Salisbury Mayor James Ireton, Jr., today, responded to landlord Stu Leer’s Letter to the Editor in The Daily Times (4/24), and today’s Daily Times article by pulling the calls for service to Salisbury Police Department and Neighborhood Services & Code Compliance on Leer’s properties.
That investigation shows 122 code compliance violations and 345 calls for service to Leer properties over the previous 18 months.
“I simply say what I said before being elected Mayor: The rental industry must police their own. The city cannot continue to be involved in the relationship between tenant and landlord. With the 122 code violations at Neighborhood Services and 345 calls to Salisbury Police Department, it is clear that these properties are a drain on city resources and constitute an inordinate amount of attention from the Salisbury Police Department.
Mr. Leer can exhort me to come to the table and work together – but the revealing numbers about his properties make it clear his energy would be better spent servicing those properties.
I request that Salisbury Area Property Owners Association members police their own industry and create an MOU for industry owners.” said Mayor Ireton.
GO HERE to view Police Log & NSCC on these properties.
40 comments:
"I request that Salisbury Area Property Owners Association members police their own industry and create an MOU for industry owners.”
This shows how little Ireton understands the matter. Each rental site is private property, and nobody except the government can force an owner to do anything with a few exceptions that are not pertinent. SAPOA wants to develop a relationship with the City to better enforce the codes against owners who create problems. Ireton has rejected that initiative, because his key political support would vanish if he did otherwise.
Joe:
Please do a detailed analysis of all those matters that he is asserting against Mr. Leer and see how many are BS or don't involve his tenants. And for those that do invole them see if Mr. Leer is responsible for their behavior in any meaningful sense.
Ireton is trying to dupe the public in my opinion.
These slum lords are no different than a sex offender. They prey on the weak and low income. They have destroyed the Salisbury where I have lived for more than 60 years.
Trashing landlords like Stu Leer is not going to reduce crime in the neighborhoods where his properties are located. They have become what they are long before he purchased them, and he has actually improved things.
And he cannot be expected to police the neighborhood. He pays taxes to the City, which is the police authority (along with the County Sheriff Dept.).
Whether the "code violations" are significant depends on what is involved in each instance, and without that information no conclusion can be made. There is reason to believe that the City is now citing landlords for everything possible while ignoring other types of property.
Mr. Ireton should provide the details -- what, when, where, outcome, etc. Apparently some of Mr. Leer's tenants think very highly of him and his rental property.
11:23-
Of course the flight of many former residents to homes outside the City, and the reluctance of new residents to buy the homes because of City taxes, crime, etc., had nothing whatsoever to do with what happened during that period.
Landlords are a handy scapegoat for folks like you.
Ireton's personal attack on Mr. Leer does not justify his refusal to meet with SAPOA, as it has requested for months, to discuss better code enforcement of rental properties.
11:23--your an idiot. How can you compare a landlord to a sex offender? Alot of the landlords only have so much control as to who they rent to. Someone can appear very well on paper & come across as someone you would rent too...then rent to them and they destroy the property & do not pay rent. Now you have to follow the legal process to get them out..b/c they have rights. Spend months in rent court. & you never see a $1 of the rent or the expenses of repairing the property. They go right on to the next property & do the same thing. Some of the blame should be on the tenant. Most places ( that I have rented) the tenant is required to maintain the property. I peronsally never had a problem, b/c I actuallly take pride in where I live & want a nice yard and a clean inside. Once they get the citation I can imagine the landlord takes care of the problem b/c he is the one who faces the fine.
To me the problem is Ireton as our mayor..he should never label a tax payers property "slum property of the week" There are alot of homeowners that have more disgusting houses then most of these "slum houses" but he is not posting there houses on the internet.
the slum lords are now also destroying the county. as the county council and sheriff close their eyes to the mounting problem of slumlords buying property outside the city, in good neighborhoods and renting to trash.
literrally. they took out over 100 bags of garbage, and over 40 empty cases of beer, from a property rented by a slumlord in the county in our neighborhood. the tenants couldn't afford garbage pickup and stored it in the garage. 7 couples were in a 3 bedroom house. outragous.
The "police your own" thing came from SAPOA themselves. They've been saying that for years. Leer said it again at a recent meeting, you know, call us and we'll deal with our own.
Why should the city have to call landlords to deal with their own? SAPOA's their organization. Don't they have meetings? If Leer is calling as often as he says he does, then he already knows there's a problem with the places he's calling about. As close knit as SAPOA is, it's hard to buy they don't know who's managing what properties or that they aren't aware of police calls.
