Police chief: More landlords using background checks
By ROB PRICE THE COURIER-ADVOCATE

BATH - Local landlords increasingly are using tenant background checks before signing new leases.

Bath police Chief David Rouse last week reported the police department so far this year has executed nearly 300 background checks at the request of landlords. In 2006, police executed 106 background checks.

"I'm very appreciative of that," Rouse said.

At the same time, he said, the Bath police department is preparing to increase pressure on landlords with disruptive tenants. These measures include possible lawsuits filed under the New York Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law. The civil actions carry penalties up to $5,000.

"Some landlords we don't have a problem with, but at the same time we have a number of landlords ... whose rental properties have a lot to be desired," Rouse said. "A number of police calls go out to these apartments, ... and we're going to put them on notice."

Rouse said the village has the authority under state law to evict tenants who are disrupting their neighborhoods. "If the landlord won't evict, we'll do it," Rouse said.

In the aftermath of a meeting with the U.S. attorney's office for western New York, Rouse further warned landlords with habitually troublesome properties could face seizure actions in federal court.

"If we can demonstrate a pattern of conduct at an apartment where the landlord is not taking steps to prevent that behavior, there are remedies through the federal attorney's office," Rouse said. "They include seizure."

Rouse last week advised Bath village board members the police department is ready to turn up pressure on troubled rental properties. Rouse made the report after attending a law enforcement seminar with Codes Enforcement Officer Ralph Senese and police Sgt. Andrew Dubois.

"It became very apparent communities across New York are facing the same problems," Rouse said.

The Bath police department in 2006 began offering free background checks to landlords in an effort to identify prospective tenants with criminal records. Landlords participating in the program require prospective tenants to agree to the background search as a condition for signing a lease.