Posted on 10/15/2005 8:25:58 PM PDT by Lorianne
Landlords in the New Orleans area say they have thousands of apartments that could be rented to meet the crying need for housing in the region, but executive orders by Gov. Kathleen Blanco are preventing them from taking the legal steps to free up the space.
The problem has become a hot-button issue in the business community, which is groping for housing options for employees and families willing to move back into the area.
Several apartment managers say they have waiting lists of hundreds of people seeking a place to live.
"Government officials continue to report on the housing shortage while failing to acknowledge the hundreds and hundreds of apartments that stand vacant or in need of repairs, yet remain inaccessible to landlords due to the governor's order," said Suzanne Rouse, a manager at Tonti Management, a Metairie firm.
Blanco spokesman Roderick Hawkins said the governor could amend her executive order or that the state Supreme Court could resolve the issue.
(Excerpt) Read more at nola.com ...
More and more this woman seems to be a menace to society
Since when does a governor have the power to tell people what to do with their property?
When all this is over, I want to see a multitude of LA politicians and civil "servants" sued or prosecuted for civil rights violations.
An "emergency" is NO EXCUSE for rights violations.
maybe she can hold anohter press conference and start blubbering. That should help the situation.
But Jesse Jackson said it is the federal govt. And everyone is blaming Fema for everything involved in housing. When all those stories came up about the cruise ships the media kept asking why not have them housed in apartments.
Never mind that crazy governor blocking everything. It is all Bush and Fema's fault that sounds better.
Why anyone would ever want to go into federal govt is beyond me. You are hamstrung by a governor like Blanco and yet you take all the blame. What a powerless position.
The governor in LA is inept. The people of Louisiana should start a recall effort and hold a new election. It would be well worth the effort.
The governor has so much more power than the president for their state and guess who gets blamed.
Everytime I hear about the feds getting blamed for Katrina I just shake my head.
The red tape and executive orders are being issued out of baton rouge not washington.
An "emergency" is NO EXCUSE for rights violations.
Oh???? Emergencies change things. And whose rights? Landlords are taking evil advantage of the emergency. I say this may be the only thing Blanco has done that makes any sense. People's lives have been turned upside down
I, for one, blame Bush for this ;-)
Him and his hurricane machine...
There are no fair elections when the media keeps lying about who is responsible.
Blanco issued an executive order not to allow people to take their pets. Blanco issued an executive order not to allow out of state doctors to come to Louisiana. But guess who got blamed for the lack of medical care? Bush and fema got blamed. The governor blocked national guard help offered by Jeb Bush before the storm. Governor blocked state buses from being used. Governor blocked homeland security firefighting teams from coming in and helping.
The red tape is at the state level. The decisions on the ground lie in the governor's juristiction. Fema is basically and insurance agency that has 2,000 people and they get blamed for everything.
People in this country will blame Bush and Fema when they have no power and give that idiot Blanco a free pass.
"We are from the government, and we are here to help"
The state's rights people get what they deserve in governor Blanco and the New Orleans police department.
They are so worried about federal troops that are sworn to protect the U.S instead of being worried about the real culprits. The Blanco's and NOPD
Dem culture of corruption in Louisiana controls the vote Blanco will win in a landslide next election along with Nagin.
I have heard from more conservative blaming Bush for this hurricane.
Bad enough the fed govt is hamstrung by someone like Blanco but then the people all blame the feds and give Blanco a free pass.
State's rights leave you with Blanco because she has all the power and the public percieves Bush to have the power. So when she makes mistakes she blames Bush. Bush has taken the heat from this not Blanco.
The apartments in question are vacant and no one is sending the rent money.
I say this may be the only thing Blanco has done that makes any sense.
Nope, another senseless off-the-cuff order in a long list of senseless orders.
People's lives have been turned upside down
On this one you may be right. But how many of Katrina displaced people are going back to participate in the rebuilding? And how many do you think are hanging back, waiting for the governmwnrt to do the job before they go home?
I'm afraid that state government control of rented apartments is pretty common in many states. It has been an albatross around the neck of the New York City economy for many decades.
Economic flexibility is the answer to situations like this, but you can't expect the socialists to understand what that means. Alan Greenspan, of all people, just gave a talk on this very subject.
A few people might lose their apartments, or even the goods they left behind, but freeing things up would do a lot more good than harm, and those who wanted to come back still could--to a different apartment, if necessary.
A few people might lose their apartments, or even the goods they left behind, but freeing things up would do a lot more good than harm, and those who wanted to come back still could--to a different apartment, if necessary.
If this had happened in CT, I would hope you wouldn't take the same view. You see, it would take about two months before I, and my wife and three year old daughter, would be heading to bankruptcy court.
We have a few apartments in that state, and if the governor said "you can't evict" well then, she'd better also say that I don't have to pay my mortages
OR Did you forget that part of the "evil Landlord's"
responsibility?
And I suppose the I, as a property owner, am supposed to absorb the costs of empty housing units when there are people wanting to move into them?
Sorry, FRiend, but this is NOT the USSR, China, or Cuba. The are NO "COLLECTIVE" RIGHTS TO MY PROPERTY.
Those "evil" landlords have personal responsibilities of their own: this is not goobermint housing projects we are discussing.
Miami after hurricane Andrew ...
Insurance paid for appartemnts to be repaired (really trashy old apartments suddenly looked really new ) ... appartment owners got Fema loans at percentages that were so below average rate it was sick ...
