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Page 1of 4 <br />Part 3: At troubled rental <br />cracks" and to get safety problems resolved more <br />quickl <br />y, LeGare-Gulden said. So the <br />sites, more pain for <br />city passed a law last fall strengthening landlord <br />oversight. <br />troubled landlords <br />The new law requires landlords to get a license <br />Hyder Jaweed and <br />before offering units for rent, which is slightly more <br />stringent than the previous rule requiring a license <br />Asgher Ali <br />only once a tenant moved in. Violating this <br />provision is punishable by jail or hefty fines. <br />The city also can place a chronically noncompliant <br />By Elizabeth Mohr and MaryJo Webster <br />landlord's rental license on probation or revoke it <br />Pioneer Press <br />for up to five years. Previously, the city could revoke <br />a license but lacked the <br />Updated: 08/25/2011 08:17:22 PM CDT <br />option to set a time frame. <br />Hyder Jaweed and his brother Asgher Ali (aka <br />Jaweed) have caused several Minnesota cities to <br />rethink, and in some cases change, the way they <br />deal with landlords. <br />The landlords, who live in North Oaks, have left a <br />long trail of unhappy residents, frustrated city <br />inspectors, unpaid bills and housing code <br />violations at the 17 rental properties they've owned <br />in the Twin Cities and Rochester, Minn., over the <br />past dozen years. <br />The Jaweeds have frustrated city officials but also <br />have brought to light flaws in the systems that <br />regulate rental properties. <br />Rochester passed a new law last fall that tightened <br />rules regarding landlord conduct. City officials said <br />they were motivated, in part, by the Jaweeds' three- <br />year ownership of Trail Ridge apartments. <br />advertisement <br />The brothers bought the already-occupied building <br />and began renting it out before applying for a rental <br />license, said Susan LeGare-Gulden, manager of <br />housing inspections for Rochester. Resident <br />complaints started soon after the Jaweeds took over. <br />City inspectors noted safety issues such as an <br />inoperable fire-alarm system and problems with the <br />fire-suppression system, she said. <br />"Neglect. Just total neglect and disregard for their <br />tenants' safety," LeGare-Gulden said of the Jaweeds' <br />ownership. <br />In the end, the Jaweeds paid a fine and were <br />cooperative, but city officials wanted a way to <br />preventlandlordsfrom"slippingthroughthe <br />htt://www.twincities.com/fdc?uniue=131842765471810/12/2011 <br />ppq <br /> <br />