Woodstock tenant-landlord issues escalate

Remember the squabble last fall, when some Woodstock renters decided that they'd had enough?

Certain tenants felt their landlords had fallen down on their jobs, and they banded together and went to City Hall. The City Council listened and began modifying the City Code.

An article in this morning's Northwest Herald describes a lawsuit filed by Bill Zieske and Denise Halverson against Advantage Plus, a landlord in Woodstock with multiple properties. In the legal action, Zieske and Halverson allege property damage from nelgect of needs, consumer fraud, breach of the lease, and assault.

In a comment already posted to the story, someone using the name of Oscar Clayton wrote, "All business owners please note names Zieske and Halverson probably to 2 people you do not want as customers.Scum. Landlords in this county need to organize and rate tenants and share that information. Tenants destroy property and move on to next one. Often when there rent is paid by taxpayers."

I don't know Oscar Clayton, but I am acquainted with Bill Zieske. Any landlord ought to be happy to have him as a tenant. He's a lawyer, and I'll bet he pays his rent on time. Why? Because his signature on the lease means something to him. If landlords rated Bill Zieske, they'd rate him A-1.

I knew a landlord in Denver in the 1980s. At one meeting, a person in the audience asked him how he got his tenants to pay their rent on time. He said he had a deal with tenants. Their end of the deal was to pay their rent by the fourth day of each month, without his asking for it. His end of the deal was to keep the property in good repair. If there was a water leak or a roof leak or a sticky lock, all they had to do was let him know and he would have it fixed the same day.