Rental properties that aren't up to code are being shut down as the Problem Properties Unit puts the pressure on negligent landlords.
Minneapolis has a message for negligent landlords: Fix up your properties or lose your privilege to rent.
This year, the city has revoked rental licenses from 31 properties owned by eight landlords - up from two revocations last year. Armed with new authority from the City Council, the city's Problem Properties Unit wants to keep up the pressure on landlords who repeatedly fail to bring their properties up to code.
"We're literally going to shut them down. Their mortgage won't go away, but their rental income will," said Janine Atchison, a district supervisor for the city's housing inspection services.
The crackdown increased as the Problem Properties Unit began enforcing an amended ordinance last year that says if a landlord gets two revocations, he or she can no longer hold a rental license for five years.
"Generally, when they reach this level of enforcement, chances are they are having problems at more than one property," Atchison said.
There are 17,000 rental properties in Minneapolis. Each one must have a license from the city.
A landlord gets three chances to avoid revocation. A first warning usually comes in a letter. After receiving a second, the landlord must submit a management plan and complete a workshop.
If a third letter arrives, the revocation process has begun. Landlords then have a chance to appear before the city's rental licensing board. The board could then refer the landlord to the City Council, which has the final say on revocation.
City leaders vow the actions will occur more frequently compared to the last five years, in which the number of revocations ranged from one to five.
"We're trying to reinforce what's already on the books," said Council Member Cam Gordon. "We want to make sure good landlords and tenants aren't at the mercy of bad ones."
Of the city's 31 rental license revocations this year, three owners - Scott Feyereisen of Hudson, Wis.; Jay Petsche of Buffalo, Minn., and Mei Jen Chen of Minneapolis - account for 27 of them, Atchison said.
None could be reached for comment.
Petsche had more than 100 housing code violations, including exposed wiring, unstable foundations and cracked windows.
Before Chen's license was revoked, she, along with her husband, Seng Sung Chiang were already facing violations regarding properties on the 1000 block of 24th Av. SE.
Besides having a back porch without guardrails, cracked stairs and several electrical and plumbing issues, they tried to pack in tenants by improperly converting their properties into boarding houses by turning living and dining rooms into multiple rooms, Atchison said.
Several fire codes also were violated as extension cords were used to provide tenants with separate electrical and heating usage, according to Paul Kjornes, a longtime landlord and member of the city's rental licensing board.
All four of her properties are now vacant.
Feyeresien lost his rental license in Minneapolis for various reasons, including two condemnations of boarded-up buildings and unpaid property taxes and assessments. He's currently trying to sell his nearly dozen properties, his attorney said.
"They're not in the most pristine parts of town and a lot of the tenants weren't nice to him," Feyereisen's attorney, Jaren Johnson, said Thursday. "And the rental market went south, so he had a lot of vacancies. It was hard to keep up."
That leaves Kim Cooper, a single mother of two, looking for a new place to live. The city told her Thursday that she has until Jan. 31 to get out of the three-bedroom house on Sheridan Av. N. she rents from Feyereisen.
Cooper became suspicious when city inspectors kept stopping by her home in October.
Cooper, 28, lists faulty wiring, an uneven basement structure and a problem with mice. A cat and mousetraps stopped that a couple of months ago.
While Cooper complained about repairs to two property managers, she never met Feyereisen. "I can't even tell you what he looks like," she said.
Her search for a new home is underway. "At least we'll have a place to stay during the holidays," Cooper said. "But I really didn't see this coming."
On Wednesday, Feyereisen and Petsche were scheduled to respond to the revocation of their rental licenses during the city's public safety and regulatory services committee meeting.
Neither showed up.
"Well, I guess it should come as no surprise," Council Member Don Samuels said. "They've been absent all along."
That's not uncommon, Atchison said.
"For whatever reason, some owners just give up," Atchison said. "They've probably milked the property for all it's worth. Then they either sell it, close it up, or walk away."
Terry Collins • 612.673.1790
