The City Settles

This subject was first brought to me by a woman frustrated with all the background / credit checks and how it seemed a little scamish that Realtors or Management Companies and landlords to charge each applicant a Fee for credit or background checks just to apply for an apt rental.

Then she got to her real issue which was how, she went through all that and got into a building owned by a Registered Sex Offender. Bringing up the point of how the tenants are getting checkout ( and paying for that ) Yet no one checks out the landlord. She now feels, she’s in a place where her kids might be at risk?

So my smart-ass answer to my friend was…. to tell the landlords & realtors you were going to have to run the same credit and background searches on them including property deeds, the corporate officers etc.. “So, let’s not charge each other and call it a wash” Which obviously will get you no where and is terrible advice.

Move forward to a story we just shared [ Mass. Town Faces Lawsuit... ] where a business owner is on a Registered Sex offender list yet, still owns a pizza shop with kids as employees, and it brought to mind that old conversation.

However in this recent case a point being raised is Does a city or agency granting business licenses have any sort of obligation to question criminal backgrounds of owners? That case in particular seems to deal with the business it’s self being a work place for teenagers and I would say even children/minors as par of the customer base. Now if it is not part of any court order, probation, or registration requirement or restriction that the person not work around children I don’t know what a city can do to say no?

Obviously there are so many work-arounds and ways to hide behind a corporate structure that OWNING a business can remain basically anonymous. However if you are working at the business that is open to the public and easily discovered.

Maybe the offenders should have to register where they work along with where they live? I’m sure they do but in regards to the public knowing there are those maps where you can see where they live…should pin points be added for where they work as well???