Landlord Registration Considered

The Board of Directors met on Tuesday night, holding a public hearing about the proposed landlord registration ordinance.  The proposal being pushed by the Republicans on the Board would require absentee landlords to place their name, address, and contact telephone number on a registry so that they could be contacted if necessary.  With quality of life issues on the docket this month, the Republican Directors are serious about combating blight in Manchester.  Dilapidated buildings, be they residential, commercial, or industrial, hurt community morale, make our Town less attractive to prospective employers and residents, and serve as a drag on property values.  A landlord registry, particularly focused at those landlords who don’t live in Manchester, will give the Town new tools for contacting owners when their buildings aren’t up to snuff.

The Hartford Courant had an excellent article on the subject yesterday which you should read in its entirety.  The highlights:

“Manchester resident David Carlson called the proposal “one of the greatest ideas to come out of this office in the last 20 years.”

The best exchange of the evening, however, occurred when Attorneys Joel Janenda and Barry Botticello spoke before the Board of Directors.  Mr. Scott Aiken responded to their commentary quite effectively. 

Joel Janenda, a lawyer representing two landlords in town, spoke against the proposal.“If your focus is to deal with blight in the community, then focus on enforcement. You already have a property maintenance code,” Janenda said. The proposal “is not a good idea, it’s misdirected.”

Barry Botticello, another lawyer representing two landlords in town, said the registration process would create more paperwork for landlords.

. . .

“Scott Aiken, a landlord who lives in the building which he rents, said he was in favor of the ordinance.“I have a really hard time with people crying that this is going to be a burden when they could afford to hire a lawyer to speak for them,” Aiken said. “I think filling out one additional form isn’t going to be the straw that broke the camel’s back.”