HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015 04-05 Problem Twin Cities landlords tough to track for tenants STAR TRIBUNE 2/11/2016 Problem Twin Cities landlords tough to track for tenants-StarTribune.com
HOME&GARDEN
Problem Twin Cities landlords tough to
track for tenants
By Jessie Van Berkel(http://www.startribune.com/jessie-van-berkel/280701532/)Star Tribune
APRIL 7,2015—1:35PM
The scent of cigarettes and rot hangs heavy in the South St.Paul home.Furry mold
grows from a bedroom ceiling.The bathroom sink has no pipe to catch the water.It
simply splashes into the cabinets below.
But Lisa Snidarich,who is going through a divorce,needed a place to live with her kids,
fast.So when William Bernier said he would clean up the home,she agreed to rent it for
about$1,200 a month.Three weeks later,little has changed and Snidarich said she's
living a nightmare.
Bernier,who is illegally renting the property,has neglected numerous other units around
the Twin Cities,according to property records,city citations and tenant hot line records.
Rental property owned by William Bernier
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Lisa Snidarich pulled back a cardboard panel
to reveal a broken window in her South St.Paul
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rental home owned by William Bernier.
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Source:County property records
C.J.Sinner&Jessie Van Berkel,Star Tribune
Snidarich had no idea.It is difficult to track what a landlord owns and where there have
been violations.As the population of renters grows—renter-occupied residences in the
metro area are up 14 percent over five years,according to 2013 census data—tenant
advocates say there needs to be a central resource for renters and cities to find and share
landlord information.
"There's all these things to screen tenants,right?Like if a landlord wants to get
background checks you can call and see where they've rented....But there's nothing like
that for landlords,"said Beth Kodluboy,director of tenant advocacy organization
HOME Line.
The onus for handling troublesome landlords is on tenants,who can take them to court,
or on individual cities.Most cities can only condemn or revoke a rental license for a
certain property.Minneapolis has taken it a step further with an ordinance preventing
landlords from having any rental licenses for five years after a certain number of
revocations and license cancellations.
But if one city takes away a landlord's rental license,the city next door might have no
idea.
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2/11/2016 Problem Twin Cities landlords tough to track for tenants-StarTribune.com
About six years ago,HOME Line tried to work with cities to get them to share basic
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information about landlords in their community.That attempt fell through,Kodluboy
said.
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It is time to try again,she said,noting that there's more political will to support renters,
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who occupy about 30 percent of the metro area's housing stock,according to 2013 census w v S
data.
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A troubling history ��
A landlord information network could have illuminated Bernier's problem properties. (http://stmedia.startribune.com/images/ows_1428284
He has a long history of dubious behavior,including two misdemeanors for failing to Snidarich stood near a pile of rubbish in her
provide home buyers with truth-in-sale-of-housing reports.The state revoked his real backyard that she said was left behind by
estate license in 2009 after years of troubling conduct.
previous tenants.It's one of several issues at th...
After that,Bernier,57,said he planned to focus on being a landlord.He now has at least
22 properties.Abatement and code violation records show some of them need attention.
"You want to know all the properties I have and all the properties I work on?You have
no idea how much work it is,"Bernier said in a phone interview.When asked how many
properties,he angrily told a reporter it was none of her business,and hung up.
A Maplewood house Bernier owns was deemed unfit for habitation in 2009.An
inspection letter said he had to provide electrical service and hot water,bring smoke
detectors to code and remove a propane tank in the basement.
There have been more than 30 complaints about a house at 985 Woodbridge St.in St.
Paul since Bernier owned it,said Robert Humphrey,spokesman for the city's
Department of Safety and Inspections.
"Files like this you usually see on large commercial buildings.This is a single-family
house,"Humphrey said."He doesn't seem to understand there are certain standards the
city expects from its landlords."
In 2003,St.Paul officials filed for a restraining order after employees felt threatened by
Bernier.Bernier said at the time that he was making observations,not threats.
South St.Paul problems
Bernier owns three properties in South St.Paul.He has licenses to rent two of them.It
took four warnings before he got a license at 220 4th Ave.N.,according to the city clerk.
Snidarich said she trusted Bernier when he said he would have a rental license for the
house at 40516th Ave.N.The city recently fined Bernier$500 for operating it as a rental
without a license.To get a license,an inspector must check the property.
Snidarich talked to South St.Paul Building Official Joe Heimkes about a week after the
family moved in.Heimkes said he told her to call back if improvements are not made.
`ryVe at least have to allow the landlord to make good on his promises to you,to finish �
up whatever he's going to do in there,"Heimkes said he told Snidarich. j
Bernier said he is"working like a dog to get the property in good shape for people to live �yy
in.,,
In the meantime,Snidarich's family said they feel unsafe around Bernier,who was
convicted of assault for hitting a client with a lockbox in 2004.They've called police
three times:two weeks ago when Bernier broke a kitchen window and left a threatening
voice mail and twice when he showed up yelling. ofi
(http://stmedia.startribune.com/images/ows 1428284
Snidarich is searching for a new home.But the tight rental market makes it difficult.
"If I'd have known all this before I moved in,I would never have moved in here," Lisa Snidarich stood in the living room of her
Snidarich said. rented home in South St.Paul.Due to bad wiring
in the kitchen,Snidarich and other tenants in th...
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