Columbus OH City Council considers limiting Security deposit

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Columbus OH City Council considers limiting Security deposit

Michael K GallagherBusiness Member
Real Estate Agent · Columbus OH · Member since 2018 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes

Just a heads up to all those investors in Columbus OH, if you do not already know there is a measure going to city council that there was a community meeting on last night.  The basics of the measure are as follows...

- Landlords will not be able to denny tenants for source of income, so you will be required to accept Section 8, Social Security Etc.

- Landlord will be able to deny them for amount of income, so income multiple may still be used to weed out tenants.  

- There will be a limit on security deposit equal to 1/2 of a months rent.

I'll be calling city council today to express my opinion on the matter, and I encourage any other Cbus Landlords and investors to do the same.  This is one of the best investment cities in the country in my humble opinion and the lawmakers need to hear from the people doing this day in and day out to keep it that way.

Cheers, 

[email protected]614-362-2231
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Alex Heidenreich
Investor · Columbus, OH · Member since 2020 · 55 posts · 64 votes
5y

1/2 a months rent?? Do these people have any idea how much even small repair jobs cost? 

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  • Alex Heidenreich
    Investor · Columbus, OH · Member since 2020 · 55 posts · 64 votes
    5y

    1/2 a months rent?? Do these people have any idea how much even small repair jobs cost? 

    2Reply
  • Remington LymanBusiness Member
    Real Estate Agent · Columbus, OH · Member since 2017 · 6k+ posts · 7k+ votes
    5y
    Originally posted by @Michael K Gallagher:

    Just a heads up to all those investors in Columbus OH, if you do not already know there is a measure going to city council that there was a community meeting on last night.  The basics of the measure are as follows...

    - Landlords will not be able to denny tenants for source of income, so you will be required to accept Section 8, Social Security Etc.

    - Landlord will be able to deny them for amount of income, so income multiple may still be used to weed out tenants.  

    - There will be a limit on security deposit equal to 1/2 of a months rent.

    I'll be calling city council today to express my opinion on the matter, and I encourage any other Cbus Landlords and investors to do the same.  This is one of the best investment cities in the country in my humble opinion and the lawmakers need to hear from the people doing this day in and day out to keep it that way.

    Cheers, 

     How do they plan on regulating this? What happens to all of my tenants that have already paid me a full month's rent of security deposits? I hope Columbus City Council plans on covering the other half.

    [email protected]614-541-8475Podcast Guest on Show My Job Laid Me Off, So I Replaced My Salary with Rentals
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  • Adam Martin
    Rental Property Investor · Member since 2020 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    5y

    Cincinnati already has a version of this where you have to give tenants the choice of options if they can't pay the deposit up front. You can either take 1/2 a month, installments of a full month over no less than 6 months, or a rental security insurance.  I feel laws similar to this are going to be more prevalent in the future with the goal of lowering the financial barrier to housing and it will work in that front as you won't have to come up with as much up front to move which makes it easier financially.  On the flip side though security deposits are used to help mitigate risk and if you can lower your risk with a higher deposit you may be tempted to take chances you otherwise wouldn't and give people another chance.  Really all you are doing is making it harder if not impossible for marginal tenants to find housing because landlords will raise standards and take lesser risks, especially in hot markets.  

    2Reply
  • Brandon Wells
    Property Manager · Indianapolis, IN · Member since 2018 · 136 posts · 71 votes
    5y

    @Michael K Gallagher They have been talking about this for a few years now which has in turned caused an increase in popularity of alternative options.  Depending on your unit count, E-Premium is a great option.  If you don't have that many units, I would recommend looking into Rhino.

    Side Note: Although Columbus in rapidly growing, the local government makes it really hard on owners of multifamily assets.  The amount of hoops you have to jump through to do anything there is mind boggling.

    1Reply
  • Zeke Liston
    Real Estate Agent · Columbus, OH · Member since 2018 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    5y

    This is ridiculous, let us know what you find out. 

    1Reply
  • Peter TverdovBusiness Member
    Developer · New Brunswick, NJ · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    5y

    Really scary how big government types are acting all over the country. Good luck with that.

    [email protected]732-289-3823
    1Reply
  • Account Closed
    Investor · Columbus, OH · Member since 2017 · 861 posts · 1k+ votes
    5y
    Originally posted by @Brandon Wells:

    @Michael K Gallagher They have been talking about this for a few years now which has in turned caused an increase in popularity of alternative options.  Depending on your unit count, E-Premium is a great option.  If you don't have that many units, I would recommend looking into Rhino.

    Side Note: Although Columbus in rapidly growing, the local government makes it really hard on owners of multifamily assets.  The amount of hoops you have to jump through to do anything there is mind boggling.

     Curious, could you elaborate more on how Columbus govt is hard on multifamily? I am in the noncommercial space (4 units per building and below) and haven't tripped over hoops yet. 

    1Reply
  • Brandon Wells
    Property Manager · Indianapolis, IN · Member since 2018 · 136 posts · 71 votes
    5y

    I am referring to their permit process vs other cities. They nickel and dime the entire process. @Nicky Reader

    1Reply
  • Peter Lohmann
    Property Manager · Columbus, OH · Member since 2012 · 309 posts · 275 votes
    5y

    I testified at the hearing last week against this security deposit nonsense. Terrible policy.

    1Reply
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