[RPPTL LandTen] Crime-free apartment program starting in Orlando

Mon Jan 31 14:13:42 PST 2011

Hello Members, 

Have you all seen the addendum? Here it is.

This modification of the standard Drug and Crime addendum which has been in
use for years is going to cause problems.

In the first few paragraphs, they refer to criminal activity on or near the
premises, then they go into paragraph 5 which presumably can occur anywhere?

Suppose someone gets busted somewhere, the prop evicts and then the charges
get dropped or adjudication is withheld? 

Is the prop under a duty to constantly check to see if someone was busted
somewhere? If they find something, where do they draw the line? If they do
not check on the tenants all the time will this create potential liability
if the person then commits another similar crime on the property.

I see some serious problems ahead.  I am really interested to see our Legal
Services member's take on this.

This article has spread all around Florida today. I have had over 15 clients
email it to me from all areas of the state all thinking it is some great new
thing.

Harry Heist

LAW OFFICES OF 
HEIST, WEISSE & DAVIS, P.A.
PH: 1 800 253 8428
FAX: 1 800 367 9038
"Serving the Property Management Professional"
Website:  www.evict.com <http://www.evict.com/>  
Email: harry at evict.com

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From: landten-bounces at lists.flabarrpptl.org
[mailto:landten-bounces at lists.flabarrpptl.org] On Behalf Of Greg Hass
Sent: Monday, January 31, 2011 3:14 PM
To: RPPTL Landlord Tenant Committee
Subject: [RPPTL LandTen] Crime-free apartment program starting in Orlando

I thought this article in today's Orlando Sentinel might be of interest to
the committee members:

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/os-orlando-crime-free-multihousing
-20110130,0,3406881.story

Crime-free apartment program starting in Orlando

Orlando police will introduce a national crime-free multi-housing program to
the city's apartment complexes in an effort to stifle crime

By Bianca Prieto, Orlando Sentinel 

10:15 p.m. EST, January 30, 2011

Listen up criminals - it's about to get a lot harder to rent in The City
Beautiful.

Orlando Police Department is gearing up for its latest initiative to combat
crime at local apartment complexes by adopting the Crime Free Multi-Housing
program.

The three-prong national program makes it easier for landlords to evict
problem tenants - especially renters or their guests who commit criminal
acts.

The program works this way: Complexes sign up for the program with OPD;
managers go through special training; the complex earns security
certification; and an addendum is inserted into the lease, stating residents
or their guests will not engage in criminal activity while living there.

When a tenant commits a crime in Orlando, their names and addresses go into
a database made available to apartment managers who have the ability to
check names at will.

If a tenant's name pops up, property managers then have a right to start an
eviction immediately for violating the terms of the lease.

While the program is new to Orlando, the initiative was started in the early
1990s by an Arizona police officer who was tired of responding to the same
problem complexes involving the same people.

Locally, law-enforcement officers feel that same pain.

"This program is [aimed at] squeezing out all the people who just don't want
to do right, so good people can have a nice, quiet place to live," said
Officer Derwin Bradley, who was tasked with starting program in Orlando.
"Some families move from property to property just wreaking havoc."

'It's legal to discriminate'

Police plan to officially roll out the program later this week with a
ceremony attended by the mayor and chief of police at the Fountains at
Millenia.

But police say it's already showing promise.

Last month, Bradley noticed a tenant at one complex was arrested in
connection to a car break-in at another involved in the program.

Officers say Leroy Ebanks, 21, and another man broke into a car but ran when
they were confronted by the owner when he returned home from work. Police
caught up to Ebanks and the second man, but both denied breaking in. The car
owner identified them, according to a police report.

Bradley checked into Ebanks' criminal history, which showed he has been
arrested in the past on gun and drug charges. Bradley turned over
information to the complex Ebanks lived in, and management started the
eviction process.

Timothy Zehring, the former Arizona police officer who founded the program,
said cities that utilize the program have seen 15 to 20 percent reduction in
crime at participating complexes.

Since the program's inception, it has exploded.

Zehring said he has trained upward of 15,000 police officers in 12 countries
about crime free multi-housing. Some cities, like Las Vegas
<http://www.orlandosentinel.com/topic/us/nevada/clark-county/las-vegas-PLGEO
100101101011248.topic> , Nev., have even adopted city ordinances based on
CFMH.

He says it works because it gives landlords authority to get rid of
criminals who cause or invite problems.

We teach them it's legal to discriminate - yes, I said discriminate - based
on criminal history," Zehring said. "We didn't choose our gender; what
country we were born in.that's why those are protected classes. If a person
chooses to cook meth, sell crack or do armed robberies, that's a different
thing altogether."

Managers can search

Soon, managers at participating Orlando complexes will be able to do their
own searches on current and prospective residents.

"It benefits the whole community," said Nathalie Adarve, a leasing agent at
the Fountains. "It will increase our knowledge."

Adarve said she plans to check the database every morning and is excited
about the new tool to make the complex safer.

So far, Bradley has been manually entering names and addresses into the
database managers will use. It's a lot of work for one officer, but he has
hopes the program will grow and develop into something bigger.

In the future, he'd like to see OPD have a unit dedicated to CFMH similar to
the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office - where two sergeants and two six-officer
squads are dedicated full-time the program there.

Jacksonville Lt. Jimmy Ricks, who oversees the unit, said the program has
brought a "remarkable" decrease in criminal activity since it started there
in 2008. Crime stats were not immediately available.

"Calls for service have been reduced," Ricks said, adding that the staffing
has grown because of the success.

The Orlando program will start with Fountains at Millenia in February. Six
more will follow - Ridge Club Apartments, Commander Place Apartments, Danube
Apartments, Willow Key Apartments, Rosemont Country Club Apartments and the
Landings of Millenia.

Bianca Prieto can be reached at bprieto at orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5620.

Greg Hass, Senior Counsel

Office of Law & Policy | FloridaRealtorsR
7025 Augusta National Drive, Orlando, FL 32822
talk: 407.438.1400, ext. 2421
visit: http://www.floridarealtors.org

The Voice for Real EstateR in Florida

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