Old apartments that were rented for cheap rents before the storm ended up being expensive rent appartments after the storm and those landlords made bank .
The city hasn't been open for people to get to their homes for very long . And the order she gave was just untill October 25 which is less than 2 months after the storm ... now if she extends that deadline again she is dead wrong as would it be if they stalled eviction proceedings afterwards.
After this storm New Orleans no longer has a ghetto ... there will be no such thing as a cheap place to live in this city all those old buildings in the damaged part of the city are now going to be nice new expensive apartments thanks to Fema.
"After this storm New Orleans no longer has a ghetto ... there will be no such thing as a cheap place to live in this city all those old buildings in the damaged part of the city are now going to be nice new expensive apartments thanks to Fema."
And this is the Landlord's fault, how? Should they rebuild ghetto apartments to replace the ghetto apartments that went away?
Even if they take out Zero interest loans, it's still money they must pay on top of the current mortgage. Do they have no right at all to ask for higher rent, or have we simply resigned ourselves to live in Socialism so that everyone gets something for nothing?
I understand that there are unscrupulous Landlord's in this world, but I'd be willing to bet money that the Landlord's in the 9th district were lucky to see the Section 8 payment, let alone the renter's portion of the rent. And, I know this sounds awful or elitist, but can you imagine the condition that some of those apartments end up in after people who don't even value themselves tear it up for a few years?
Waht we have is a flock of people living, in all truth, for free through the government turning private property into government housing by using the threat of discrimination claims and monetary fines. Do you understand that if I don't rent my property to Section 8 renters I can be charged with a crime if it's suspected that I somehow discriminated against someone, whether it's true or not? Imagine that case in front of a liberal judge?
Do you have any idea how many lawyers will defend a Section 8 eviction, against me. All the tenant has to do is ask for it.
Now, you can say If I don't agree with the way things are done, I should sell and get out of the rental business. Probelm is, that would be no different than me saying you car was stolen because you didn't lock it, after the government outlawed locks!
It's my property! I should be able to do with it what I please. No Governor should be able to say I cannot evict a tenant who isn't paying.
Do they have no right at all to ask for higher rent, or have we simply resigned ourselves to live in Socialism so that everyone gets something for nothing?
As far as I can ascertain,you are correct in your thinking on this smalltownslick.
By the time people were allowed to start returning to various areas of the city,beginning about two weeks after the hurricane, some landlords had already begun to take advantage of the sad predicament of their tenants. People were returning to find their property on the curb and they were told that,due to the storm, their leases had been voided.Some were offered new leases at a much higher cost. Many of these people called into local radio and television informational shows and of course they were quite distraught. They were told that, since any eviction requires a court appearance, all evictions had been suspended and that they should report the landlord to the state attorney general.
I'm not saying that the landlords mentioned in the article don't have a point, I'm simply stating that there is another side to the story. While the majority of people in a catastrophic situation will do the right thing as it pertains to others, there will always be those who see times like these as an opportunity to use and abuse the desperate.
These landlords are attempting to fill in spaces abandoned by evacuees who may not have even attempted to contact them to assure them of their return. Do you really believe the evacuees are paying to hold these spaces?
Also consider that the landlords are still liable to the banks for these properties. We're not talking corporations here but it wouldn't matter if we were. In this case though, we're probably talking about locals who speculated on rental properties and have a break-even point to remain in business. Needless to say, no rent, and they are in jeopardy of losing said property.
So the solution is to rent to those who have returned or made an effort to resettle in NOLA.
It would enable the flow of commerce by permitting those in need to find available housing, and those who rent to restore their revenue flow and stay above the financial tides.
Remember, it takes money to pay taxes. Blanco is further jeopardizing the LA tax-base here.
Now if people have made provisions or other such arrangements to return and have worked that out with their landlords, it's another story. However, I don't think this is the case here. It's clear abandonment.
So due to this "act of God" the situation needs to be reconsidered in favor of those in need. Those who have not returned don't fall into that category, as if they did have such need to return, having access to housing, they would have already.
On the other hand, if there is gouging involved, it is reprehensible, and I believe there are already provision at hand to deal with that harshly.
If the former renters have made a good-faith effort to contact the landlord to ensure fulfillment of the contract, the the renters have the benefit of the doubt. If no effort has been made, then I have to favor the landlord. The contract is void due to an "Act of God" and an "Act of incompetence" on part of the Governer and Mayor.
Remember, most evacuees asked have stated they do not plan to return to NOLA.
I say, restore the community, let those who are there to rebuild have access to the housing.
You just can't trust a Rat in ANY type of crisis, be it national security or Mother Nature.
This guvnor doesn't have one flying clue.
Yes, and I imagine that in most cases a simple phone call to the landlord--we're coming back, we're getting assistance and will make good on our rent---would do the trick.
But many people walked away from their stuff and are not coming back.
The landlords are left to take care of this mess.
no more ghetto = good thing
Hopefully, many of the displaced people will get their eyes opened to what life can be like outside the ghetto---and move up in life.
Yes, and I imagine that in most cases a simple phone call to the landlord--we're coming back, we're getting assistance and will make good on our rent---would do the trick.
Well, then you have a point.
Wouldn't it be nice if the Guv had set up a communications center just for this issue? Put out a number through all the relief agencies, etc. --- this is where evacuees should be told to call to leave messages for their landlords. Then tell the landlords, call or visit here to find out if your tenants have contacted you.
Surely they have phone service to do that.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.