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Page 2of 5 <br />business or respond swiftly when told of a <br />housin <br />g-code violation. <br />If a landlord doesn't comply and has multiple <br />violations, then the revocation process might begin. <br />If a license is revoked, sometimes all tenants must <br />move out. Other cities that revoke a rental license <br />prohibit the landlord from collecting rent or from <br />renting vacant units. The goal is to hit landlords <br />financially. <br />"It is a big deal," said Dave Holt, an instructor for <br />the National Association of Residential Property <br />Managers and owner of a property-management <br />company in the Twin Cities. "And that's why I'm sure <br />a city does have some leverage there." <br />Asgher Ali covers his face from the camera as his <br />lawyer, Kenneth Hertz leaves the Ramsey County <br />Courthouse after a court hearing relating to Ali's <br />But examples from Fridley, Columbia Heights and <br />property management business December 2, 2010. <br />Brooklyn Center show that leverage comes at a cost. <br />(Pioneer Press: Jean Pieri) <br />'NOT A GOOD USE OF TAXPAYER DOLLARS' <br />"We're talking about creating minimal living <br />standards for residents, and it's a challenge," Crelly <br />Fridley's inspectors feel like they've been running in <br />said. "When a landlord doesn't jump on the <br />circles for the past decade trying to keep up with <br />inspections, you turn to citations and courts. It <br />two Jaweed properties. <br />takes a lot of effort." <br />The city revoked rental licenses for apartment <br />"It's not a good use of taxpayer dollars," Crelly said. <br />complexeson Island Park Drive and Channel Road in <br />2006, because of a string of unresolved violations. <br />In Columbia Heights, assistant fire chief John Larkin <br />said the Jaweeds, who have owned three properties <br />"We'd go around and around and around with <br />in his city, are reactive rather than proactive. <br />(correction orders). We had complaints coming in <br />"Things get done when we send letters," he said. <br />nonstop," Crelly, the assistant fire chief, said about <br />the two properties the brothers owned. "It got to be <br />"The majority of our landlords, if we write them up <br />such a mess, we didn't know when we were coming <br />and we say we'll be back in 30 days, most of them <br />or going. It was hard to tell where one inspection <br />advertisement <br />stopped and another started." <br />Within five months of the revocation, the <br />Jaweeds had the buildings back up to code and were <br />able to rent units again. They sold the Island Park <br />property the following year, but the Channel Road <br />property is still eating up inspectors' time. Officials <br />were back in late December and found the owners <br />were installing a new heating system without the <br />requisite permit. <br />htt://www.twincities.com/fdc?uniue=131842761027210/12/2011 <br />ppq <br /> <br />