Document text
Landlords offered screening tips Seminar focuses on legal, safety issues By PETER WONG A seminar on Saturday will enable landlords and property managers to improve their screening of tenants and deter or detect illegal activities, including drug manufacturing and trafficking. Medford police officer Stacey Beck, its principal instructor, says the program benefits property owners and managers, tenants, police and the public. "We have a lot of rental housing in Medford, and statistically, most of our crimes occur on rental properties, especially drug-related crimes," she said. "So the idea behind the program is to help landlords screen tenants and detect problems." The seminar is scheduled from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday in Rooms 102-104 of the Smullin Center, 2825 E. Barnett Road, Medford. The per-person cost is $15, which includes manuals and lunch. Call Beck at 774-2265 for registration. The seminar may be canceled if there are insufficient registrations. The seminar is the fourth of its kind that the Medford police and building safety departments have sponsored since fall 1997. Janet Green, who owned rental housing before she started Quality Property Management in Medford in 1988, said the seminar provides a lot of useful information. "We do all we can do to get educated about different agencies and learn to do a good job of screening and placing tenants in a house or apartment," she said. "In the past 10 years, it seems necessary to be even more thorough with your screening," Green said. "Stacey has been good at teaching us what we should look for." Green said she has not encountered problems such as methamphetamine laboratories or manufacturing of the precursor chemicals for methamphetamine, a powerful but illegal stimulant, on her properties. But she acknowledged they are a growing problem within cities. Debbie Smith, an employee of Quality Property Management who took the seminar last spring, said cleaning up such illegal activities can cost landlords a great deal. And state law lets police fine owners and close down properties if landlords allow such illegal activities. "It's really true that the best method for dealing with those situations is prevention by screening tenants and checking what is going on," she said. Smith said the seminar also offered information about what landlords can do to comply with building safety codes and fire protection. Jim Kuntz, an inspector for the Housing Authority of Jackson County, said he presents information about what his agency can and cannot do to help landlords find reliable tenants and lower their vacancy rates. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA