Apartment Registry Bill Placed on Hold

Judge Joseph James has stayed some of the enforcement of the Ravenstahl administration's new apartment registration bill because of several contentions made by various groups of property owners. Next Thursday and Friday, the judge will hear the testimony of these groups and possibly make a final decision on the matter. Acting Executive Director of the Apartment Association of Metropolitan Pittsburgh Jim Eichenlaub says one major contention his organization has with the bill is the $12 per unit registration fee. "You cannot use this as a revenue generator. It has to cover [only] the administrative costs of the ordinance, and of course that's where some issues of depositions and evidentiary hearings can come into play," says Eichenlaub. In addition to the fee, the group also disagrees with publicizing tenants' private information and the "lack of a due process in the sense of the occupancy permit."