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Page 8, AC Phoenix, March 1991 PHOENIX OPINIONS-EDITORIALS Is Legal Aid Encouraging Black Tenants To Act Irresponsibly? From its very incep tion, the Legai Aid So ciety has championed the causes of the down- trodded. It has ailowed those with meager re sources the abitity to have legal representa tion equal to that of those with ample re sources. The Legal Aid Society has been a great ally of civil and human rights. It's attorneys have of fered expert advice to the many clients that have come through its doors. Without this or ganization the rights of many blacks would have been infringed upon. Yet, recent local de velopments have caused many people to ask questions about this organization relative to the strong hand it now holds in landlord/tenant disputes. Several trends have begun to surface locally that have many real estate in vestors at an impasse. Some have become vocal in their disputes with the non-profit or ganization. A few have even gone as far as to say that blacks and other people are being taught to act irrespon sibly as a result of the strong advocacy of the Legal Aid Society in ‘housing reform". Upon first glance, some of these asser tions might seem ludi crous to the casual ob server. But to those with a vested interest in the course of local housing trends, there are ques- Th« AC Pho*nix is published moniily by Associate Consdi- ants, Uk. located at 2S23 Patter son Avenue. Winabn-Salem, W.C. 27105. The phone number is (919) 727-1171. The pobBsher of AC Phoenix reserves the ripht todelete objec tionable words or phrases from ail material to be published and the right to reject any advertising. No pan of this publication may be reproduced without the writ ten consent of the pubBsher. Information witNn this publi cation is deemed reliable, but the publisher makes no guarantees of accuracy. Opinions expressed reflect the views of contributors, not necessarily those of tfie pub lisher. ' •***■****'** lions that need to be answered. Within the last six months this situation has really taken form. It desire to provide hous ing for the remaining portion of our society. But the reality is that only the private sector viduals want to get as much income from their investment as possible. The picture painted by many people of the Viewpoint By Rodney Sumler Phoenix Publisher started when a couple who had inherited rental property was severely can really take up the slack. Looking at It from a to Are these well-trained attorneys putting notches in their legal belts or are they genuinely concerned about the general welfare of the people they represent? fined for accepting rental payments from individuals who were found to be living in ‘unsanitary’ conditions. Since that time, the ar gument has continued to escalate until now, some investors are seeking to get out of the business. Sure there are in stances in which land lords have asked tenants to pay rent for shoddy and squalor liv ing quarters. Sure there are cases where the city’s housing codes department has found numerous violations in rental property. But what happens when an individual destroys the property that belongs to an investor. And how does the investor re coup his losses. Quite frankly, some one has to provide housing for those members of our com munity who cannot af ford to purchase a place of their own. The federal and local governments have done an outstand ing job of providing af fordable housing for many members of the community. Still a void does exist. Someone has to fill that void. Some people or groups 'might ■have'the altruisfie’. tally economic view then, investors are at tempting to maximize the return on their in vestments. That also means then that indi landlord, particularly in East Winston, is that of a person wanting to do lit tle for the tenant while receiving as much as possible in rent each month. In some cases that very well could be true. But if an individual has an investment of $25-50,000, they're going to make sure that the property doesn't lose its value over a pe riod of time. With the recent legal maneuvering by Legal Aid, many landlords find it difficult to even collect monthly rental pay ments. The situation has forced many in vestors to band to gether into a group, Forsyth County Prop erty Owners Associa tion, to support the rights of the rental property owner. From an objective standpoint, the situation of the property owners does merit considera tion. Who goes out to give the property a clean bill of health and how do you monitor the amount of abuse in flicted upon property by tenants? There really is nothing in place to monitor that situation. On the other side of the coin, why would an individual allow the property that he or she rents to become run down? Some landlords say that when code viola tions are found, the tenants believe they will not be forced to pay rent. So in some cases, they deliberately do damage to their housing units. By the same to ken, tenants say that landlords expect unfair rental payments for In ferior units. The answer to these questions are beyond the scope of this writing. Flowever, we should look at the situation that results from these problems. Do the members of the Legal Aid Society have a vested interest in the community, particu larly East Winston. Are these well-trained attor neys putting notches in Letters To The Editor Give Investors Chance To Provide Housing I am a concerned black property owner; concerned about property particularly in the black community. There are hundreds of houses being boarded up because inveslor/owners are not willing to reinvest more money in property that is continuously being destroyed and because ot the increasing amount ot lawsuits against them. Although most tenants will take care of their leased unit, there is a small percentage of tenants that is bounced from property to property with no concept or willingness to take care of property. The court sys tem can be used to avoid paying a property owner by simply destroying the property. There is a message being sent out into the com munity - that it is alright to tear up property or alright to withhold rent and that eviction can be delayed. Many tenants know the law better than many attorneys. These acts are creating a housing crisis in our com munities. Being a property owner, I can see the city of Win ston-Salem with tax-paid dollars becoming the largest property owner in Forsyth County. I would like to see churches and support groups invest some money toward solutions to not only housing but social problems as well. SirKe I have been actively speaking out on housing problems in the last tew years, I have found it to be a very touchy subject and very tew people in the political arena will tackle this area. It’s an area that many people would like to bury. The city is spending a great deal of money in East -'•’WrhStOhM’WOaid-’ltkc.to see. the city otter incentives ’ TV* 4 4 %V4 4 4 4 i 4‘4'i‘4 to Investors to regenerate interest. I would like to see an arbitration board set up to settle disputes between landlords and tenants. Fines collected from landlords could be pooled info a fund to offset the cost ot repairs in a dispute settle ment. This would be attractive to an investor and the boards would start coming down. The qualifications and requirements for rehabilita tion fund are very rigid. The program should be studied, revised and based on the potential prof- rtability of the property. No one knows the problems in a community better than the people who live there. We have a good Board of Alderman and un less we tell them what is going on or make them aware ot the problem they will never know how to help us. We must show interest in our community or no one else will. Winston-Salem has been hit hard with em ployment problems and layoffs largely from RJ Reynolds. AT&T and Piedmont Airlines. It is quite common these days to find more than one family in a single household. We should write our Senators, Congressman and Mayor requesting more housing assistance. There are cities or areas where Section 8 certificates are available and should be appropriated to cities like Winston-Salem where nrwre than 3,000 people are sitting on a waiting list for housing assis tance. Our representatives should be informed about all matters. Thomas H. Burns Hometown Properties, Inc. •4V44i4 4'%‘4V»
The AC Phoenix News (Winston-Salem, N.C.)
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March 1, 1991, edition 1
8
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