New Castle County is reporting progress in dealing with rundown properties, with one large landlord signing an agreement.
“Every New Castle County resident deserves to be safe and secure in their home,” County Matt Executive Meyer said. “Today’s outcome is an important win for the community. We have required an area landlord to make critical property repairs and hire a property manager to improve living conditions and positively impact the quality of life in surrounding neighborhoods. We also collected nearly half a million dollars in delinquent taxes and fees to fund our local schools, police, paramedics, parks, and libraries.”
On July 31, Meyer announced that the County would initiate sheriff sale proceedings against local landlord, George Fantini. His 34 properties, largely in the Claymont area have racked up nearly 2,000 county code enforcement inspections and hundreds of public safety calls.
Fantini has since made a $438,000 payment to satisfy county and school property taxes, sewer service charges, code enforcement fees, and legal costs and fees.
In addition, Fantini signed a binding legal agreement with the county regarding inspections and maintenance of the properties.
The agreement establishes a specific timeline to correct all code violations and make any necessary repairs.
“I’m very pleased today to announce this legal settlement regarding the Fantini rental properties, many of which are in the district I represent,” said New Castle County District 8 Councilman John Cartier. “For the first time in my 14 years on Council, New Castle County has acted decisively to deal with this longstanding problem rental property owner.”
“This comprehensive agreement makes it clear that the Meyer administration is dead serious regarding landlords and others degrading the communities where they own property,” said Brett Saddler, Executive Director of the Claymont Renaissance Development Corp. “We hope this is just the beginning of these type actions not only in Claymont but throughout the County.”
Meyer said County Police will continue to actively patrol the neighborhoods in which these properties are located and that code enforcement officers will closely monitor work at these properties to ensure the safety of tenants and neighbors.
