Landlords Don’t Agree Over City’s Nuisance Law

Barbara Crippen is a landlord.

But when it comes to the nuisance law, under which several neighbors sued the landlords who had rented a house in north Spokane to problem tenants, Crippen sees through the neighbors’ eyes.

The neighborhood where she and her husband lived in another state went from ideal to three-and-a-half years of “living hell,” she said.

“When renters moved in and had parties days and nights, they jumped over our fence. We tried to reason with them, but they were spaced out and we never knew who really lived there. All the police could do was write a report and send it to the owner.

“Other neighbors feared them, so they moved. When the house was totaled inside, the owner got the message. Know your neighbors and communicate.”

But not all readers applauded the recent Spokane lawsuit that cost the landlords more than $8,000 in judgments (not $5,000 as “Bagpipes” said Thursday).

It was, said William Seipp of Spokane, “the most horrendous mess the city could possibly put on a landlord.”

Seipp, who has rental properties in Washington and Idaho, says it is improper for a judge to award damages against landlords who don’t get rid of tenants who disrupt the neighborhood.

Improper and, perhaps, ironic.

“I’ve had Legal Services after me when I tried to get rid of a bad tenant,” he said. “Those incidents cost me well over $1,000 in lost rent and a lot of property damage.”

“What a joke!” was Patsy Dunn’s response to the story. “Punish the thugs who rented the home if they committed a crime, not some elderly couple whose hard work has afforded them a rental property.

“If the renters were a problem, they still are,” Dunn said. “This so-called victory has only moved the problem. Could this law be the beginning of legal witch hunts or discrimination as to race, creed or color?”

One of the plaintiffs in the nuisance suit, Tony Koures, said they acted after months of direct observations of activities involving theft, harassment and vandalism.

“I firmly believe landlords, of which I am one, must be responsible to the neighborhood,” said Koures.

Health District thoughts still to come

Comments from “Bagpipes” readers about whether Spokane County commissioners should take over the county Health District will appear in Thursday’s column.

, DataTimes MEMO: “Bagpipes” appears Tuesdays and Thursdays. To respond, call Cityline at 458-8800, category 9881, from a Touch-Tone phone, or send a fax to 459-5098 or e-mail to dougf@spokesman.com. You also can leave Doug Floyd a message at 459-5577, extension 5466.