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Page 2of 4 Heights Assistant Fire Chief John Larkin said. Brooklyn Center instituted new rental-property oversight rules last year. The city now places each landlord in a category based on violation history and number of police calls to the property. The category determines how closely city officials watch properties, the frequency of inspections and terms of the rental licenses. TIGHTENING STANDARDS During last year's legislative session, Minnesota lawmakers updated tenant-landlord laws to protect tenants during a foreclosure, require landlords to Black mold can be seen in the corner of a child's room provide receipts to tenants who pay rent in cash and in an apartment at Peters Place Apartments in prohibit landlords from keeping fees from multiple Columbia Heights, Minn., on Thursday, December 30, applicants if one renter already is approved. 2010. The Mexican family living in the apartment asked not to be identified. After being cited by the "I think it's a good start," said Sen. Scott Dibble, Columbia Heights fire department for black mold in many apartments, owners Hyder Jaweed and his DFL-Minneapolis. "I think there's a lot more to do." brother Asgher Ali had the mold spray painted over. The only way to fix the problem to code is the replace Dibble said he would like tenants to have more the sheet rock and have the area repainted. (Pioneer power to organize and fight bad landlords. He also Press: Ben Garvin) (Ben Garvin) thinks tenants who complain need protection against retaliation. "This is an ordinance that will address landlords like (the Jaweeds)," LeGare-Gulden said. For the sake of uniformity, directors of the Minnesota Association of Housing Fridley is tightening its licensing process, too. Officials cite the time spent on return inspections at Code Officials would like to see a statewide code problem properties and the difficulty they've had in about what constitutes a violation. Such a code also keeping track of which Jaweed company owns which would make it easier for cities without regulatory property. Specifically, they will ask anyone who programs to create one, said the group's president, applies for a rental license under a corporation Vonnie Linnell. name to also provide the articles of incorporation. The new rules have yet to go into effect. advertisement And in Columbia Heights, staff members said they were spending so much time on problem properties — the Jaweed-owned Peters Place in particular — that the city changed its licensing rules in late 2007. Where the city once had no limits on the number of times a license could be reissued, now a landlord can be banned from having a rental license in town for five years after two revocations. "Our experience was, we were revoking rental licenses in town and reissuing the licenses once the violations were corrected. It was happening with enough frequency that we wanted it to be a little more painful to lose your license," Columbia htt://www.twincities.com/fdc?uniue=131842765471810/12/2011 ppq