To the editor:
Bargersville’s Town Council has passed an ordinance that requires landlords to keep their tenants’ utilities in the landlord’s name. Landlords will also be responsible for payments and deposits.
This ordinance was passed quietly with no notification and no input from local landlords. It was passed 10 months ago and kept secret until a few weeks before the election when the town council sent out a letter to local landlords. The letter included a form to sign that held the landlord financially responsible for the tenant’s bills.
The landlords cannot turn off utilities, they cannot cap the utility bill and the landlords are required to change their leases so that the tenants give the landlords permission to see the bills. This will be a management nightmare.
You will have fewer rental units in an already tight rental market. Landlords pay more than double the property taxes of owner-occupied homes, so tax revenue will go down. Some tenants do not want their privacy invaded — will they be denied utilities? If an owner does not pay the bill will a tenant’s utilities be shut off?
Landlords and tenants are banding together to repeal this ordinance. Contact the Bargersville Town Council members and let them know you support repealing or amending this ordinance.
Marsha Isbell
Bargersville
