Unlicensed rental properties will face stiffer city penalties

Brooklyn Park city officials want landlords to know they are serious about cracking down on properties without rental licenses.

After months of discussion about how much to raise fines, the City Council unanimously voted Monday to immediately increase the penalties for dozens of violations, from renting without a license to not taking out the garbage.

But the biggest point of concern for the council is the number of landlords who refuse to renew or get rental licenses in the first place. The fine will go up from $150, the same cost of a rental license, to a graduated late fee, which could run $2,000 after 30 days.

"If you want to have a rental property, it's a business and there are guidelines you have to follow," said Council Member Mark Mata.

Brooklyn Park has 1,500 single-family homes licensed for rental, but City Engineer Gary Brown estimates there are probably 300 to 400 more the city doesn't know about. This fall, Brown hired a part-time employee to seek out these landlords. The city has also had an increasing number of landlords who didn't renew their licenses this year but are still renting -- 65, up from a handful last year. These cases require legal action that city officials want the defiant landlords, not residents, to pay for.

"The city has spent a lot of money last year and this year to help neighbors feel safe in their own neighborhoods," Mata said. "It shouldn't be the residents of Brooklyn Park paying more taxes just to keep up their neighborhoods."

Unlicensed homes have been identified as a key factor in rising crime in Brooklyn Park neighborhoods. This summer, the city instituted the Neighborhood Action Program (NAP), which increases cooperation between law enforcement and code enforcement and licensing inspectors to make sure one house doesn't deteriorate enough to affect the quality of the neighborhood.

Council Member Mike Trepanier said at Monday night's City Council meeting that the city needs to focus on getting long-term compliance from landlords. "This is a carrot and a stick," he said of the increasing fines. "If you respond sooner, you're not gonna get hit."

This year, the city charged one local homeowner with renting two properties without a license. In October, the homeowner was convicted and ordered to correct the code violations at his properties and update his license by Dec. 1. Brown said since the homeowner hasn't completed the work, he could now be facing jail time. "We're not messing around," Brown said. "If you come in now, it's $250, but if you let it go, it's $2,000."