US landlords of illegally used properties could become liable
City councillors in Huntington, West Virginia are trying to crack down on landlords who rent houses to drug dealers and users and choose to look the other way. In an effort to curb the city’s drug problem, landlords in Huntington may soon face steep fines of between $100 and $500 a day if their properties become havens for drug activity and they fail to evict the problem tenant. Under the proposed drug house ordinance landlords could also be charged with a crime if their property is involved in two felonies in a year.

UPDATE 8/28/17 @ 10 p.m.

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) -- The city of Huntington is one step closer to adopting a rule that would crack down on landlords who look the other way when their properties become havens for drug activity.

City Council had the first reading of the drug house ordinance at their meeting Monday night.

Under the proposal, landlords could be charged with a crime if their property is involved in two felonies in the span of a year.

The city would notify landlords and give them the opportunity to evict the problem tenant, but if the landlord or property owner fails to do so, they would face a fine between $100 and $500 per day the nuisance remains in place.

Some property owners have expressed concern that they can't observe or control everything that goes on with the people they rent to, but Chief Joe Ciccarelli emphasized this is meant to be a tool to target a handful of landlords who're just interested in making money and don't care about the problem they're contributing to.

The second reading of the ordinance is expected to take place in a couple weeks.

ORIGINAL STORY

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) -- Landlords and property owners in Huntington may soon have to pay steep fines in an effort to hold them more accountable in the city's drug problem.

The proposed new rule was discussed at Huntington City Hall by the Public Safety Committee Monday.

"There's a small handful, less than a half dozen chronic problem landlords who continue to rent to drug dealers and are interested only in the money," Chief Joe Ciccarelli said.

If the ordinance is adopted, following the second felony offense to occur at a property within the span of a year, the landlord or property owner would be looking at paying a $100 to $500 fine per day that tenant is not removed or the property is not cleaned up.

"These landlords are part of the problem, and to the extent that we can induce compliance with an ordinance like this, I think it would be very helpful," the chief said.

Councilman Charlie McComas is a landlord himself and believes this method could be highly effective.

"This is an excellent way to get the drug dealers out of those houses," McComas said.

Owners of vacant properties would be subject to the same penalty if felonies occur on their locations twice a year.

City council's first reading of that ordinance is expected to take place at their next meeting in two weeks.

City Attorney Scott Damron says a similar ordinance has been on the books in Martinsburg for a couple years and has been effective there.