Sex-crime bill would put heat on landlords

Published: 02.27.2004
By Howard Fischer
CAPITOL MEDIA SERVICES

PHOENIX - State lawmakers are trying to label people who rent to more than three sex offenders as slumlords.

The proposed law would carry stiff fines and the potential of having a judge find someone else to run the property.

The legislation, approved 7-2 Thursday by the House Judiciary Committee, is designed to find some legal way of preventing the "clustering" of those convicted of sex crimes.

Several individuals testified about apartment complexes near their homes which appear to cater to sex offenders. One in north-central Phoenix has 28.

Rep. Deb Gullett, R-Phoenix, said there are constitutional problems with placing restrictions on where sex offenders can live - particularly if they are no longer on probation even though they still are required to register.

This plan, she said, gets around that problem by restricting not the offender but the landlord.

This approach uses existing laws that define slum properties as those with problems ranging from structurally unsound walls and floors and lack of drinking water to hazardous gas connections or an accumulation of human or animal waste.

HB 2418 would add renting to more than three registered sex offenders in the same or adjacent complexes to the list.

Landlords would be subject to immediate $10,000 fines with additional $5,000 penalties per month.

The legislation also requires a judge to appoint a receiver to operate the property "for as long as the court deems necessary."

All content copyright © 1999-2004 AzStarNet, Arizona Daily Star and its wire services and suppliers and may not be republished without permission. All rights reserved. Any copying, redistribution, or retransmission of any of the contents of this service without the expressed written consent of Arizona Daily Star or AzStarNet is prohibited.