A few people responded privately to my earlier post on Affordable Housing. They liked my thoughts, but only if the �housing is habitable.�
The idea that all, most, many or too many of the market rate rental housing is not habitable, is ridiculous. Look at the date. According the US Census 2000, Ramsey County had 206,448 housing units. Of that 36.5% or 75,354 were rental units. Who on this board wants to argue that 36.5% of the housing in Ramsey county is uninhabitable? The reality is that the vast majority of landlords do a great job managing their properties. Regardless, St. Paul has many ordinances enforcing habitability. Those ordinances cover everything from health and safety to aesthetics. I believe there are few uninhabitable homes in St. Paul today. What I think you really mean by �habitable� is quality and amenities. But, is that the standard we want to apply? When I was young and just getting started, I lived in many habitable, yet low quality, low amenity homes. I remember homes where the windows leaked badly, the carpet was worn and stained, the kitchen was dated and it had no modern amenities like dishwashers or A/Cs. Do we now believe those properties are uninhabitable? If we choose to bulldoze low quality, low amenity buildings, we exacerbate the affordable housing problem. Yet, that appears to be today�s solution. Regards, Bill Cullen Eastside Landlord. _____________________________________________ To Join: St. Paul Issues Forum Rules Discussion Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] _____________________________________________ NEW ADDRESS FOR LIST: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe, modify subscription, or get your password - visit: http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/stpaul Archive Address: http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/private/stpaul/
