe, and increasing every year.
Legal Aid, Tenant Advocates and renters will scatter shot accusations about
landlords. One is that we throw out evictions like confetti. Nothing can
be farther from the truth. As you can read above. The costs are
extraordinary. The landlord will do just about everything to prevent
getting to that situation.
>
>With this in mind, can a landlord put in a clause into the lease that
>says the tenant can and will be evicted if the tenant is involved in
>any kind of criminal or problem behaviors? What are the landlord
>rights in this regard? I am interested in the general aspect of this
>and the Minneapolis-specific facets of this.
Any lease violation is grounds for eviction. Most leases have noise and
nuisance components. Minnesota Statute provides us with 'Crime Free
Multi-housing' and 'Drug Free Multi Housing Addendum's . The landlords
rights are bound by Statute and common law. All levels of government have
gradually proscribed landlords rights. Think of Irish tenant farmers of the
16th Century and you realize how far the profession has evolved. The rights
of the tenants have expanded while the landlords have shrunk.
MPLS SPECIFIC- Like all other governments Mpls has generally worked to
restrain the landlords rights and
strengthened the tenants. HOWEVER- In Mpls we have added a unique
component to the mix. We have placed a certain part of the police action
upon the landlord. We have the landlords, with the heavy hand of big
brother on their shoulder, deciding who will live in your neighborhood. If
you rent to people who engage in crime, have engaged in crime, or have been
caught up in some one else's criminal activity BEWARE. The city can/will
bring extraordinary enforcement down upon you/or your property. All this
will be done because a fellow citizen broke the clearly known laws of the
land. They can't or won't be stopped. So the city goes after the person
who has something to lose. I think Mr. Krueger has gone into great detail
on how the city believes it is the landlord's responsibility fight crime.
This has come at a cost. Higher rents and Draconian screening standards.
Disclosure- I am Irish and have read a great deal of the history. I also
have not rented to a felon or someone convicted of a gross misdemeanor of
violence or drug charges in 14 years. That is when we started crim
screening.
Thanks for the Forum
Craig A. Miller
Real Estate Agent
Insurance Agent
Founder Past Chair of the Camden Landlord Association
Member of Minnesota Multi Housing Association Legislative Task Force
Frequent Ad Hoc Committee member For Mpls Municipal Matters pertaining to
rental property issues
Winner of the Minneapolis Award for being the best damn landlord in town
1998
And Former Fultonite
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>
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