Rental property ordinance spurs creation of new landlords organization

When Metro Council Tara Wicker recently brought forth an ordinance to regulate landlords in Baton Rouge, rental property owner, real estate agent/broker and attorney Steve Myers decided it was time to organize small, independent landlords. “The (Baton Rouge) Apartment Association is the really big guys—you know, companies that have hundreds and thousands of units across the city. This is an attempt to bring together the independent, mom and pop–type landlords: people who have a couple single-family properties, or even a garage apartment, for that matter,” Myers says. The Baton Rouge Independent Landlords Organization has been incorporated and is now in the early stages of formally organizing. Myers says he sees the association working in close cooperation with the Baton Rouge Apartment Association and having a mirror purpose: to educate members and represent them when matters such as Wicker’s ordinance arise. Myers says the voices of independent landlords often go unheard, primarily because they don’t really align with the apartment association or the Federation of Greater Baton Rouge Civic Associations, which gave its endorsement to Wicker’s ordinance. “The fact is, they (the civic association) seem to have the ear of council members, so the council members get a one-sided view as far as what ‘the people want,” he says. The council is set to take up Wicker’s ordinance, which would set minimum standards on rental properties and create a new registry of their owners, at its 4 p.m. meeting today. The council meets on the third floor of the Governmental Building, 222 St. Louis St. Read the full story here, and see the full Real Estate Weekly newsletter here. —Steve Sanoski