At recent meetings of the Village of Mineola Board of Trustees, Trustee Linda Fairgrieve has been pushing for amendments to the village code in an attempt to curb illegal housing in the village. However, the trustee's proposal hasn't made it as far as a public hearing since there is some question as to whether the village has the authority to enforce such amendments.

Trustee Fairgrieve feels strongly that landlords who rent illegal apartments should not be allowed to collect rent if they should sue a tenant in District Court for rent.

The trustee is proposing adding 26.41 (e) to the village code, which would read, "It shall be a condition precedent for a landlord to collect rent for the use and occupancy of any one and/or two family home, that same can be rented legally in accordance with the laws of the Village of Mineola."

The addition to the village code would mean that a District Court Judge, in a landlord-tenant dispute, could not award rent to the landlord if the dwelling in question was said to be illegal.

Trustee Fairgrieve suggested passing such a clause in the village code and then sending it to the law department of District Court. The trustee cited cases in which judges did grant rent to landlords of illegal dwellings. The trustee believes her proposal would prevent such decisions. "You have to make it crystal clear to judges," she said.

Mayor Jack M. Martins believes Trustee Fairgrieve's proposal on illegal housing thus far to be either unenforceable by the village or would put a burden on the village.

The mayor believes that Trustee Faigrieve's latest proposal that a landlord of an illegal dwelling cannot be awarded rent from District Court would require personnel from the village's building department to be subpoenaed to testify as to whether the home is legal or illegal. "All we're doing is allowing our personnel now to have to become witnesses in court for something judges generally don't allow rent for anyway," he said.

On the subject of illegal housing, Mayor Martins said he has been pleased on the progress the village has made in fighting it, but he is not satisfied. "We're always striving to do more. We're also striving to fight more aggressively," he said. "We're making progress. It's going to take a while, but we've done more than has been done to this point."

The December 2003 Village of Mineola newsletter points out that from June 1, 2002 to September 30. 2002, 104 summonses were issued for illegal housing violations, which resulted in $28,815 in fines. From June 1, 2003 to September 30, 2003, 305 summonses were issued, which resulted in $58,515 fines.

Trustee Fairgrieve believes that making it unlawful to collect rent for an illegal dwelling is another step the village can take. "Maybe if these landlords know they are not going to be able to collect rent, it may be a deterrent," she said.