CRIMES MAY EARN EVICTION IN CITY

Covington might soon pass a law that says two strikes and you're out of
your apartment or house if you commit more than one prostitution, drug,
gambling or alcohol offense in your home within a year. Under the proposed
law, city landlords who fail to evict criminal offenders would find their
apartments boarded up for a year.

The measure is part of a city effort to play hardball with people
committing crimes harming the quality of life in their neighborhoods.

"Basically you get two shots. After two shots you get notice," said Jay
Fossett, city attorney. He is patterning the law on an ordinance that
Louisville adopted several years ago.

It isn't against the law for people to be intoxicated inside their homes,
so Covington residents would not lose them over that, Fossett said. On the
other hand, if they're cited for public intoxication, that might count as a
strike.

Here's how the law would work:

. Police each month would send lists of properties where there were
arrests, citations or search warrants for prostitution, drugs, alcohol or
gambling to the city's Code Enforcement Department.

. Code Enforcement would send letters notifying owners of properties where
two strikes have occurred within 12 months. If the owner cannot be located
or refuses to accept the certified mail or personal service of the letter,
the city would put a legal advertisement in the newspaper and post a copy
of the notice prominently on the property.

. The landlord, homeowner or owner of the commercial business who is cited
must abate the "criminal activity nuisance" or would face the prospect of
having the apartment, home or building boarded up. The city also could
revoke the building's certificate of occupancy or shut off its utilities
for up to a year, Fossett said.

Under the proposed ordinance -- scheduled to receive its final reading
March 4 -- Covington would not notify the landlord until the second
violation, and then the landlord would have to take immediate action.

Landlords may avoid shutdowns by starting eviction proceedings within 30
days. They also may get a shutdown order rescinded if the nuisance is
resolved within 14 days after it is issued.

Only individual problem apartments and not the entire building would be
shut down, Fossett said. The property would still remain in the hands of
the owner.

Landlord Denny Shelton, past president of the Northern Kentucky Property
Owners Association, said he likes the general principle behind the
legislation. But he is concerned about how it might be implemented.

Most landlords would appreciate the information about crimes on their
properties, Shelton said.

"If you have a rental property next to that kind of place, it's hard to
rent it with that going on," Shelton said. He noted evictions take time
under Kentucky law.

"If you have an opportunity to fix it, there's no problem with that,"
Shelton said.

Most landlords make renters promise in their leases that they will not
commit criminal acts on their properties. Shelton's own lease prohibit even
parties.

Bill Schreck, director of the Louisville Department of Inspections, Permits
and Licenses, said property owners have liked his city's program, which
seldom boards up buildings before "strike four" because landlords cooperate.

"It is not a cure-all, but it gives another tool to solve the problem," he
said. "We have done very few of them because most property owners are very
compliant.

"A way to comply would be to evict that tenant, and most are happy to do
so," Schreck said.

Louisville's legislation has not been tested in the courts, he said.

"Our code has been to inform the owner that they are leasing to people who
are committing criminal acts," Schreck said. "If they continue to do so,
they are assuming responsibility. They have responsibilities also."

In 2002, Louisville police sent his department information about 1,150
arrests, citations and search warrants, Schreck said. Of those, 799 were
rejected for a variety of reasons, such as when violations happen in
streets in front of properties.

Of the 351 violations that remained, only 25 properties had a subsequent
problem, triggering a $500 fine, he said. And only four reached the point
where the city issued a $5,000 fine and boarded the property.

"We have found from the beginning that this program has been very
successful," he said. "The owners really appreciate it."