Gene Knight has bought, rented and sold dozens of properties in Pittsburgh over decades, but after City Council voted yesterday for more rules and punishments, the Carnegie-based landlord said he'll buy no more.

"I'll do my business outside of the city," he said. "The city has a total vendetta against landlords."

Not so, said council members, who explained they're just trying to teach residents to respect each others' quality of life.

They gave final approval to Councilman Bruce Kraus' measure compelling landlords to get tenants to initial a list of rules on when and how to put out trash.

They also added Councilwoman Tonya Payne's amendment to fine building owners when occupants break those rules. Fines would range from $50 for first-time violators to $500 for repeat offenders. "When you sock people in the pocket," she said, "they become compliant."

Or they leave, which is what Mr. Knight said might happen.

Managing city property "is not worth the aggravation," he said. "Are they going to fine or put in jail all of those little old ladies who are landlords? ... If they think there's a lot of abandoned properties now, wait two years."

Mr. Knight wasn't thrilled last year when council passed a rental registration mandate, which compels him to send in forms and $12 checks for each of his 16 city units by April 1.

"Before you know it, it'll be $50," he predicted.

"I think it's a waste of time and money," said Dorothy Forsythe, a Monroeville-based landlord who owns a dozen apartments in the South Side.

Some landlords also were steamed last year when council and Mayor Luke Ravenstahl passed an as-yet-unused ordinance allowing the city to bill them for public safety services after their tenants are arrested or cited for certain violations three times in two months. The trash rules stoked their anger.

"You already made me a vigilante policeman," said John P. Kostelac, president of Landlord Service Bureau Inc. In fining building owners for tenant trash violations, "again, we're holding landlords responsible for something that they did not perform themselves."

Mr. Kraus said requiring that landlords notify tenants of the rules aims to make fines less likely -- and more enforceable.

"If [landlords and tenants] choose noncompliance after they've been informed, then you have a much stronger argument for fining," he said.

The only council member to vote "no" was Patrick Dowd, who said that better enforcement of existing rules is the key.

"I don't sign a document every time I get into a car ... saying that I promise to obey the speed limit," he said.

Mr. Ravenstahl, who can sign or veto the legislation, was cautiously supportive Monday. "Hopefully, it's not overburdensome for the landlords ... I think it is something that, if done correctly, can achieve the goal and [result in] a cleaner city."

Mr. Kostelac vowed to pool landlord resources and hire a lawyer to counter any enforcement. "It's time we fight this stuff in the courts," he said.