Following comments by nonprofits, community organizers and UW students, the city council approved health and safety standards for rentals. Landlords opposed to the measure were unable to stop it.
Biased and inaccurate. There was no "hard-fought victory;" the fix was in before the meeting. A group of City Council members - the same ones who had the ordinance drafted with NO opportunity for public input, especially from rental professionals - were already determined to railroad the ordinance through regardless of public comment. And did.
There are so many fundamental illegalities in the ordinance that it's sure to be challenged in court... as it should be. The ordinance violates the state Constitution, state law, and everyone's rights under the US Constitution to due process and freedom from warrantless searches. In short, the ordinance was a "victory" not for renters, but for city bureaucrats. If it stands - though we should hope and pray that it will not - it will actually delay - and, in some cases, may block - repairs and improvements to rental properties.
So, the main thing to be gleaned from reading this article is the understanding that the self-proclaimed "Laramie Reporter" isn't a reporter at all. He has no interest in portraying events in Laramie fairly; in other words, he's just another op-ed blogger. We need new, ethical, unbiased news sources in Laramie, but don't count on Mr. Victor to be one of them.
I get the the distinct impression that (a) you were gullible enough to swallow the misinformation and distortions in the above article; (b) you have no idea who I am or how extensively I have researched the consequences or legality of the regulations; and (c) you're a random Internet troll too cowardly to comment under your actual name, and not Agatha Christie.
Your pseudonym is appropriate in one respect, though: how anyone could possibly be gullible enough to believe Mr. Victor's biased blog posts, fraudulently misrepresented as "reporting," is, indeed, a mystery.
Nope. Our tenants are very happy with the high standards we maintain for our rentals. We don't want regulations that stop us from performing repairs and upgrades; force us to raise rents to accommodate a wasteful, unnecessary, unaccountable, and illegal city bureaucratic regime; and facilitate the filing of nuisance complaints as retaliation by bad tenants. We don't get many bad apples - we vet applicants very carefully - but it occasionally happens.
It seems to be Jeff's goal to gin up hate against those of us who engage in this difficult business. He's certainly bringing haters out of the woodwork, which is harmful because it will drive conscientious, caring landlords out of the business. But at least we can see who the haters are. We certainly wouldn't want anyone as hateful as you as a tenant.
If you’re forced to raise rents because of the $20 per unit fee and the various repairs necessary to get the units up to snuff by professionals, you’re renting slums.
Such hate! Exactly the opposite is true. We ARE professionals, and we maintain our rentals very well. We spend a lot on maintenance and improvements. Needlessly multiplying that cost would greatly increase expenses and hence rents. And we try to keep our units as economical as possible, with very slim margins (we lose money some years, as we did in 2020). The illegal tax would likewise have serious impacts. For a landlord who owns, say, 20 units, that $20 tax means one less range, refrigerator, or carpet that can be replaced unless rents are increased. If the ordinance is not overturned, the city will be taking a quarter of a million dollars out of the pockets of tenants EVERY YEAR to bloat its bureaucracy. Expect rents to go up 10-15% if the ordinance is not overturned by the start of the spring rental season.
They'd have to tax rentals quite a bit to hire additional city bureaucrats to enforce it. Remember, they've just tried, illegally, to seize the authority to micromanage more than half of all the housing in Laramie! So, if it were to be enforced, tenants would be subjected to higher rents even if they don't have problems with their rentals (and only a small percentage do). And repairs will be slower and more costly. This is not a win for tenants either way. It was not the right way to approach the relatively few problems that tenants have; it doesn't even address the most common ones. What's more, under Wyoming law, cities don't have the power to impose arbitrary taxes by ordinance in the first place. A tax must be authorized by state law and there must be an election to approve it!
Let's hope that this ordinance is overturned by the courts and it is possible to take a fresh, effective approach - ideally, tweaks to state law - that focuses on the few actual problems and does good, not harm.
Postscript: The City just voted to illegally tax rentals $20 per unit per year. This would generate approximately a quarter of a MILLION dollars a year in fees to fund a new city bureaucracy. Will this be good for anyone - including tenants? Nope. The bureaucracy threatens to burden rental owners in ways far beyond the amount of the tax, causing rents to go up. I predict an increase of 10-15% just this spring.
