City targeting lousy landlords
March 25, 2010
The Hamilton Spectator
http://www.thespec.com/News/Local/article/742210
The city has beefed up a proposal to crack down on bad landlords and illegal lodging homes.
Yesterday, a proposal to hire part-time bylaw officers to monitor rental housing came before the economic development and planning committee.
Instead of waiting for complaints, these new bylaw officers would actively look for property standards violations in the two neighbourhoods.
The pilot project originally called for four officers to monitor student areas around McMaster University and Mohawk College for a year.
The committee is now suggesting six bylaw officers would take on the project for 18 months. The project boundaries were also expended to include the entire lower city and much of the Mountain.
These enhancements would up the price from about $200,000 to about $500,000.
The pilot project goes to council for final approval next week.