ALOC NEWS
| August 14 , 2000 | Associated
Landlords of the Cumberland Area ALOC Phone (301) 759-0530 P.O. Box 1867 |
Vol. 6, Issue 8 |
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MDE Fines Over the past year or so we have reported many instances of landlords being fined for failure to register their rental units with the Maryland Department of the Environment Lead Paint Poisoning program. A number of local landlords have been hit with these fines including some past and present ALOC members. Milt Sarver, a long time ALOCmember, had the honor of being nailed by the MDE for failing to register and he is facing some pretty hefty fines. He has talked numerous times with ALOC President JeffHutter regarding this situation, trying to come up with a way to decrease the fines. In September Milt will be attending a hearing with the MDE to bring this to a conclusion. Any landlords who have had dealings with the MDE and or have been fined by them should contact Milt directly at 30 1- 777-0087. His mailing address is 745 Dale Ave. Cumberland, MD 21502. ALOC will be forwarding a letter to Speaker Taylor regarding these fmes asking for leniency. We understand that he has helped to get some local fines reduced. HUD Changes As we mentioned in the past there are many changes coming with the HUD program starting in September. We have attached copies of multiple reports that we have obtained from Alfred Singer in Baltimore that provide more details. We have been in touch with Joyce Sine at the Cumberland Housing Assistance office and she has indicated that she is working on getting information out to local landlords regarding the BUD changes. Apparently other HUD subsidized housing operations in Maryland, particularly Baltimore, have been getting the infonnation much quicker than the rural parts of the state. The changes center around two important areas. The first is the combining together of the Voucher and certificate program. This will eliminate the rent reasonableness test many of us have had to deal with and instead uses a housing quality standard. As we mentioned before this is a rather complicated and you should contact BUD directly for more details. |
The most troublesome part of the new HUD regulations involves lead paint problems. For the past few years all that was required was to hand out the EP A booklets and sign off on some forms. This will all change come the end of September. HUD subsidized housing that has any children under 6 residing or being watched by the tenant will subject the landlord/owner to some pretty harsh rules. If at any time during routine inspections, chipping or peeling paint is found, the landlord will be required to have the property checked by a lead risk assessor to determine what action needs to be taken to correct the situation. Exact details are included on the attached papers, but the bottom line is, it will not be cheap to correct paint problems. The cost of the risk assessor, visual inspectors and the possible costs of relocating a tenant while work is being done could easily make this program economically impossible to handle. Landlord/owners may want to consider whether this program is worth the hassle. Please keep in mind that if you wish to exit the program you will need to give your existing HUD tenants at least 60 days notice. Considering how close the end of September is there isn't much time left. After you have reviewed the attached documents you may want to consider writing to your congressmen and senators to let them know what you think of the changes to this program. If you are a HUD landlord you must read this information carefullyas the changes can cost you a lot of money if you are not prepared! For those with access to the Internet, HUD has its own website www.hud.gov/lea/ which contains complete details on these changes as well as other information. September Meeting As
mentioned in our last newsletter an instruction sheet regarding
evictions is being prepared that will walk the landlord through
the failure to pay rent process. Sample forms will be included
so that even the novice will be able |
Maryland Property
Owners Notes
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Also attached to the HUD infonnation is the 2000 General Assembly Bill Summary. Please read this carefully as some bills were passed while others were not. If you need further infonnation on any particular bills you should contact your local Delegate for a complete copy of the bills. They are also available on the Internet. A brief report on the recent activities of the Lead Commission is also attached. The City of Cumberland now has a new administration in place and already we can see some changes in the works. A number of committees are forming to address all kinds of issues. Any ALOC members interested in serving on a committee should contact Ed Hedrick or Lee Fiedler . Don't forget to register you units with the City of Cumberland. MDE Registration is also a must and if you have managed to get along this long without being registered, you are certainly on borrowed time. If you need registration forms call the MDE at 410-631-3934 for information. |
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Leases and other Documents The Leases and other forms have been upgraded to reflect Law changes made in recent years and are available now.ALOC has
available leases, rental applications and tenant checklists
for sale, at cost, to members. The cost for each item is as
follows: These forms are kept at Jeff Hutter's office, TWR Comm. at 117-119 Valley Street. Any paid member can stop by and pick up whatever they need, however we ask that you call first with your order so that the forms can be ready and waiting for you. Please
call at least 24 hours in advance as these are made to order. |
ALOC
Officers
J. Jeffrey Hutter President Rose
Selby Vice President J. Jeffrey Hutter Treasurer Board of Directors Henry
Holzshu |
|
Thought for the Month Success
seems to be largely a matter of William Feather |
