Sticker shock: Owners must display contact info To some in Charlotte’s rental-property industry, it’s a policy that just goes too far. Some say it would, in essence, turn owners of rental property into “second-class citizens” and that it might even force renters away from the Charlotte area. The police department, though, says it would help fight crime. Regardless of who’s right, the new policy, which requires a sticker containing the rental-property owner’s contact information, has become a sticky issue. The stickers are being rolled out as part of a policy, approved by the City Council last week, that requires all owners of Charlotte rental properties to register with the city – providing their business and personal contact information – as a means to help police battle crime at rentals. Rental-property owners protested the policy, but it made no difference; it cleared the council in a 9-2 vote. “We don’t put a sticker on the houses that get free meals,” he said. “We don’t put a sticker on those that are under Section 8 vouchers, but now we’re going to put a sticker on everyone that rents. “In some areas, that’s almost 50 percent of the people, and that part does bother me, about what that sticker is going to say.” The stickers will be proof that the property is registered with the city. They are supposed to be posted in the property’s business office, a common area or other conspicuous place that is accessible to residents at all times. The goal of the policy, according to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, which endorsed it, is to create a registry of all rental owners in the city so police can more effectively track down owners of rental properties. “We aren’t trying to be the rental police,” CMPD attorney Mark Newbold said. “We have an obligation to, at least, attempt to curtail the (criminal) activity.” Newbold said the police department is not attempting to interfere with the private sector but only trying to make the community safer. The police department claims the stickers would allow tenants to contact the owner of the property if a problem arises at a rental and allow police much easier access to the owner. “I don’t think that it (the sticker) makes anyone a second-class citizen,” Newbold said. “I think it is really just a red herring used by people in the industry.” Rental industry officials see it differently. They are skeptical of the new policy and wonder why the city needs them to submit contact information when the city should already have that in other city records. “Are they (the police) that much better at property management than property managers?” Lawing said. “Because they have become the property-management authority at this point.” One critic says the policy will cause people to reconsider owning rental property in Charlotte. “In the event we create additional risk and additional bureaucracy and additional burden in relation to owning rental property, what will happen is people will choose to own rental property elsewhere,” said Terrance Llewellyn, president of Llewellyn Development. The new policy revises one that went into effect in June 2010. Under the old policy, only those rental properties that fell into the 4 percent of most-problematic properties were required to register with CMPD along with paying a registration fee. Under the new policy, registration will be mandatory, regardless of whether a property has been the scene of criminal activity, and an administration fee will be charged once a property falls into the 4 percent of troublesome properties. The ordinance that spells out the policy changes does not list specific amounts for the fees. While the sticker requirement is among the most debated parts of the new policy, it’s certainly not the only aspect that has angered the rental industry. Ken Szymanski, executive director of the Greater Charlotte Apartment Association, thinks requiring all rental-property owners to register with the city makes no sense. For one, the city already has access to contact information for rental-property owners through the register of deed’s and assessor’s offices, he said. “We say, ‘Don’t invent a new system,’” he said. But the police department says that, while contact information is available, it is often not helpful. The problem, Newbold said, is that many times the owner is a corporation that gives a post office box as the primary address, making it difficult to contact that person when an issue arises. Police expect the mandatory registration program to help alleviate that problem. Despite being divided on nearly all aspects of the proposed ordinance, police and the rental industry have at least one thing they can agree on: the council-proposed review of the new policy on its one-year anniversary. “Absolutely, if it’s a program that doesn’t work, I’m all for taking it off the books,” Newbold said. Lawing called the one-year review good government. “I think you have to look at a lot of your policies and procedures and see if they’re still effective at this point,” he said. Either way, Lawing and Szymanski say they will register their properties. Lawing is responsible for around 2,600 units in the Charlotte area, and Szymanski owns a rental property in south Charlotte.
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