. Predatory Renting
Introduction
History
Partnership
Statement of Need
History
The Gary Human Relations Commission since it's inception, has been charged with eliminating discrimination that adversely affects the availability of housing. In the past, that has usually meant the refusal to rent or sell housing to a protected class and/or a "Redlining". A recent newspaper reported that the 2000 census established Gary as the number on city in the country with a population of one hundred thousand or more residence, with a predominately black (85%) population. The Commission has been aware of and fought the discriminatory practice of "redlining" the city of Gary because our community is predominately black.
However, over the past several years, the City of Gary has been plagued with a different form of discrimination. Instead of refusing to rent or sell housing to a protected class; predatory renting or "reverse redlining" has targeted the community for the sole purpose of renting property that is unsafe, unsanitary and substandard, in violation of the city's building codes. The Commission has tracked numerous complaints filed against them over the last years, with reference to fraudulent rental practices, lack of repairs and substandard living conditions in relations to building and health code violations.
The Commission has established a cohesive relationship working with the City of Gary's Building Department and Consumer Affairs Department. Independently each department has been focusing on functioning in the jurisdiction boundaries for which each department was established.
This proposal will utilize the statistical data collected by all three (3) departments to better enforce the violation of fair housing in the community. The compiled statistical data can be an ordinance that will make it mandatory for all rental property in the City of Gary to be registered. Presently, the City of Gary is the only municipality in the Tri-City area of Northwest Indiana that does not have an ordinance requiring landlords to register with the city before they can rent property. The registration of rental property will assist the Commission in its enforcement of Fair housing and help eliminate slumlords targeting our community for their predatory renting practices.
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