Anybody care to weigh in on the Ferguson bill passed on 10/11?
Ferguson (yes that Ferguson) just passed their version of a crime-free ordinance. Some of the new rules include:
- Continue to pay $50/yr for each rental property for a business "license"
- That license could be revoked or suspended if a crime or ordinance violation is committed on or near the property by the resident or their guests.
- Owners must undergo an eight-hour training course with police and fire department
- Owners must update the property to make them safer and at less risk for crime.
- All rental property owners must live within 50 miles of Ferguson or have a manager within 50 miles.
- The license can be suspended if the utility bills for two or more months go unpaid or if the utilities are not turned on within two weeks of them being shut off.
Just curious what others think of these additional requirements. For more details, check out St Louis Post Dispatch
FYI this is Florrisant, not Ferguson. I suspect it will be challenged in court and scaled back to some degree.
Florrisant does have a major problem with out of state investors buying and not maintaining section 8 housing. I believe this bill was meant to target those investors and not the honest landlord and I think that is evident in the amount of requirements that require the physical presence of the landlord.
That being said it does seem like they went a bit over the top.
Originally posted by @Perron Riley:
FYI this is Florrisant, not Ferguson. I suspect it will be challenged in court and scaled back to some degree.
I can't believe I screwed that up. Thanks for pointing out the error.
Hey all, Ferguson DOES have an anti-crime measure as well. I'm rehabbing my first investment property in that particular city, and am curious as to what it entails. When I finish up and apply for the occupancy inspection, I will be talking with them in detail about their ordinance. I'll be happy to share what I learn here.
Following up with you all. I spoke with the lady at Ferguson city hall who handles the inspections/payments/ scheduling. Her answer was surprisingly vague. I spoke with the code enforcer during the occupancy inspection on the property I just finished. He said owner/manager has to be within 20 miles of the property. There is a rental fee for each property he/she owns also. 50 bucks per year. Typical ordinances for clean exteriors/ rubbish etc. Owner pays for trash collection. 54 bucks every three months. Nothing about holding owner responsible for possible tenant crimes like I keep hearing.
Hope this helps everyone!
I didn't realize we had to pay for trash collection. My experiences have been similarly vague. We just did an occupancy inspection in Florissant today on a really nice house and holy crap, you'd think we were slumlords they way they treated us! I won't buy out there again. In the end, it'll hurt the area when honest investors leave in droves.
Does anyone know if the Florissant law also applies to Black Jack? I'm a potential out of state investor but would definitely have the property managed locally.
#2 Contractors Contributor
- Severna Park, MD
Requiring the owner to live within 20 miles ? I see a court challenge in their future
Originally posted by @Matthew Paul:
Requiring the owner to live within 20 miles ? I see a court challenge in their future
Owner/manager must live within 20 miles. It's a law that on the surface makes sense. But has negative consequences that aren't as apparent.
@Rhonda Shrum whats your thoughts about investing in St Charles?