(Boston Orange 綜合報導) 波士頓3名市議員，Liz Breadon、Ruthzee Louijeune，以及白凱欣(Kenzie Bok)，3月22日提案治理「藐視法律」的房東，要把慣性違犯州市條例的房東，列名造冊公諸於世，並禁止這些人和波士頓市府來往獲利。
編號為#0625的這法令提案，將交給市議會政府運作委員會審理。
前述3名市議員表示，提案訂立這法令，旨在使得政府執行規章，要求民眾遵守州市衛生條例，樓宇及消防安全等法令規定時，有更強力道。
提案中的新條例內容包括市府將每年公佈「壞房東名單」，把出租住宅，卻不遵循法令，在一年內有6次違規紀錄的房東，以及在市政府現有項目中被列為「問題物業」的業主，公佈出來。波士頓市府將禁止這些人參與市府活動，例如獲取合約，補助，或申請區域規劃援助等。
今年2月15日時，這3名市議員還提交了編號為#0410的家規法提案，要把波士頓市府憲章中的民事違法行為最高罰款額，從1854年的50元，提高到2023年的1800元。這一最高罰款額，歷經多次更新，從1976年提高至200元到1989年迄今的300元。
COUNCILORS PROPOSE ANNUAL LISTING OF HOUSING
CODE SCOFFLAWS
Breadon, Louijeune, Bok ordinance would draw attention to worst chronic offenders
Boston, Mass. – An annual publication listing property owners who habitually violate state and local housing regulations is proposed in an ordinance filed this week in the Boston City Council by Councilors Liz Breadon, Ruthzee Louijeune, and Kenzie Bok. Owners who chronically violate state codes without remediating conditions causing noncompliance would be dubbed “scofflaws” and be barred from conducting business with the City of Boston. The proposal, Docket #0625, will be reviewed by the Committee on Government Operations.
The ordinance aims to add weight to the City’s code enforcement activities pertaining to residential unit conditions under the state sanitary code, state building code, and state fire code. Regulatory protections for health and safety standards and improving resident quality of life are enforced by investigatory divisions within the City’s Inspectional Services Department and Boston Fire Department. Enforcement proceedings in housing court may be sought if a property owner fails to comply with written orders and escalation is required.
A yearly listing released by the City would include individuals with whole or partial ownership interest in rental properties involved in active enforcement proceedings in housing court, owners racking up six or more code violations in the preceding year, and owners whose properties have been designated as “problem properties” under an existing City program. Those identified would be prohibited from doing business with the City, such as being awarded a contract, receiving a grant, or having an application for zoning relief approved.
“All tenants have the right to decent, safe, and sanitary housing conditions. It is not only the responsibility of the City to ensure property owners demonstrate compliance, but to take to task those who openly and willingly flout regulations simply because they view fines as the cost of doing business in our City,” said District 9 City Councilor Liz Breadon. “To strengthen public confidence in our code enforcement activities, the City must call attention to a scofflaw’s record and compel compliance in the interest of current and prospective tenants.”
“For too long, negligent landlords and owners who refuse to clean up their properties have been getting nothing more than a slap on the wrist. This ordinance will give our neighborhoods stronger protections and enforcement mechanisms against these chronic offenders,” said At Large City Councilor Ruthzee Louijeune. “Furthermore, we must empower the City to use all its available tools to help uplift all of our communities to make them peaceful, healthy, and safe places to live.”
“A safety rating is something we already expect when we go out to eat. We should have the same expectation for where we live,” said District 8 City Councilor Kenzie Bok. “A landlord who repeatedly fails to meet their legal, contractual, and safety obligations is a public health risk that the public deserves to be aware of.”
The ordinance compliments a proposed home rule petition regarding fines for ordinance violations and liens for unpaid fines, also submitted by Councilors Breadon, Louijeune, and Bok on February 15 as Docket #0410. The petition amends a City Charter provision from 1854 to increase the maximum fine for civil infractions. The 1854 charter capped penalties at $50, or about $1,800 in 2023 dollars. Amendments raised the cap to $200 in 1976 and to the present $300 maximum in 1989, worth roughly $1,000 and $700 in 2023, respectively
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