AUBURN - City council has spent energy struggling to keep neglectful landlords at bay.

A few discussed policies would address inattentive out-of-town owners, who people say have no ties to the community and don't care about its neighborhoods, but a recent list of problem properties suggests local owners are responsible for more houses in poor condition.

The Auburn Office of Planning and Economic Development asked community members to report eyesores, dilapidated buildings, and houses in need of attention.

ImageMate created a report on homes that are vacant, have safety issues, and low values. The list of the 90 “problem homes” consists of properties the planning and economic office identified, residents pointed to, and structures on the poor conditions list.

Of this figure, five homeowners are from Cayuga County, outside of Auburn. Twelve property owners live in Onondaga County, and seven landlords are from out of state. That leaves the top offending group of property owners who live in Auburn.

“The city wants the owners to be responsible for the home and the violations of the housing codes no matter where the landlords live,” Director of Planning and Economic Development Jennifer Haines said.

Previous city legal teams have complained about the lack of resources to curtail absentee landlords from allowing their properties to fall into disrepair. However, measures aimed at local rental property owners address owner-occupied rental units specifically.

In September, councilors agreed to a tax incentive in hopes it will inspire homeowners to improve the city's housing stock.

The Real Property Tax Law allows homes being renovated into a single-family home or an owner-occupied two-unit dwelling from a multi-unit building, to receive a tax abatement for seven years on the increased assessed market value.

This incentive is designed to encourage people to buy homes, thus lowering the high amount of renters. About 55 percent of residents rent their dwellings in Auburn.

The city's code enforcement office can issue violations, as well as take legal action, against property owners.

The planning office ordered a review of codes to make repairs and maintenance as efficient as possible. In June, the council also relaxed some city housing codes and permits to inspire homeowners, landlords or tenants to fix up their properties.

Building permit costs were lowered, and costs and requirements were changed for replacing roofs, siding and windows.

Councilor Matt Smith won his seat on council in the 2005 election in part on his promise to reform these permits and repair requirements.

The city also offers a program that financially assists people with repairs to their home, specifically to combat or address code violations.

The program has been in place for 20 years and as the waiting list shows, is being utilized.

“We certainly want to make sure the city is being aggressive ... that people who live in Auburn are safe,” Haines said.

Councilor Thomas McNabb has suggested the city take legal action against people who abandon homes.

In September 2006, council eased up restriction on certificates of occupancy for owner-occupied double family homes. Most agreed at the time the code's office did not have the resources to verify if the owners did live at the sites.

The goal of these statutes is to help people help themselves.

Some observers have suggested owners are allowing their properties to become run down to suppress their property taxes.

Haines said that was anecdotal information and she doesn't have any data to verify it.

Most of the discussions council has had centered around how to restrain or simply address the out-of-town landlords.

Ideas have included requiring owners to have a representative in the city or not selling to out-of-state homeowners (which was declared unconstitutional).

One policy Mayor Timothy Lattimore suggested adopting requires landlords to have local representatives in the city as a point of contact between the landlords and the city code office.

This would entail creating a registry of vacant plots and rental properties so city workers can have a designated contact person or manager to talk to in the owner's place.

Syracuse Department of Code Enforcement has this policy. Property owners who live outside of Onondaga County, or the contiguous counties, have a responsible person as a local contact. When the code department sends a letter of violation to the property owner, the manager also would receive the letter.

“This would put on the books that we need to keep updated information so the city has a place to go. If people do live in Auburn or the surrounding areas, that certainly does make it easier on us,” Haines said.

Staff writer Jessica Soule can be reached at 253-5311, ext. 267 or

jessica.soule@lee.net