Lakewood landlords sue over code enforcement crackdown

CLAIM: Units rented to Hispanics targeted

RESPONSE: Aim is to improve quality of life

Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 08/8/06

BY JOHN VANDIVER
TOMS RIVER BUREAU

LAKEWOOD, NJ — A group of landlords contends that local building and code inspectors are unfairly targeting rental units occupied by Hispanics and enforcing local ordinances that are unconstitutionally vague, and has asked a court to stop them.

The Lakewood Landlords Association filed a lawsuit in Superior Court July 24 seeking to prevent "unjust enforcement of township ordinances," said Larry Loigman, the group's Middletown-based attorney. The suit names 53 plaintiffs.

"The town is trying to send a message to the landlords that they're not to rent to a particular part of the population," said Loigman. That amounts to discrimination, he added.

Steven Secare, the township attorney, denied that building inspectors are targeting only rentals occupied by Hispanics. He also defended the township's "quality-of-life" ordinances, which Secare said duplicate various national building code standards.

"I'm confident these ordinances are constitutionally valid and will be upheld," Secare said.

The township's crackdown on quality-of-life violations gained momentum last year as complaints piled up from residents upset about neighboring properties. The complaints ranged from frustrations with overcrowded homes to unkempt, overgrown yards, Secare said.

In response, the township hired three additional building inspectors and four more police officers, all assigned to enforce property codes, said Township Committeeman Raymond G. Coles, who declined to comment specifically on the suit.

Collectively, the landlords have received more than 150 summonses from building inspectors. Fines have ranged from $100 to $500 for offenses ranging from overcrowding and failure to obtain certificates of occupancy to poor maintenance, Loigman said.

In one instance, a landlord received a summons for "failure to remove a duck," Loigman said. "We have no idea what that one's about."

As the fines mount, Lakewood is becoming too costly for the landlords, according to Loigman.

"They can't continue to do business," he said.

The landlords' suit says that enforcement of property codes violates the Fair Housing Act, and that while homes with Hispanic tenants are routinely inspected, other properties rarely are.