Biased and inaccurate. There was no "hard-fought victory;" the fix was in before the meeting. A group of City Council members - the same ones who had the ordinance drafted with NO opportunity for public input, especially from rental professionals - were already determined to railroad the ordinance through regardless of public comment. And did.
There are so many fundamental illegalities in the ordinance that it's sure to be challenged in court... as it should be. The ordinance violates the state Constitution, state law, and everyone's rights under the US Constitution to due process and freedom from warrantless searches. In short, the ordinance was a "victory" not for renters, but for city bureaucrats. If it stands - though we should hope and pray that it will not - it will actually delay - and, in some cases, may block - repairs and improvements to rental properties.
So, the main thing to be gleaned from reading this article is the understanding that the self-proclaimed "Laramie Reporter" isn't a reporter at all. He has no interest in portraying events in Laramie fairly; in other words, he's just another op-ed blogger. We need new, ethical, unbiased news sources in Laramie, but don't count on Mr. Victor to be one of them.
I get the distinct impression that you didn't read this article, or the rental regulations.
I get the the distinct impression that (a) you were gullible enough to swallow the misinformation and distortions in the above article; (b) you have no idea who I am or how extensively I have researched the consequences or legality of the regulations; and (c) you're a random Internet troll too cowardly to comment under your actual name, and not Agatha Christie.
Your pseudonym is appropriate in one respect, though: how anyone could possibly be gullible enough to believe Mr. Victor's biased blog posts, fraudulently misrepresented as "reporting," is, indeed, a mystery.
Hey, I remember this Brett guy from the other story! He’s a slumlord, so that’s why he doesn’t like regulations for landlords
Nope. Our tenants are very happy with the high standards we maintain for our rentals. We don't want regulations that stop us from performing repairs and upgrades; force us to raise rents to accommodate a wasteful, unnecessary, unaccountable, and illegal city bureaucratic regime; and facilitate the filing of nuisance complaints as retaliation by bad tenants. We don't get many bad apples - we vet applicants very carefully - but it occasionally happens.
It seems to be Jeff's goal to gin up hate against those of us who engage in this difficult business. He's certainly bringing haters out of the woodwork, which is harmful because it will drive conscientious, caring landlords out of the business. But at least we can see who the haters are. We certainly wouldn't want anyone as hateful as you as a tenant.
If you’re forced to raise rents because of the $20 per unit fee and the various repairs necessary to get the units up to snuff by professionals, you’re renting slums.
Such hate! Exactly the opposite is true. We ARE professionals, and we maintain our rentals very well. We spend a lot on maintenance and improvements. Needlessly multiplying that cost would greatly increase expenses and hence rents. And we try to keep our units as economical as possible, with very slim margins (we lose money some years, as we did in 2020). The illegal tax would likewise have serious impacts. For a landlord who owns, say, 20 units, that $20 tax means one less range, refrigerator, or carpet that can be replaced unless rents are increased. If the ordinance is not overturned, the city will be taking a quarter of a million dollars out of the pockets of tenants EVERY YEAR to bloat its bureaucracy. Expect rents to go up 10-15% if the ordinance is not overturned by the start of the spring rental season.
Lol ok Brett.
Parking ordinances aren't enforced. Noise ordinances aren't enforced. Why should we believe this one will be enforced?
They'd have to tax rentals quite a bit to hire additional city bureaucrats to enforce it. Remember, they've just tried, illegally, to seize the authority to micromanage more than half of all the housing in Laramie! So, if it were to be enforced, tenants would be subjected to higher rents even if they don't have problems with their rentals (and only a small percentage do). And repairs will be slower and more costly. This is not a win for tenants either way. It was not the right way to approach the relatively few problems that tenants have; it doesn't even address the most common ones. What's more, under Wyoming law, cities don't have the power to impose arbitrary taxes by ordinance in the first place. A tax must be authorized by state law and there must be an election to approve it!
Let's hope that this ordinance is overturned by the courts and it is possible to take a fresh, effective approach - ideally, tweaks to state law - that focuses on the few actual problems and does good, not harm.
Postscript: The City just voted to illegally tax rentals $20 per unit per year. This would generate approximately a quarter of a MILLION dollars a year in fees to fund a new city bureaucracy. Will this be good for anyone - including tenants? Nope. The bureaucracy threatens to burden rental owners in ways far beyond the amount of the tax, causing rents to go up. I predict an increase of 10-15% just this spring.
ha ha ok Larry.