Nothing against Leer personally (never met him), but as a group, SAPOA's bad eggs have outweighed their good eggs, in my opinion.
anon 11:18 YOU GOTTA be a slum landlord. The mayor just slammed dunked Leer to put up or shut up. Clean up your tenants and the trash they dont want to be responsile for. You wantem for the money now make them be the good citizen.
The list of “Leer’s violations” (is that slanderous -?) that Ireton has published on the City website does not furnish enough detail to determine if any is serious. But it does indicate many items with the disposition “cleared-other” suggesting no violation or action taken.
Many matters seem to be irrelevant to Ireton’s attack on Mr. Leer, such as “traffic stop, 911 hang-up, warrant/subpoena service, M/V accident, suspicion, random inspection” and so on. Many are for “rubbish” without any indication of the cause – for example, something thrown or blown from the street.
And some, such as “historical approval,” pertain to work done to repair or improve the property.
Much more information is needed to label Mr. Leer as an irresponsible landlord as to any of the numerous properties that his firm owns and operates.
It appears that Ireton is grasping at straws in his attempt to smear Mr. Leer.
Joe:
Ireton has compiled a list of the things he says Leer did, but many of them seem to be incidents that involved crime at his property by persons who were not even his tenants -- theft, vandalism, B&E, etc. -- how is that significant since crime is out of control in the City of Salisbarrie.
Instead of wasting his time bashing Stu Leer, why doesn't Ireton meet with SAPOA to come to a memorandum of understanding?
Anonymous said...
Trashing landlords like Stu Leer is not going to reduce crime in the neighborhoods where his properties are located. They have become what they are long before he purchased them, and he has actually improved things.
And he cannot be expected to police the neighborhood. He pays taxes to the City, which is the police authority (along with the County Sheriff Dept.).
Whether the "code violations" are significant depends on what is involved in each instance, and without that information no conclusion can be made. There is reason to believe that the City is now citing landlords for everything possible while ignoring other types of property.
Mr. Ireton should provide the details -- what, when, where, outcome, etc. Apparently some of Mr. Leer's tenants think very highly of him and his rental property.
11:34 AM
Right Stu, now go prey on some weak tenant looking for a rental.
Anonymous said...
These slum lords are no different than a sex offender. They prey on the weak and low income. They have destroyed the Salisbury where I have lived for more than 60 years.
11:23 AM
I agree 100%
To 11:23
It could be that the fishing, farming and manufacturing jobs that once made Salisbury a great place to live have vanished for many different reasons. Many of the city's residents are not in a position to own homes because of a lack of education/job/desire to work/substance abuse/ability to budget or spend money wisely. As long as the local, state and federal governments continue to support their lack of personal responsibility they will continue to be renters of the properties they can afford. There are many rental properties that are very desirable homes but they come at a steep price. As has been stated before, "Landlords cannot discriminate on who rents the property". Thanks again to the liberal anti discrimination laws. If a landlord had a property and did not want a smoker or felon or single mother with 5 kids that landlord is mandated by law to rent the property to that person if they have the money or Section 8 pays their rent. My advice: Move out of Salisbury!
How many of the 122 code violations were BS such as weeds in the sidewalk or powerwash needed on ONE side of the house due to a SMALL amount of algae growth. Cit inspectors are out in full force attempting to earn the city some extra cash on such violations. What exactly were the police calls? Landlords CAN NOT police the behavior of its residents-it can only screen them as best they can and hope for the best. Get to the real issue Ireton!
You can see many of the properties cited by Ireton on his list by using Google Earth, which has a feature that gives a view from the street as well as bird's eye from above.
The ones I looked at do not seem that bad, and often are better than most of the homes in the neighborhood, which are usually filled with older and rather run down dwellings.
Jim-beau:
Why is "historic approval" under the City code a "violation"?
Well said Mr. Ireton.
Mr. Leer , get off your a$$ and fix the property. This is not the bitch mayor. That goes for the rest of you idiots.
1:57-
Please give us an itemized list of the work that you think Mr. Leer should do to "fix the property" and pictures of the specific items that need to be repaired or replaced. Maybe Ireton can provide some photos, too.
What a crock! Mr. Mayor, you are trying to use false statistics to smear Mr. Leer. If you look at the police calls, most are not even vaugely the responsibility of the landlord. I do not understand why you are picking on Mr. Leer? His properties are among the best kept. Mr. Leer spends a lot of money renovating properties when he buys them. Mr. Mayor, do the job that you are paid to do, and get something constructive going, not your childish name calling. Grow up Mr. Ireton!
