Damon McGuire bought a 10-unit apartment complex on 33rd Street in South Tucson five years ago.
For the Northern Californian, the investment was out of sight and out of mind. The complex became run-down. In a short time, it turned into a nest for drug users, drug dealers and prostitutes.
“I knew there were issues but I didn’t know how bad it was,” McGuire said. “[The city] came down on me hard.”
A new law has empowered the city of South Tucson to hold landlords accountable for conditions on their properties, whether they live in South Tucson or not.
Approved by the city council last December, the Neighborhood Preservation Ordinance aims to clean up rental properties in South Tucson by allowing the city to take owners to court if their buildings or homes are run-down or occupied by tenants who cause complaints.
“People who rent don’t care about property like people who own,” said Judge Ronald Wilson of South Tucson Municipal Court. “This law helps the city hold owners accountable for the condition of their property.”
Renters occupy about 60 percent of housing in the 1.2-square-mile city. In some cases, owners don’t live in the area and aren’t aware of what happens in their buildings, whether it be crime or poor maintenance.
With the new law, owners can now face civil and criminal lawsuits based on the actions of their tenants and the condition of their properties.
“This ordinance gives the city more authority,” said South Tucson City Manager Enrique Serna.
Police and the city have received numerous complaints about certain rental homes and complexes such as the one owned by McGuire, where police were called to the complex more than one hundred times per year.
“It was bad spot in the community. I was appalled. I had no idea the conditions had gotten so bad. It was shocking,” McGuire said. “[The city] being so aggressive was really good. It was appropriate and I appreciate it. Some people need a wake up call.”
The city of South Tucson sent McGuire a notice informing him that his building wasn’t up to code and threatened him with legal action.
“We contacted him and he came out to see for himself. When he did, he was embarrassed about the conditions,” Serna said.
Since the ordinance went into effect, owners have been 100 percent responsive and have evicted a total of 25 tenants in the city, including four people at McGuire’s complex. Still, the city is working with the Pima County Attorney’s Office to establish civil and criminal penalties for homeowners who may not be compliant in the future, Serna said.
“It’s clear in some cases we may need to take them to court,” he said.
Serna said many homeowners and complex managers haven’t run background checks and haven’t been paying attention to the real names of some residents.
“They’ve turned a blind eye to the kinds of people they’re renting to,” he said.
Because of the ordinance and the consequences property owners now face, the city hopes owners will become more selective.
“They’ll rent to people who will have more pride in their property,” Wilson said.
Patricia Diaz, a second generation South Tucsonan and owner of two lots on South Eighth Avenue, said she welcomes the new law.
“I wish we had more landowners who actually lived in their property,” Diaz said.
Because Diaz and her husband live next door to her tenants, it’s easy for her to keep tabs on what goes on in her home, but for other property owners she knows that’s not the case.
“I can go out in my front yard, turn my head and see what’s happening. If my tenants get rowdy, I tell them, ‘Hey, cut the noise off,’ ” she said. “We care very deeply about South Tucson. I look up and down the street and I can tell who are the original owners and who are not.”
Serna said he expects the new law to help clean up the city of South Tucson, which has a reputation for high crime rates and run-down buildings.
“This will work to change the genesis of the stigma that surrounds South Tucson,” he said.
Within a week after receiving his notice from the city of South Tucson in the mail in California, McGuire evicted the problematic residents.
He has spent much of last summer in South Tucson fixing up the complex himself and he has given supervision of his apartment to an on-site manager.
During one of his visits, McGuire walked across the street to HOPE Recovery on 34th Street to talk to his neighbors about the situation at the complex.
“I told them I owned the property and I told them I had some real problems. Being across the street they said they knew. They saw it,” McGuire said.
McGuire talked to Pete Moore, executive director at HOPE Recovery, a faith-based organization that offers services to recovering addicts.
McGuire, a former addict now 21 years sober and working in the recovery field, suggested his complex become a home for people in the HOPE Recovery program.
“I wanted it to become an annex for treatment. I want nothing but clean and sober people. There’s a lot of need for that in that community,” he said.
Trinity Landscaping, a division of HOPE Recovery, lent a helping hand to clean up the building.
“We teamed up to help each other,” Moore said.
McGuire hired other skilled laborers and they made improvements to the building such as installing air conditioning to attract better tenants.
“It’s been a summer construction project in Tucson. I have a few more gray hairs,” McGuire said half jokingly. “But we’re trying to make it happen.”
Moore said the units for HOPE Recovery are now full and he expects them to stay that way.
“It’s now a safe environment for people to focus on recovery,” he said.
According to the city, police haven’t received a call to the complex since shortly after McGuire got notice.
“It’s a work in progress but it’s been miraculous,” McGuire said. “The neighbors are thrilled for what we’re doing.”
Serna said he expects the law to continue to improve the community like it has at McGuire’s building.
“Most folks out there take care of their property. We’re going after those people who don’t,” Serna said. “We’re cleaning house.”
