University of Virginia Library

'Milking The Situation 'Til It Turns Sour'

By BILL BARDENWERPER

The indisputable thing
about ratholes is that they are
not made for people. Well it
just so happens that the
residents of the 406 12th St.
apartment are people. So they
complained to the City Health
Department about the
possibility of certain health
code violations. Today, they
no longer live in a rathole.
They have all been evicted.

Their problem is that the
eviction by landlord James N.
Fleming is not only legal but it
is common practice. "This is
more or less standard operating
procedure," says City
Councilman Mitchell Van
Yahres. "In general, owners
have been getting away with
murder."

"It's not right to single out
one individual to roast," says
Randolph L. White, editor of
the Charlottesville-Albemarle
Tribune.

"The fact is, contends
Charlottesville-Albemarle Legal
Aid Attorney, Ronald Tweel,
"Fleming is by no means the
worst landlord in town."

Garbage: Thrown From Windows Above

In October, the Health
Department inspected the
building on 12th St. and sent
Mr. Fleming a list of 11 health
code violations, most of them
minor, asking him to make
repairs. But Mr. Fleming
returned the letter with a note
which said, "the matter is
closed by vacating the
apartments."

Mr. Fleming, who says he
controls 300 to 500 dwelling
units in Charlottesville, has
announced since then that he
will vacate an "untold
number" of apartments as soon
as the leases expire and claims
that closing down these
apartments is a protest against
the city's infringement on his
constitutional rights.

But according to City
Councilman George H. Gilliam,
Fleming was just sounding off
and had simply said "the first
thing that came to his head."

"There is nothing really to
worry about, though,"
contends Mr. Van Yahres,
"because no one can
economically afford to actually
carry out such a threat."

Exterminators Wouldn't Even Go In

Under the present health
code, violators cannot be
taken to court if the dwelling
is unoccupied. In individual
cases a Fleming-type response
to such complaints is typical in
order to avoid litigation.

But in light of Mr. Fleming's
threat of massive retaliation,
whether truly serious or not,
Charlottesville City Council has
finally begun considering
action to alleviate this
scapegoat in the present health
code.

The Charlottesville-Albemarle
Legal Aid Office has
entered a proposal which
would allow tenants to hold
their rent in escrow until the
landlord alleviates the health
code violations.

Mr. Gilliam has also
proposed an amendment which
would eliminate vacancy as a
defense of health code
violations. The Gilliam
amendment also implies that
after a health code complaint
the tenant cannot be evicted
for an entire year. Otherwise,
the landlord will be suspected
for evicting the tenant for
merely complaining.

It is difficult to estimate
what it would have cost Mr.
Fleming to make the necessary
repairs which include an illegal
commode; cracked plaster; a
leaky roof, and holes in the
bathroom and kitchen floors.
One tenant stated that she
actually had to hold an
umbrella over her head in the
bathroom because the floor
above leaked so badly.

While Mr. Fleming claims
that he simply cannot neglect
the principles of economics,
Mr. Gilliam says that "Fleming
is simply milking the situation
until it turns a little sour. Then
he throws it out."

Mr. Gilliam explains that a
landlord should try to make at
least a nine to ten per cent
yearly return on his invested
capital.

"But in Mr. Fleming's case,"
says Mr. Van Yahres, "he is
making about 35 to 40 per
cent profit." Furthermore, Mr.
Fleming pays only $320.90 per
year in taxes on property
which brings him about $4300
in rent.

"Free enterprise works only
when there is competition,"
contends Mr. Gilliam. "But
right now there is no
competition. The private
market just can't provide it."

"However, government
housing would provide that
competition," he continues.
"Rents would go down and
standards would necessarily
improve."

B.B. Woodson, Mr.
Fleming's attorney, contends
that this is merely a "pipe
dream," and "that a lot of
private housing will just go off
the market."

"But what can the city do
for $60 or $80 a month?" asks
local real estate developer