St. Paul ordinance seeks to educate rookie landlords on rental issues

Some are finding opportunity in the foreclosure crisis -- homes go vacant and prices fall, which can make for an investment opportunity.

But the rental property game isn't for everyone, and first-time landlords can find themselves in trouble without knowing their rights, the rights of tenants or how to deal with illegal activity.

A proposed ordinance in St. Paul, up for final adoption today, aims to educate rookie landlords by requiring them to take a class in order to rent out a building. The training focuses on rights and responsibilities, recognizing criminal activity, understanding city and police procedures and finding resources.

Other metro-area cities, including St. Louis Park and Plymouth, have some form of crime-free training requirement.

"If you're going to spend $50,000 or $100,000 on a building, I think you could take a day to go through some training to protect your investment," said Council Member Lee Helgen, who sponsored the proposal.

St. Paul had 2,200 vacant buildings, the majority of them residential, late last year. In Helgen's Fifth Ward, there are more than 400 vacant residential buildings. He said there's been a steady rise in people buying those buildings and trying their hand as landlords, and he expects a bigger increase in the next two years.

He says his office as well as police have been dealing with tenant-landlord problems that could be solved with some education before the lease is signed.

It's true that in some communities the economy has led to more single-family homes being converted to rentals, said Lisa Peilen, director of municipal affairs for the Minnesota Multi-Housing Association.

Her association is, for the most part, on board with the proposed St. Paul ordinance. It takes issue with two provisions in the ordinance: One that requires the landlords to have taken the class within the past two years and another that requires property owners to complete the training.

The two-year restriction is unnecessary because housing laws don't change rapidly, Peilen said. Not all owners live in the area, so it would make more sense to require day-to-day managers to take the training, she added.

At least two district councils have been supportive of the ordinance.

Leslie McMurray, executive director of the District Five Planning Council, which covers the Payne-Phalen neighborhood, wrote a letter saying her staff and neighborhood leaders frequently work on nuisance problems caused by a property owner's failure to write a proper lease or maintain the property.

"Nuisance property conditions or failure to promptly handle tenant issues can destroy the quality of life for surrounding residents," she wrote.

When problems occur, the district council and police are often called. "In these costly interventions, we too often hear landlords state that they 'simply did not know' how to best provide for safe, maintained housing or how to properly screen their tenants," McMurray wrote.

Helgen hopes his ordinance reduces those interventions.

If approved, the ordinance would take effect in March.

Chris Havens • 612-673-4148