Fight against blight: new law attacks neglectful owners of property
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Jerome Jackson of Homewood's Operation Better Block at blighted row houses owned by a California company, RFS Investment LLC.
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As the head of a community organization working to improve living conditions in Homewood, Jerome Jackson has a big problem with landlords who buy cheap properties in the neighborhood and make no effort to fix them up.
"A house in Homewood could sell for less than $10,000, and a landlord could make as much as $1,000 a month renting several rooms in the home," said Mr. Jackson, CEO of Operation Better Block.
"They get all their money back in a year, and the rest is profit. But the issue is they put nothing into the property as far as cutting grass, painting, fixing windows or doors or making the property aesthetically pleasing," he said.
While Homewood may be among the worst examples of blight caused by irresponsible landlords in the Pittsburgh area, communities across the state have a powerful new tool to clean up run-down and vacant properties, thanks to a law that went into effect last week.
The Neighborhood Blight Reclamation and Revitalization Act allows cities and towns across Pennsylvania to go after the personal assets of people who own investment properties and do little to prevent them from becoming eyesores and health and safety hazards.
"We are definitely in favor of the city going after landlords' personal properties, especially those who are slumlords who profit on buying buildings in Homewood and put no money into the buildings," Mr. Jackson said. "We are going to use this law to try to turn Homewood around."
The ability to take action against irresponsible landlords is only one of the tools in the new law designed to give communities more power to clean up neglected properties and keep blight from spreading.
But it is considered to be the most powerful provision in the anti-blight law because much of the problem is caused by property owners who do not live in the run-down homes and very often do not even live in the state.
First Published May 4, 2011 12:00 am
