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What is Your Take: Landlords and Sex Offenders

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Article: Fewer sex offenders living in Ludington in wake of ordinance

Kevin Braciszeski - Daily News Staff Writer

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Fewer registered sex offenders are living in Ludington two years after the city council passed an ordinance requiring landlords to check if renters in school zones are on the Michigan Sex Offender Registry.

“We were able to clear the (sex offenders) living in those zones out of those zones and keep them out and as a result we have fewer sex offenders living in the city,” said Ludington Police Chief Mark Barnett.

Barnett said there were about 10 registered sex offenders living in school zones — a 1,000-foot radius from schools — and a total of about 65 registered sex offenders living in the city during late 2007.

“Frankly, we had a bad situation with people living in these areas,” he said about school zones.

Now there are none known in the school zones and about 45 in the city.

“We were kind of surprised by the result,” Barnett said about the overall number decreasing by so many. “It was unintended, we didn’t start out to drive them from the city.”

There was some resistance to the ordinance initially after the council approved it in October 2007, Barnett said, because it gave landlords the responsibility for checking on the renters. But, Barnett said, without the ordinance his department had no way of knowing if registered sex offenders were living in school zones.

He spoke about the issue Monday while providing his department’s 2009 annual report to the city council.

Article VIII: Sex Offender Residency (Ludington Municiple Code)

Sec. 34-231. [Landlord responsibilities.]

A landlord who rents property as a residence that is located within a school safety zone shall:

(a) Have prospective tenant(s) sign a form that indicates whether tenant or any member of tenant's household, over the age of 18 who will reside in the rental property, is or is not a registered sex offender, or required to be registered, with the Michigan Public Sex Offender Registry or other similar state sex offender registry.

(b) Prior to such rental, check the Michigan Public Sex Offender Registry to determine if prospective tenant(s) is/are a registered sex offender. If landlord does not have access to the Internet, landlord may fill out a form provided by the Ludington City Police Department requesting the police department to check the registry to determine whether the prospective tenant is registered.

(c) Sign a form provided by the Ludington City Police Department, for landlord's file, verifying that the landlord has asked the tenant if they or any member of tenant's household who will reside in the rental property is a registered sex offender and confirming whether or not the prospective tenant was listed on the Michigan Public Sex Offender Registry.

(d) Landlord must retain the forms required by subsections (a) and (c) above, while tenant occupies the rental property, and must make such forms available to the city police department if requested.

(Ord. No. 169-07, § 1, 10-8-2007)

Sec. 34-232. [Prohibitions.]

Landlord shall not rent rental property located within a school safety zone as a residence to a prospective tenant if tenant:

(a) Admits that they or any member of tenant's household who will reside in the rented property is a registered sex offender.

(b) Is found to be registered on the Michigan Public Sex Offender Registry.

(Ord. No. 169-07, § 1, 10-8-2007)

Sec. 34-233. Penalty.

(a) If landlord violates the provisions of this article VIII, for the first violation only, the City of Ludington Police Department will send a letter to the landlord informing the landlord of the violation.

(b) After the landlord has been given a letter from the Ludington Police Department under subsection (a), at any time landlord shall subsequently violate this article VIII, then the landlord shall be liable for a municipal civil infraction punishable under Code section 1-7.

(c) Landlord will not be in violation of this article VIII if a tenant is not required to be registered at the time landlord rents to tenant, but tenant is subsequently required to register with the Michigan Public Sex Offender Registry after the commencement of the lease or rental.

(Ord. No. 169-07, § 1, 10-8-2007)

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