LAKEMORE: The rental property was in such bad shape that firefighters fell through rotted flooring as they worked to make their way to the person suffering a medical ailment.
The home’s only toilet sat in the middle of the living room when officials arrived to turn the water on for a new tenant.
“The landlord actually moved people into a property that didn’t have any running water,” said Lakemore Mayor Rick Justice.
In an effort to curb a proliferation of substandard rental properties, the village is looking at adopting a rental property maintenance code to expand the community’s jurisdiction over blighted properties. It would also give village officials the legal authority to enforce the rules.
The legislation first reviewed by council members Monday night will also require landlords to register their properties by Jan. 15 each year and pay a fee of $30 per single-family structure, $45 per structure that has two to six units and $60 per structure with seven or more rental units.
Officials say the code would set standards needed to ensure all rental units are safe, sanitary and free from fire and health hazards. The measure gives the village the authority to inspect rental units.
Vacant rental properties must also be registered and in compliance, according to the proposed rules. A public hearing over the new rules will take place May 20.
Justice said he believes and Village Council members agree that they must take steps to stem the tide of opportunistic landlords who buy property at bargain basement prices then rent them out as is — whether they are habitable or not.
More than 25 percent of all Lakemore’s housing stock — 320 of 1,300 households — are rentals, some with multiple units. As many as a third of these properties are unlivable, Justice said.
There is a significant number of properties in the village, Justice said, that have been purchased by people the mayor calls “disconnected” landlords.
“They slap on a coat of paint and rent them out to people who don’t have other housing options,” said Justice.
Neighboring Springfield Township has its share of blighted properties, but not to the same degree as Lakemore, said trustee Dean Young.
“It may not be as acute in Springfield, but everything the mayor says about Lakemore applies to us,” Young said.
Justice and Young, who represent the communities surrounding Springfield Lake in southeast Summit County, say they are committed to finding solutions to stop landlords who prey on the poor and low housing values.
Over the past year, the men have been reviewing similar legislation from a half-dozen communities, including Akron and Barberton, with village Law Director Becky Doherty, who authored the piece of legislation.
During the recession, investors would seek out property owners in financial trouble, get them to sign a quitclaim deed, then negotiate with the mortgage holder for a short sale, Young explained.
“I don’t find the banks are partners in solving the distressed property problem,” he said.
The blighted neighborhoods are a haven for crime, said Springfield police Capt. Kenneth Ray, Lakemore’s former police chief and a liaison officer for the two communities.
Use of drugs, particularly heroin, is on the rise and fosters domestic violence, assaults and fights, said Ray.
“We have so many drug busts that it isn’t even newsworthy any longer,” he said.
Gambling in Internet cafes that have proliferated in the area has also attracted a criminal element, Ray said.
“All the businesses that are drawn to these areas prey on poor people,” he said.
Efforts are already under way to turn around the village’s center along the lakefront.
Justice said he also suspects there are a number of home businesses that are not paying income taxes as the 3,000-member community looks to climb out of its fiscal crisis.
On Monday, a vacant, dilapidated property was demolished at the owner’s request using funds from Lakemore’s $147,200 share of Moving Ohio Forward grant money. Four more properties are currently slated to be torn down and another 35 are candidates for demolition.
If council approves the new rules for rentals, interior and exterior inspections will be required when the unit is first registered, then every two years after that. An inspection will be required whenever a rental property is sold.
Any violations found will have to corrected within 90 days. Failure to make the needed repairs will be subject to $100 for a first offense; $500 for a second offense and $1,000 for a third offense.
Kathy Antoniotti can be reached at 330-996-3565 or kantoniotti@thebeaconjournal.com.