Baltimore City landlord Mike Fish knows his profession does not usually engender sympathy.
“I know, I?m a landlord, I?m scum,” said the entrepreneur, who owns and manages 16 properties interspersed throughout the city.
But the recent slew of skyrocketing assessments on several of his properties in middle-class and low- income neighborhoods means Fish may be forced to raise the rent to tenants who can least afford it.
“I received new assessments on eight out of my 16 properties. The minimum increase was 240 percent, and several are over 500 percent,” Fish said. “I might have to pass this along but I don?t know if my tenants can afford it. ”
Fish does not qualify for the homestead property tax credit, which puts a 4 percent annual cap on tax increases for owner-occupied homes. The sharp jump in his property taxes means tenants might have to bear some of the brunt of rising costs.
“I don?t really know what I?m going to do. Passing this on to my tenants would mean an average rent increase over $200 per month, which they can?t afford. If they can?t afford it, then I can?t afford it,” said Fish, who leases apartments in East Baltimore neighborhoods north of Patterson Park.
The new batch of assessments mailed to property owners in January has landlords also concerned that fixing up houses in some of the city?s less affluent neighborhoods is becoming economically unfeasible.
Michelle Yang, 34, a city landlord who purchased a two-bedroom property at 33rd Street and Loch Raven in Waverly last October said renovation costs and higher taxes have put the rent out of reach of likely tenants.
“I amadvertising it for $995; it?s hard to get people interested at that price because the neighborhood is not that attractive.”
With an assessment that nearly tripled from $36,000 to $104,000, Yang said she?s in a bind.
“I don?t have much flexibility because the rent has to cover the mortgage and the taxes.”
The state reassess both commercial and residential properties once every three years, staggering the assessments so only one-third of all properties statewide are reassessed each year.
Last year many pricey neighborhoods such as Mount Washington and Guilford were reassessed. Now the pain is spreading throughout the city, raising concerns among tenant advocates that rent increases might be in the offing.
“This is clearly a problem. We hope that landlords do not pass these costs along to tenants,” said Stuart Katzenberg, chief organizer of ACORN, a Baltimore-based tenant advocacy group.
But landlord Simon Grant said a fourfold increase in taxes on his property in the East Baltimore neighborhood of Milton Park leaves him with little room to maneuver.
“I?ve got a mortgage insurance and now higher taxes. It?s getting to point where it?s not worth it,” he said.
“If they don?t phase this in gradually, the city might end up with a lot of empty houses.”
