One landlord said to me, "No landlord sets out to be a slumlord."  I say that is a cop-out.  A landlord becomes a slumlord by neglecting the property, by neglecting the tenants, by giving preference to section 8 tenants over working folks, and by overlooking criminal and illegal tenants.  None of those are involuntary actions.

It is absolutely critical for the future of our Village to take a hard line against slumlording. We should test our limits. 

My compliments to Trustee Bulthuis for his efforts on behalf of mandatory Crime-Free Multi-Housing.  Trustee Bulthuis, Manager Niemann, and others among us continue to work with State Rep Dennis Reboletti to help pass HR2916.

HR2916 would allow non-home-rule units like Villa Park to mandate provisions of Crime-Free Multi-Housing.  Some of our landlords already follow CFMH principles, but the slumlords do not, and chronic crime in their properties is the result.

Believe it or not, the Illinois Association of Realtors is against letting us do this.  The IAR fears "onerous" restrictions passed already by some home rule municipalities.  Here's a direct quote from the IAR via Jeff Metzger:

- The House Local Government Committee narrowly approved House Bill 2916 on a roll call vote of 6-5-0 this week and sent the bill to the full House for their consideration. This bill STRONGLY OPPOSED by the IAR would give ALL counties and municipalities unlimited authority to license and regulate landlords. Based on some of the onerous requirements, restrictions and fees some home rule municipalities have imposed in their landlord regulatory ordinances, the IAR is extremely concerned with expanding this unfettered authority to non-home rule units. PLEASE CONTACT YOUR REPRESENTATIVE AND APPRISE THEM OF OUR OPPOSITION AND WATCH FOR A CALL TO ACTION ON THIS LEGISLATION NEXT WEEK. This bill is sponsored by Representative Dennis Reboletti.

Link: http://ranwcgovernmentaffairs.blogspot.com/2008/04/iar-quorum-call_11.html