Amidst all the other issues the General Assembly faces this session, it should strongly consider tackling the problem of urban blight caused by absentee landlords.
The “(l)egislature should also give its attention to a proposal from Bridgeport state Rep. Auden Grogins that would let municipalities pursue out-of-town slumlords up to an including putting liens on their suburban or out-of-state homes,” the CT Post declared in a recent editorial.
The CT Post, which is based in Bridgeport, said, “Cities like Bridgeport deal with a certain number of absentee slumlords who suck properties dry, wringing every possible dollar of rent out of them while reinvesting nothing, ignoring taxes and, in the most extreme cases, simply walking away when the property is beyond repair, leaving the city to suffer not only the tax delinquency, but also the expense of razing the property.”
The editorial acknowledges that currently the personal property of commercial entity owners cannot be attached for liability. “The Legislature should loosen legal restraints to let cities like Bridgeport lower the boom on the entire class of property owner that cares nothing for the impact of his decisions on the rest of the city,” it said.
The editorial added the legislature should also consider taking similar action against owners of commercial and industrial property that is a blight on many urban areas.