The proposed Rental Registry ordinance is a wasteful duplication of existing statutes and ordinances that doesn’t even solve the problem it is proposed to solve.
The problem is bad landlords in Greenfield. The proposed solution is to get a list of all the landlords (which already exists) then make a second list of all the bad landlords. Then, fine the bad landlords.
Ok, but then what? A property on my street racked up fines of over $45,000. No behavior change. Then the owner died, leaving the junkyard and an unpaid fine.
The health department already knows who the bad landlords are and where the rundown properties are. The problem is, they don’t have the budget to bring in lawyers and use the existing legal system actually fix the problem.
The state has the receivership program, designed just to fix those buildings that bad landlords refuse to fix. A building with tenants can be put into receivership, have all necessary repairs made, then, once the contractor is paid, return the property to the landlord. The tenants don’t even need to move out! Yes, this program exists!
Two years ago, as a registered receiver, I toured five derelict buildings in Greenfield and said I would work to bring them back to life — if only the city would go through the legal steps to get each building before a judge.
Nothing happened. I was never contacted and no building was brough before a judge. The buildings, which I drive by daily, are still derelict. I can’t offer to buy them from the owner because there’s nobody to contact. (I’ve tried.) How do you buy a building from a dead person? The only way to transfer ownership of these building is for the state to take control, under the authority of a judge. The only way for that to happen is for the city to hire a lawyer to get the process started.
The Rental Registry Ordinance does not fix the problem of the Health Department not having the funds to hire lawyers who can then get judges involved. Once there’s a judge, a contractor can work with her to bring the building back into compliance.
Greenfield — don’t pass a wasteful, duplicate ordinance. Fully fund the Health Department’s legal budget so they can go after the buildings they already know are a problem. The Health Department already knows the bad landlords and bad properties. Help them so they can do the job they already want to do!
Marc Guillaume
Greenfield