The task force the governor has created to protect Montana’s workers, businesses and taxpayers sounds good on paper but sometimes good intentions end up hurting our poor and less fortunate at the expense of protecting the more affluent.
Other than fighting high taxes and property insurance, low and fixed income property owners and landlords face a continuing problem of property maintenance. When landlords have to pay excessive amounts for maintenance, those costs are passed on to the tenant through higher rents. It should be noted that the older the units the lower the value of the home and the lower the rents. However, it is also true that these older residences require more maintenance.
That is why most low and fixed income homeowners and landlords use handymen wherever possible to perform the minor repairs necessary. I know that most professional trades will not bid small jobs, nor respond immediately to emergency situations and many will not work on mobile homes or older homes. When they do, they charge four to six times more even for minor repairs than a Licensed Handyman.
What do property owners and landlords do when there are no handymen available such as in Anaconda? Why should all of the guilt be placed on the homeowner when an individual is hired that has misrepresented themselves as an Independent Contractor and is not currently licensed with the State of Montana? That is just what happens if they get injured while they are employed as an Independent Contractor.
Most landlords lack the amount of property to retain a full time employee. A Licensed Property Manager for a landlord would work except my sources tell me that property managers charge an additional amount for contractor services as a middleman. They also charge a minimum amount per rental. For example, if you are renting a unit out for $300 per month you could be paying $100 per month for Property Management Services. This is not much help for those landlords who honestly strive to keep their rents down for our low and fixed income citizens.
Some homeowners and landlords, in order to encourage workers to obtain a license or contractors to maintain or reinstate their license, have resorted to using contracts. In this case, the contractor is informed that the property owner or landlord is retaining them as a contractor and that the property owner or landlord is not responsible for taxes or insurance such as workers compensation. However, we are informed this is against Montana law if they have not obtained insurance and a State License.
Therefore, the State of Montana rather than protecting professional trades should make it easier and less expensive for low income and fixed income citizens to become handymen. This would be a win-win for maintaining low income housing and providing jobs for low and fixed income citizens who wish to keep active and have some additional income.
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