FLASHBACK 1989: Taylor Edwards inspects housing woes in the big city. 

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In commemoration of City Weekly's 40th anniversary, we are digging into our archives to celebrate. Each week, we FLASHBACK to a story or column from our past in honor of four decades of local alt-journalism. Whether the names and issues are familiar or new, we are grateful to have this unique newspaper to contain them all.

Title: Nightmare on My Street
Author: Taylor Edwards
Date: July 14, 1989

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Turning north off 6200 South onto a narrow private gravel road at 2533 East, one immediately notices the high wire and wooden fences lining both sides of the road, most equipped with electronic burglar systems. That's not surprising when you consider the value of the sprawling mansions they protect. These haciendas are surrounded by lush horse property, expensive cars and recreational vehicles. It's a comfortable neighborhood.

Arvill Harris is a lucky area resident. But the tenants of homes along 1st South owned/managed by a Harris family corporation (AIVIJETO Corp.) aren't so lucky.

At first glance these three houses (at 657, 661, and 665 East) look typical of the lower Avenues' large, older Victorian style homes. Typical that is, until closer inspection reveals sagging, decayed roofs and eaves, missing chimney and wall bricks and structural cracks. Siding is broken or missing and windows are boarded in a poor attempt to create multiple apartment units out of the old house shells. And that's only the exterior.

Pictures on file at the Salt Lake City Department of Building and Housing of these three addresses and hundreds of more like them, show electrical wiring exposed, bathroom doors missing, light fixtures hanging by bare wires, leaky plumbing held together with tape and broken toilets.

The pictures show small unventilated, windowless rooms with slanted ceilings and peeling paint. Boarded windows and doors block exits, a dangerous situation if a fire breaks out. House #657 has the toilet 6 inches away from the front of the shower stall. Anyone using the toilet would have to climb in the show and sit with their legs in the stall! Some ceiling heights and door frames were more than a foot short of the minimum 6'8" standard for older buildings. The lists of city building code violations on these three addresses run over three pages.

It is a criminal offense to own a building that is in disrepair, leading to speculation why 661 East 100 South was mysteriously gutted by fire. (Arson charges have been filed against Arvill Harris.) But Arvill isn't alone in his problems with city codes. John and Beth Perdue and Stan and Jody Secor have also faced city hall on past occasions.

The Purdues' own Bob's Motel at 300 West and 55 North, a run down two-story row of rooms. For $65.00 a week you can rent a room with a gas leak, broken shower window, dirty carpet and filthy mattress on the floor. As an added incentive to rent one of these rooms, we were told by Connie the manager, that this was "an all adult complex." (As of March 1989, advertising housing in such a manner is a violation of the Federal Fair Housing Act.) Posing as prospective renters, Connie steered us to another house at 542 Pugsley, which rents for $275.00 a month. "F--k You" greeted us in foot high letters on the rear fence.

The back door was open and inside we found more of the same "quality" housing we had seen before. Bare wires in the breaker box, litter and broken windows. The home at #540 next door is also in violation of city ordinances like missing rear steps, bare wires, inoperable windows, insufficient heating, insect infestation and about 10 other violations.

Connie told us other houses and duplexes would be "opening up soon," if we didn't want to rent #542—apparently because most of the renters have moved or been evicted. A quick check at the 3rd Circuit Court shows Mr. Purdue and his wife Beth have been, or are currently, involved in numerous small claims and civil cases. It appears that some of their tenants don't agree with their housing standards.

Stan and Jody Secor represent another example of the perpetual landlord. The Secors filed for Chapter 11 (debtor in possession) bankruptcy in 1987 and listed properties with values totaling $1,450,700.00 on their schedule B-1 (real property schedule). The case was subsequently dismissed for failure by the Secors to provide a feasible plan of reorganization. The Secors and their son, Dustin, who acts as broker for their properties, have been involved in civil, small claims and misdemeanor cases in the 3rd Circuit Court and have had judgments entered against them in favor of former tenants.

Tenants like those of Harris, the Purdues and Secors started the long process toward better living by contacting the Salt Lake City Department of Building and Housing, which is responsible for the inspection of new and existing housing and construction. Tenants may be referred to this department by word of mouth, the mayor's office, neighborhood housing services or other community advocacy groups. The department currently has nine inspectors, each having 250 open cases plus another 125-150 active court cases regarding Uniform Building Code violations.

Upon notification by a disgruntled tenant, the department dispatches an inspector within 2-3 days—on the same day in life threatening circumstances. The inspector photographs and records violations of city ordinances and then notifies the owner/landlord.

Existing laws do not permit a tenant to withhold repair costs without expressed written consent from the owner/landlord. This is the area of greatest concern to the city, regarding landlord tenant relations, according to the Assistant Director of the Salt Lake City Building and Housing Department, Harvey Boyd. It is at this point that most problems could be resolved if state laws were enacted to provide specific language regarding tenant repairs.

