City building officials posted a “problem landlord” list on its web site earlier this week, and six of the 45 properties are in Austin.
To get on the list, city officials say residential building owners have been repeatedly cited for failing to provide tenants with basic services, such as adequate heat, hot water, and working smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.
In addition, those on the list have been found liable in two or more administrative hearing cases within a 24-month period and have at least three serious building code violations, according to the city’s web site.
Most of the apartment buildings cited are on Chicago’s West and South Sides.
Being a “problem landlord” isn’t as serious as being identified as a “building scofflaw,” another list city building officials have been making available online, according to the Chicago Tribune.
Landlords who make the “scofflaw” list own at least three properties that have been cited for more serious violations and are involved in active local circuit court cases, the Tribune reported.
One advocate for renters wonders whether this new “problem landlord” list does enough.
John Bartlett, executive director of the Metropolitan Tenants Organization, told the Tribune the list a good first step but questioned how city officials put the list together.
“I don’t see any really large owners,” he told the Tribune. “The’re going after the small mom and pops, and they’re letting the larger owners off the hook.”
Click here to see the list and interactive map, which the city says will be updated twice a year.