Dallas To Remove Tenants From Small Houses In Need Of Repair

DALLAS, TEXAS:  The City of Dallas are taking the initiative and claiming that five small houses on Clarendon drive, aren’t suitable enough for humans to live in.The city will seek a court order to strong-arm the residents who make these their homes out onto the streets. For the first time ever Dallas will decide that being homeless is a better solution than having a roof over your head.

One of the residents, Leonard, a 68-year-old retired truck driver said, “My thing is, where is the humanity in all this? I’ve been here 17 years and never had a problem. Why, all of the sudden, a problem?” Leonard was paying about $350 a month to his landlord but he stopped coming by to collect his rent a few months ago.

Leonard added “They said the foundation is messed up, which I ain’t got no problem with, it ain’t falling down, My bathroom, it’s stable. My bed is stable. So what else I need to worry about?” He says he doesn’t know where to go if he’s kicked out of his only obtainable shelter.

Kris Sweckard, the director of code compliance is the judge, jury, and executioner for these peaceful people, he argues that, “The very bottom line is that the house they currently in are not up to minimum property standards, people should not be living in those.”

Photos taken by an inspector from code compliance displays one of the small houses with a metal pole and plywood that’s holding one side together. Additional photos depict the rotting, rundown interiors. A couple of houses supposedly have no electricity or water. Sweckard is saying that the living conditions on Clarendon serve as an example for why city officials will request the Dallas City Council to grant them a rental property inspection program. The estimate is that there are as many as 50,000 rental properties in the City of Dallas.

As of now, code enforcement inspectors do not have authority to enter single-family rental properties without consent from the landlord or tenant.
The proposed program would require property owners to register with the city along with producing proof that they have visited their properties once every 6 months. Registration and the possibility of having the city enter private properties without consent is an avenue that does not need to be taken.

Sweckard said. “We’re doing that because a lot of the tenants that we’ve talked to and the stakeholder groups we’ve heard from have indicated that they don’t see their landlords enough, and the landlords don’t know what the condition of the property is.”

For the homeowners who don’t comply to the registration requirements, code compliance will look-up city water records and appraisal district records to find the owners. Sweckard says that his code compliance enforcers could inspect up to 10,000 single-family properties every year.

Councilmember Carolyn Arnold first told Sweckard about the five little houses on Clarendon last summer. The houses were all constructed in the 1940s and they are listed on the property appraisal rolls as being valued at less than $12,000 each. Dontcomply has just discovered that the city is also urging people to turn in homes or structures that don’t meet their standards of living. Operation Crackdown (www.dallascitynews.net/city-asks-for-public-help-to-identify-structures-for-operation-crackdown  is a Texas National Guard Counter Drug Program, to snitch and get someone’s property bulldozed by the evil city one just can simply drop and email to Anica Lazarin. Anica.lazarin@dallascityhall.com.  Sweckard said that they had tried to make it right with the landlords, but they were short on funds and had fixed incomes. “They were on a limited income, but they said they were trying to make repairs, so we worked with them for a while.” he said.

When the repairs were left undone, the city got a court order demanding the repairs be made. Then when the owners ceased responding to the city, they ultimately made the decision to remove the tenants.

An upcoming council committee will discuss the situation on Monday April, 18th.
Then the court hearing that seeks the removal of the tenants is scheduled for for April 21.
Sweckard says, “This will be their chance to weigh on this approach, and see if that’s something they want to get into doing.”

Galvin Martin resides in one of the houses, he has electric, but records show that he doesn’t have running water. Martin says, “It’s not in no real good condition, but it’s livable, it just needs a little fixing up.”

Mr. Martin stated that he has arthritis,  a few screws in his ankle from a work-related accident, and an ongoing liver condition. Martin was homeless previously but moved in his home about three years ago. Martin says being homeless is a vivid “nightmare” and says he’d prefer living here than to be back on the streets. Martin says, “They say ‘move out of here,’ where am I going to move at?”

He was paying $150-to-$200 per month, but “Mr. Brent” is always lenient and if he didn’t have the money that he could do odd jobs around the property instead. “He always worked with me, if I didn’t have it, he’d just let me go. You can’t find too many rent men like that.”
Two of the tenants said that “Mr. Brent” would come by and pick up the rent but they haven’t seen him in a couple of months.

They are saying if the city wants them out, that there should be some kind of a plan for where they’ll be going. Leonard added “If you don’t want us here, get us out of it, get me a nice play to stay.”  Having an existing home that works for them should be left unmolested by the city. Publicly announcing that these five houses are under siege by the city of Dallas would help them get the repairs that they need. Volunteers are out there, the money is out there, the abundance of building materials and loving labor is present. Eviction is not the answer, a call for help from the volunteer arm of the community is a great way to fortify the existing homes of the fellow humans.   (Dallas Code Compliance)

Department Director
Kris Sweckard

3112 Canton Street
Dallas, TX 75226

Phone (214) 670-5708
Fax: (214) 670-3652

Executive Assistant
(214) 671-9095 ​​

By Andre’ Gabriel Esparza – DontComply.com