Please Read Beth-McKee Huger’s letter on “Rental Property Problems” in today’s Greensboro News & Record: Here are a few excerpts with questions…

“Before, owners had little reason to comply with repair orders.

…owners of these properties…always assumed that others’ housing was substandard, not their own…

…substandard housing increases healthcare and disability costs…from housing related injuries and illness - $108 million for North Carolina children in 2007, a 13% increase from 2006…

.

Does substandard low income housing

increase rental property profits for landlords

by transferring low income renter health related costs to taxpayers?

If we return to a complaint driven system, the city will need the same amount of city funding to handle complaints, without the tools to gain compliance.

So if TREBIC’s lobbyist Marlene Sanford says

“we want to eliminate RUCO to save the city $547,000”

after promoting and advocating for about $1 billion of new City and County debt

along with the taxpayer funded TREBIC member Greensboro Partnership,

we shouldn’t believe her?

.

(TREBIC) The Triad Real Estate and Building Industry Coalition

.

If the Greensboro Partnership recieves public funds,

should the Greensboro Partnership fund special interest groups like TREBIC

with taxpayer money?

.

If the Greensboro Partnership is a TREBIC member,

and TREBIC wants to eliminate RUCO,

is the Greensboro Partnership advocating for more dead low income renters

with taxpayer money?

.

…tenants may not complain about the worst properties (because of intimidation)…
.

Why would a low income renter who might have their rent jacked up or be evicted

want to complain about mold that’s making their kids cough,

or empty fire extinguishers, or dead smoke detectors?

I insist that the city create a database to more effectively track RUCOs and violations, analyzing trends for re-inspections of problem properties.”

Why doesn’t the city have a database that tracks RUCO

and problem properties?
.

Beth-McKee Huger
Executive Director of the Greensboro Housing Coalition
Greensboro News & Record, printed version only

How is going from an inspection driven, to a complaint based system for RUCO,

not killing more people?

Friday, July 23, 2010