For example, the Smith Apartments were closed by the city earlier this year. A $25.00 ill-fitting pipe fixture eventually led to boiler shut down, pipes freezing and bursting and an entire complex of low income housing being indefinitely evacuated. A small problem can lead to rapid building degeneration if no one is authorized to make a minor repair.

After city inspection, an occupancy may be deemed in violation of city codes. The inspector may then take appropriate action.

In the meantime the tenant can choose to live with the condition(s) or seek possible assistance for relocation from shelters or the City Housing Authority (CHA). Structural damage is monitored by Building and Housing Services, while the Health Department may get involved where water has been shut off or if a variety of other unhealthy situations have arisen. Public funds to pay for minor repairs are limited and there are always many requests for repair assistance. The directors of the Building and Housing Department continually juggle and prioritize needs.

This is going to change, says Harvey Boyd, who has just received a new appropriation consisting of federal funds given to Salt Lake City as part of a community development block grant, called the At Risk Building Program.

The city could then accomplish repairs and simply lien the property to collect its costs (including demolition)—plus a $175.00 administrative fee—when the property sells or changes hands. The difference is that now Mr. Boyd has a new proposal sure to rile the 'perpetual landlord' who buys speculatory R7 (residential/office) or C3 (commercial district) properties and plans to let the existing structures which are being rented, fall into ruins.

Hopefully soon, interest on public funds used to make repairs could start to accrue and continue to accrue, until the city receives reimbursement for repairs, any demolition and administrative costs. Mr. Boyd doesn't think owner/landlords unwilling or unable to fund their own repairs should get free loans or public funds to fix their shoddy properties—which is exactly what is currently happening.

In effect, under this new policy Salt Lake City could end up owning property if not timely reimbursed. This policy and existing city ordinances make it infeasible for landlord/owners not to maintain their properties. The bottom line is that adequate, safe housing is a right not a privilege and owner/landlords have an obligation to maintain their properties. It is this right and the owner/landlord's obligations to their tenants that make a Fit Premises (Landlord-Tenant Relations) state law a necessity.

Current Utah state laws favor the owner/landlord, providing for the fastest evictions (3 day notice) in the nation, and don't provide any guidance for adjudicators in the areas of fit premises and illegal entry. In a letter to the Business and Labor Interim Committee dated April 18, 1989, Mayor Palmer DePaulis urged the committee members "to give a high priority to Interim Study of Proposed Fit Premises or Warrant of Habitability legislation which would protect the rights of both the landlords and tenants in Utah." DePaulis also discussed the lack of legislation for defining and enforcing minimum standards of safety and livability in rental housing and the problems Salt Lake City has experienced with landlords failing to maintain habitable rental property.

In May the Business and Labor Interim Committee heard testimony from Bruce Plenk, attorney for Utah Legal Services, who represents plaintiffs (tenants) such as those who have complaints against Harris, Purdue, and Secor; Barbara Toomer, Director of the Salt Lake Citizen's Congress; Steve Erickson, of Utah Issues, a group instrumental in preparing information on landlord tenant problems and lack of adequate low income housing; and Sharon Abegglen, Director of Housing Services for Salt Lake Community Action. Testimony centered on the lack of adequate affordable housing in Utah, specifically in the Salt Lake area. There are 7,350 substandard units in greater Salt Lake and another 7,000 substandard units in rural Utah, according to a Housing Assistance Plan submitted to HUD (Housing and Urban Development). The central problem seems to be landlords expecting full rents for decrepit housing, coupled with the lack of state laws permitting withholding of rents (by the tenant) as a means of renter recourse. This problem was brought to the attention of the committee and discussed in some length before the Interim Committee asked for a bill to be drawn up and introduced at their September 1989 meeting.

State Senator Richard Carling, Chairman of the Interim Committee, expressed his willingness to work with Utah Issues Director Bill Walsh regarding Fit Premises legislation and asked Walsh in a letter, two days before the meeting to "forward as quickly as possible drafts of any proposed legislation," to be placed on the committee agenda.

Another encouraging development is the draft legislation sponsored by Representative Craig Moody, former Chairman of the Republican Party and current Majority Leader in the House, to amend Utah Code. The political climate looks good for this piece of legislation or a close approximation, supported by a survey conducted of all legislative candidates by the UHC last fall.

Mark Lundgren, Chair of UHC, presented the results of this survey in a letter of Fit Premises support to the Interim Committee members saying "it appears that there is sufficient reason for legislators to give serious study and consideration to a fit premises bill for Utah."

Fit Premises (or Habitability) legislation has been presented to the Utah Legislature, with no success, 15 times in the last 18 years. Let's hope that this time the legislature will seriously look at the evidence and continue forward with its support.