11:59
I know for a fact that the Sheriff went to the county admin (Ted Shea) and complained about properties and tried to get them held to standards. Shea didn't want any part of it, he believes that you should not be able to tell people what to do with their property. I saw tell that to the person who lives next to property that looks like a junk yard and lowers your property code.
Let's not step on the landlords toes , we don't want to hurt their feelings , NOT!!!
When Joe had to do some things on his property in the city , he did them. What the hell is wrong with these guys , stop bitchin and whinnin!!
Art Linkletter has died. He was 97.
11:59, I place the blame squarely on the landlord for trash removal.
As a landlord myself, I learned long ago to pay for trash removal service, and include the cost in the rent. This way, trash does not pile up on the property, and gets taken care of every week.
I hope the person you referred to has learned the same lesson.
A landlord is responsible for the upkeep on their property. Now, its up to them whether they write the lease and rental amount that the tenant maintain the property, within reason, or the landlord them self. That's it, code and compliance is on the landlord even if its the tenants misdoing. Again a landlord should write in their lease what is expected from their tenant, and if breached what steps the landlord will take to rectify the situation. Plain and simple really on that topic.
On to the matter of City Police, the landlord cannot be held responsible for how many times police are called to the property. As a previous landlord, if police were being called to a property I owned this excessively I would re-evaluate who I rented to. And a landlord CAN do this properly within the guidelines of fair housing.
I have listened and read tons of opinions on this topic and not once have I heard anyone put responsibility on the tenant! You (the tenant) ask to live in an owners investment, You (the tenant) agree to keep it in compliance with County, City, State code, You (the tenant) should take pride in where you live. So many people blame landlords for increasing rents, well when they are constantly having to put money into fixing the rentals that tenants trash, what choice do they have? When a landlord takes action against a tenant for damages or back rent, the tenant cries fowl and it gets thrown out on a technicality. SAPOA is trying to bridge the gap between the City, Tenants, and Landlords so that everyone is on the same page, why are they met with such opposition? Work together, because the City is going down hill fast, and the finger pointing isn't going to change that!
Annon 11:45 Yes a 66 year old idiot who has owned and invested in properties in the city and county. An idioit with respect for people and property unlike a few landlords in the city. I would never compromise myself for any amount of money. Sadly with their crooked deals they have destroyed Salisbury. How these people look in the mirrow everyday totally amazes me. Futhermore how they dare call themselves Christians.
Not all landlords are bad. But I've been here since 1998 and it's gotten worse. Listening to these guys boo hoo hooing how hard they got it is sickening. Hell, the Leer guy even said well what if the owner is away on a 2 week vacation in Europe.
I had to move 3 times in Salisbury when I rented in a short period of time because 1 landlord wouldn't fix anything, the next rented to anybody so I got crackheads for neighbors and No. 3 was a combo of both. Finally went to one of the better run complexes when I had the money.
Spare me the tear job. There are good landlords and bad landlords. Funny how many who boo hoo the loudest and are always out front are often the bad ones, spending time getting attention instead of spending time giving their properties attention.
animal complaints? imagine that, were they addressing the landlord or the renters?
lmao!
Some people say landlords can't refuse tenants.
BULL!
Smoker? There's laws that protect blacks, old people etc., but no law protecting smokers.
Yes, tenants can be a problem but if the landlord knows their a problem, go through the eviction process. Screen your freakin' tenants.
Hate tenants and the problems they bring but won't do what you need to do? Then you suck at what you do, get out of the business.
I managed properties for 13 years. Got a better opportunity and left. The owner had good leases, screaning and all that so tenant problems were minimal.
The more it changes the more it becomes the same. Same stupid, vendictive, destructive political mayham with a few new faces. How sad that a city like Salisbury cannot find intelligent, rational and mature individuals to handle matters.
I dont support any type of Slum Lord, or excuse any type of poor management.
However, has anyone read the Maryland Landlord Tenant Codes or HUD Regulations? A landlord can not take action against a tenant unless they follow the laws, which most of the time are more restrictive on the landlord than the tenant.
For any official to tell any landlord (slumlords included) that they should police their own property and that the city can not be involved with landlord tenant issues is just wrong.
Properties located in high crime areas need to work with the police and officials in order to decrease the crime. Is he suggesting that landlords start packing guns and hand cuffs, wearing bullet proof vests, and demand the drug dealers, users, and prostitutes to stop committing crimes.
What do we pay the police for? Landlords should be protected as well as the law abiding residents that live on their properties.
If the laws were changed or atleast updated to meet the needs of this era, and officials agreed to work with landlords with a common goal to provide a safe and clean community...then maybe Mr. Ireton would stop placing blame on the citizens that not only voted for him, but pay taxes so that he can support himself and his family.
