Confront Problem Landlords

February 21 2006

Find a building in Hartford in disrepair or with drug dealers hanging out on the porch, and chances are good the building is owned by someone who lives out of town, often out of state.

Landlords who fail to screen tenants or maintain their properties have been a millstone around Hartford's neck for decades. Even one poorly kept building can bring down property values and detract from the quality of life of an otherwise functional street. Neighborhood activists in every part of the city complain that absentee landlords are among their worst problems.

This problem threatens to fester. In the past two years, the city has attracted a large influx of out-of-state investors, many of whom paid top dollar for Hartford apartment buildings. Some do a good job keeping their buildings up. Some do not, either because they don't have the money or because they are just trying to resell the building for a quick profit.

This is a reason to support Mayor Eddie Perez's homeownership program. A city full of rental buildings is a target for speculators. That aside, the city must insist that every residential building be maintained at a safe and habitable level.

There are some positive steps underway. For the past two years, the neighborhood group Hartford Areas Rally Together has had a "problem properties campaign," even taking city officials on bus tours to see blighted properties. At HART's initiative, the city is redoing its anti-blight ordinance, which can mean daily fines for owners who don't repair buildings.

In the late 1990s, the city foreclosed on 450 empty buildings and then stopped the program. Officials are considering starting it again, and they should. The last time, they were able to demolish some ill-placed or unsalvageable structures and get buildings that could be saved back on the market.

The city just hired a new building inspector, but that brought the total number of inspectors to only five. They respond as best they can to complaints, but the city could probably use more manpower. This is the kind of problem that needs relentless 24/7 enforcement. Mr. Perez has to get the people he needs to do it.

Copyright 2006, Hartford Courant