Minneapolis City Council Advisory Panel Recommends "Putting The Squeeze" On Foreclosing Lenders, Landlords In Attempt To Address "Empty Home Epidemic"

In Minnesota, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports:

• With foreclosures exploding, Minneapolis City Hall is stepping up the pressure on housing violations. A City Council panel Wednesday took three actions aimed at problematic properties as the number of new foreclosures in the city last month hit 344 properties. The committee recommended that the full council:

1. Revoke a rental license for an unprecedented 45 rental properties associated with Roseville-based TJ Waconia, a firm that the FBI has said it is investigating for mortgage fraud,
2. Triple the annual fee charged against vacant and boarded housing to $6,000 in an effort to recover some of the city's costs for dealing with them,
3. Impose a new $1,000 fee on residences that convert to rental units that intended to pay for an immediate inspection to make sure they meet the city's rental licensing standards.

• Besides running a $1.4 million problem properties unit, the city incurs police, fire, rubbish cleanup and other expenses at vacant houses, Inspection Director Henry Reimer said. Total costs exceed $2 million. [...] The full council plans to act on the recommendations at its Feb. 29 meeting.

For more, see Minneapolis puts squeeze on problem housing (With foreclosures booming, City Hall recommended three actions to combat the empty-house epidemic).