It just seems like a cop-out, and a one sided, wanna-be solution to an increasing problem.
And, NO Im not a slumlord or property owner for that matter.
I also dont think that any landlord, official, or otherwise is responsible for the actions, such as crime, littering, loitering, noise, etc... of any other person.
I do believe however that one person can make a difference in a community...and that a few people working together in a positive manner finding real solutions to real problems, can in fact create change.
There's just no excuse, obviously Joe what you have here is all the slumlords writing on your site! Sorry guys the mayor is right on, we have a slumlord house in our neighborhood, have gone to SOPA and that resulted in absolutely nothing, nothing! SOPA is all talk and so is their members. I would be impressed if SOPA and their membership decided to work towards making their rentals crime free homes - with leases that cause eviction should crimes occur. Other cities have pursued crime free living, why not Salisbury, and why would SOPA not take the leadership in implementing such change.
The mayor and the current city council (yes Debbie Campbell and Terry Cohen too) need to move on. Please vote them all out of office. Hopefully some different personalities can replace them. They, for one reason or another, cannot work toward the common goal of elevating this city. They are mired in the past; both factions see the boogeyman around every corner. Council meetings are the mad hatter’s tea party. 2 to 2 stalemate on every issue, its ridiculous. Replace all of the incumbents with folks who will stand up for the city and their constituents, but will be pragmatic, not take things so personally, and will not nitpick (Sorry, but Debbie and Terry never have enough time--they have been in office a great while now. Their inability to get things done in work session is a chronic problem. Perfect is the enemy of done. So this is balanced, Louise needs to be more diplomatic, Gary needs to heal but even if he was healthy, he’s perceived to have been too connected the Tilghman administration.) Again, they all need to go. Thanks to them for their time and service. They are all good people, but Salisbury should move on. New slate, new ideas, new personalities and less political baggage. Barrie Tilghman is gone, Webster is gone..Now move forward. Work with everyone, renters, business owners, college kids, and residents. That does not mean roll over. Enforce the laws; be tough, but not disrespectful and discriminatory. Landlords are not all bad. Fine and lock up the bad renters and landlords. There are plenty of regs and laws on the books. People need to rent, especially in this economy, and its a college town (start to wrap your heads around that!). SU is great for this community and for business and culture. I swear, sometimes I think the people on this blog are pinkos who want the government to take over the rentals. Property rights are one of the cornerstones of this country. If you want change so bad, why don't you offer to purchase the landlords' properties? There is also a great bit of jealously on this blog. Get off your butts and work and buy some properties. Then you can offer pristine properties to college kids and immigrants that cost $3,000.00 a month to maintain to your standards for the $750 a month that the market will bare. What in the world would the city do if all of the landlords just walked away and let the banks take the properties? Who would buy them? Here's an idea, get rid of the personalities in office, get some real leaders, make city government not such a spectacle, and start making the city a place where people want to live (whether they are a renter or owner). Stop vilifying renters and landlords, stop trashing Salisbury, and, sorry if it offends, stop acting like children.
Remember its the tenants who need to take care of their lawns and the appearance of the homes...many in the low income bracket do not! Good landlords have been fighting this for a long time. The renters must assume responsibility Mr. Ireton. It is not always the owners problem...stop pointing blame and giving landlords a bad name! No one will ever want to buy property in the city again if they see the Natzi regime you are creating.
Just wondering, does SOPA have the power to arrest, or search and seize drugs, or enforce the law?
I thought that is what the police department was in charge of. Im not a property owner, I am a renter (law abiding, clean, etc)...but as a concerned citizen, I want to know what almost everyone is suggesting;
Are you suggesting Mr.Ireton and supporters, that landlords;
Make people commit crimes and sell drugs, etc.
Are responsible for the actions of the criminals.
Should police their own properties by packing guns, and raiding the apartments themselves, or will SOPA do that?
What about the judicial system that slaps the criminals on the wrist, and then they return home with protection from being evicted due to the laws and regulations?
Landlords are business owners, that of course take bigger risks than the average, because no one is gonna come right out and say that they want to rent an apartment to start a meth lab, rape people, and sell drugs to the neighborhood kids.
Meanwhile, the government owned buildings are in just as bad condition. Take Bennett High School for example; kids are constantly sick because of the dust, mold, poor air quality, mice, roaches, etc...and they are not even allowed to go to another school. They are forced to have to go to a school, that if it were a house would be considered a slum.
sometimes it is not the tenant responsibility to take care of lawns, etc.
it depends on what is in their lease.
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