Meriden Mayor Wants To Eliminate Landlord Fees

A first term mayor in Meriden is coming under fire for his plan to eliminate a program that keeps a close eye on landlords and their rental units. While some renters are up in arms, Mayor Manny Santos said he is sticking to his guns, saying the current program is bad business for the city. 
A student at Middlesex Community College in downtown Meriden, Troy Wiley said as a renter, he's had his fair share of lousy landlords.
"Not bad enough to complain, but pretty bad," Wiley said. "Me I'm the type that would just get up and move if it was that bad."
Wiley said he had some concerns when we told him about Santos' recent line item budget veto.
In an effort to trim the budget, Santos wants to get rid of Meriden's certificate of compliance program and defund the housing division, which he said would save roughly $70,000.
Since 1980, Meriden requires landlords to pay $25 every two years for each of their rental units. The city's housing inspectors then check those units to make sure they're up to the city's codes and regulations.
"At this point, I think it's an intrusive program, having out city inspectors going into rental units, private property every two years is too much," Santos said. "It shouldn't be a function of our city."
Santos said the current program does more harm than good and claimed it discourages investors from town.
"I want a process in place that's efficient, if a renter or a landlord has a complaint, I want that complaint acted on quickly and decisively," Santos said.
Just because he wants to eliminate the certificate of compliance, Santos said this doesn't mean landlords will have free reign. Rather Santos said the city will take a reactionary approach and that renters will need to step forward when there is a problem.
Others said they are concerned though that without that oversight, some landlords will let their rentals go.
It's why Thursday night's special council meeting looking at the veto and also including a resolution to review the current housing code is expected to be packed and contentious.
"Some landlords feel they don't need to do anything because they don't live in Meriden," Wiley said. "They live in New York, so they look at Meriden as their last priority."
Thursday night's special city council meeting is set for 6:30 p.m. at Meriden City Hall.

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