Landlords under fire for skirting taxes
Mike Silvestri
Issue date: 2/21/07 Section: News
City officials expressed hope last night that the state could help crack down on shifty landlords who routinely wriggle out of paying additional taxes on their properties by disguising them as primary residences.
Because of tax breaks available to residents who live in homes rather than rent them out, the city has heralded legislation introduced by state Sen. Jim Rosapepe (D-Prince George's and Anne Arundel) as a tactic to cut down on increasing numbers of single family homes downtown being converted to student housing. Officials have long complained landlords abuse the tax breaks by posing as single families using the breaks to buy up properties for higher prices than real single families can afford.
The legislation is aimed at tightening state audit procedures that would ensure the homeowner actually lives on the property. Too many landlords have slipped through the cracks, city officials said, in a state system that doesn't conduct audits nearly enough.
"Through oversight or fraud, there are suspected to be a significant number of rental properties" that are listed as owner-occupied, city documents show, and city officials say the tax rolls are depleted as a result.
In the past, the city's actions were essentially limited to sending a list of rentals to the state four times a year to compare with its database and keep owners from listing two primary residences when one is actually a rental. City code enforcement officers also routinely patrol neighborhoods looking for extra cars parked on the grass and overflowing trash cans as some signs of overcrowding and a possible unlisted rental needing investigation.
But recently, the city began using another branch of the government to check on rentals' statuses: comparing rental listings to state Motor Vehicle Administration information.
"We're essentially doing the work of a computer database," said Bob Ryan, the city's director of public services. "If anybody knows any state legislators and can pressure them to [implement automated systems], feel free."
Because of tax breaks available to residents who live in homes rather than rent them out, the city has heralded legislation introduced by state Sen. Jim Rosapepe (D-Prince George's and Anne Arundel) as a tactic to cut down on increasing numbers of single family homes downtown being converted to student housing. Officials have long complained landlords abuse the tax breaks by posing as single families using the breaks to buy up properties for higher prices than real single families can afford.
The legislation is aimed at tightening state audit procedures that would ensure the homeowner actually lives on the property. Too many landlords have slipped through the cracks, city officials said, in a state system that doesn't conduct audits nearly enough.
"Through oversight or fraud, there are suspected to be a significant number of rental properties" that are listed as owner-occupied, city documents show, and city officials say the tax rolls are depleted as a result.
In the past, the city's actions were essentially limited to sending a list of rentals to the state four times a year to compare with its database and keep owners from listing two primary residences when one is actually a rental. City code enforcement officers also routinely patrol neighborhoods looking for extra cars parked on the grass and overflowing trash cans as some signs of overcrowding and a possible unlisted rental needing investigation.
But recently, the city began using another branch of the government to check on rentals' statuses: comparing rental listings to state Motor Vehicle Administration information.
"We're essentially doing the work of a computer database," said Bob Ryan, the city's director of public services. "If anybody knows any state legislators and can pressure them to [implement automated systems], feel free."
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