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61 °F Forecast | Road Cams Sunday, September 19, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal How To Guide Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Rogue Valley's Finest EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend January 7, 2004 Jamie Gartin, 25, lives with five children in this tiny apartment on 12th Street in Medford. Her apartment and two others at the address have been declared unsafe to occupy by the city�s building department. Mail Tribune / Jim Craven Landlords could face regulation Many renters complain that owners fail to keep housing safe and functional By MEG LANDERS Mail Tribune New regulations are possible for Medford’s landlords, and for Jamie Gartin it’s none too soon. The 25-year-old mother of five, whose East 12th Street apartment was posted in November as uninhabitable, says she’s lived with a broken-out window for a year, had to throw out the couches after water from roof leaks damaged them, and the bath tub is sinking because of rot. "There’s no hot water, there’s only warm," she said. "I have to boil water to take a bath." Gartin is one of many Medford renters who have complained to the building department that their landlords aren’t keeping homes safe and functional. So the Housing and Community Development Commission will consider regulating rental properties during its meeting at 6 p.m. today in council chambers at City Hall, 411 W. Eighth St., Medford. Advertisement Right now anyone can rent out anything with few or no restrictions, said Louise Dix, Medford’s neighborhood resource coordinator. "We have so many substandard houses," she said. Among the changes the commission is considering is requiring a registry of all landlords, requiring city inspections of all rental properties and requiring the landlord to hire a local property manager when the landlord lives more than 50 miles away. Jim Kuntz, a housing inspector with the Housing Authority of Jackson County, supports some of the ideas. Kuntz, also chairman of the city’s Housing and Community Development Commission, said a registry would be an easy way for fire and police officials to find the landlord quickly in an emergency. Kuntz, a former absentee landlord himself, said he knows first-hand that damage can occur to a rental property, and when you’re a long way off, you may not ever know about it until you’re notified by an attorney, as he was. "I was stunned," he said. A local property manager would be responsible for upkeep, he said. He admitted that hiring property management could eat up about 10 percent of the profit. "You’ve gotta look at it this way: That’s the cost of doing business," he said. He said he is not among the housing commission members who support required inspections because it would involve hiring extra staff and result in a large expense to the city. "Who’s going to pay this?" he said. Joe Jimenez, Medford’s code enforcement officer, said the city has a lot of run-down buildings but there’s very little regulation of rental properties in the city. "Right now we don’t even go into buildings unless we’re invited," he said. Kuntz said there are thousands of rental units in Medford, but he guesses fewer than 5 percent are bad landlords. "We’re not talking about a huge percentage of the population," said Kuntz. Gartin plans on staying in her apartment until she’s able to get together enough money for rent and a deposit at a new place. Although county records list the property owner as Alkay Ltd. Inc. in Las Vegas, a building department worker said the department heard from an attorney for Kay Rodriguez that she is the landlord. Rodriguez is being cited by the city for 12 code violations with city fines that total $1,800, according to city building inspector Derek Zwagerman. According to the apartment manager, Donna Harrington of Grants Pass, Rodriguez lives out of the state and is currently in the hospital recovering from a heart attack. Harrington declined further comment and said she just keeps the books and this does not concern her. State law says there’s a certain minimum criteria a landlord must maintain, such as functioning plumbing and electrical service as well as weather protection, said Zwagerman. He said when the city notifies landlords of building code violations, all the landlord has to do is start taking action to remedy the problem. They just can’t let a home remain unsafe. Meanwhile, city staff membes are looking for ways to keep it from coming to that. "It’s rough out there," said Dix. The housing commission is scheduled to talk about regulation of landlords at the Feb. 26 City Council study session. Reach reporter Meg Landers at 776-4481 or e-mail [email protected] . Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. 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