Traverse City Record-Eagle

Garfield Township

May 22, 2009

Ordinance urges landlords to clean up

Violators could be fined $50 for first offense

BY BRIAN McGILLIVARY

TRAVERSE CITY -- Memo to Garfield Township property owners, particularly landlords: You have 90 days to cut the grass and clean up your sites.

So says a recently adopted township ordinance.

The new standard primarily is aimed at landlords for the township's estimated 2,000 rental apartments, where upkeep isn't always up to snuff, township officials said. The ordinance requires all multiple family dwellings of five apartments or more to register with the township and be inspected every two years.

Township Supervisor Chuck Korn said building officials, police officers, and firefighters have reported serious maintenance problems at some rental apartments.

"They said there were a lot of things that just weren't right, but there was nothing we could do about it," Korn said. "Now we can."

The township adopted the International Property Maintenance Code as the standard that must be met at all structures in the township, though only apartments and motels will regularly be inspected by the township building department.

Renters in single-family homes, duplexes and small apartment buildings can request an inspection under the ordinance, if a written complaint is filed.

The maintenance code covers a wide range of issues, from plumbing and electrical standards to requiring screens on windows and grass shorter than 10 inches.

Township Trustee Molly Agostinelli, a real estate agent, said some governance over rental units was needed.

"If you are a renter or live next to a rental, you'd like to have everybody have some standard," Agostinelli said. "You have to keep things cleaned up, that's the gist of it."

Failure to correct a violation is punishable by a $50 fine for the first offense, and rises to $400 for the fourth violation.

Traverse City has had a similar ordinance since 2000. No fines have been levied in that time, said Loyd Morris, the city's housing administrator.

"It is in the best interest of the landlord to abide by the rules," Morris said. "It helps keep the neighborhoods in decent condition and problem areas are nipped in the bud. We look closely at fire and safety hazards and that benefits everybody."

The ordinance was published Wednesday and takes effect in 90 days.

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