A dispute over the return of a $3,525 security deposit -- which pitted a landlord against five Towson University students who rented a house during the 2007-08 school year -- has turned out to be the least of the landlord's problems.

Because the argument drew the attention of Baltimore County Code Enforcement officials, the landlord now is facing fines of $11,000 for violating zoning laws.

A May 22 ruling issued by Code Enforcement Hearing Officer Meg Ferguson levied the fine against Danielle Faith Sands, owner of a 1 1/2-story house at 713 Overbrook Road, Anneslie, according to Maryland Assessments and Taxation records.

Sands' husband, Eric Damon, managed the rental of the 1,287-square-foot house, and charged the students $2,300 per month rent. Three paid $500 per month and two paid $400, from July 1, 2007, to May 30, 2008.

During a May 12 hearing before Ferguson, officials said Towson University came to the county asking for help after Damon failed to return the security deposit to the students.

Code enforcement officials said since August 2007, the number of unrelated tenants in the house exceeded the two allowed by law, and that 713 Overbrook had, in effect, become an unlicensed rooming/boarding house.

They also said Sands had failed to register the house as a rental unit, and lacks the license needed from the county to rent it out.

Mike Mohler, deputy director of county Permits and Development, said he was pleased with Ferguson's ruling.

"It's a huge fine," he said. "I believe it sends a message that Baltimore County has a zero-tolerance policy for those who violate the codes."

Mohler had advocated for a stiff penalty. At the hearing he asked Ferguson to impose "the most severe financial penalty" she could.

This isn't the first time code enforcement officials have pursued a case involving student rentals. But in two other cases involving rooming/boarding house violations in Towson -- at 7515 Knollwood Road and 16 Skidmore Court -- legal maneuvers prevented the county from stopping the arrangements.

In the Knollwood case, a lawyer filed a motion last October claiming the county had violated four students' rights to due process and that the law the owner allegedly violated was unconstitutional. The wait for a court date allowed the students to remain in residence through the end of TU's spring term.

In the Skidmore case, a group of students seized onto a technicality that allowed them to share ownership through a limited liability corporation -- and continue living there. That loophole has since been closed.

County: 'Ignorance is no excuse'

Sands did not attend the May 12 hearing on the Overbrook case, but Damon appeared on her behalf. Code enforcement officials said they had trouble reaching Sands because records show she listed the house as her principal residence, even though she lives elsewhere.

Ferguson said in her ruling that by doing this, Sands was "improperly claiming tax benefits and attempting to avoid the county's Rental Housing License requirement."

The couple now lives on Nellis Road in the Middle River area, Damon said at the hearing.

Code inspector Latoshia Rumsey-Scott said both Sands and Damon have avoided contact with the county. She said questionnaires regarding the case were sent with a citation to the Nellis Road address in April, but they were not returned by the required May 5 date, and that Damon did not supply answers to the questions.

Damon said he was unaware of the code requirements.

"We filed taxes as an investment property," he said. "We weren't trying to hide anything."

Yet even though five students lived at the house, only two were listed on the lease. Damon said that was because "when we originally started talking we didn't know who was going to be living there," he said.

But Ferguson ruled that listing only two tenants indicated "an intent and plan to evade the county's zoning regulations."

Regarding the security deposit, the five students had each written $705 checks to pay a $3,525 security deposit.

On July 3, 2008, an e-mail from Damon revealed he planned to deduct $1,340 from the $3,525 because of services, repairs and two late rent payments. He wrote he planned to send the refund in two checks of $1,029 each to the two students listed on the lease, but not until he had all five keys to the house in his possession.

However, by April 17 of this year all five had returned their keys and still had not received their security deposits back, according to the students.

During the hearing Mohler said Sands should have known about the rental registration requirement. The county mailed 55,000 notices about it, as part of an awareness campaign, enclosed in all property tax bills and put an announcement on every property water bill.

"Ignorance is no excuse," he said.

But Damon said he left the the mortgage company where he once worked, and it wasn't his fault they didn't forward the information to him.

"I'm completely ignorant about this kind of process," Damon said. "The only reason we rented is we couldn't sell. It was that or foreclosure.

"I couldn't even begin to tell you where I'm going to get $11,000."

Ferguson had the power to reduce the fine but ultimately came down hard on Sands and Damon.

She said the violation occurred continuously at least from July 2007 to June 2008, and the couple didn't present any evidence that it's been corrected. She ruled the entire $11,000 fine will be placed as a lien against the property.

Mohler said Sands has 15 days from the date of the May 22 order to ask for a reconsideration, or to post an $11,000 bond and file an appeal.

Neither Damon nor Sands could be reached for comment. Code enforcement officials said they still don't have a telephone number for either of them.

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user comments (1)

user lirafan says...

It's a real shame that Baltimore County officials are too stupid to realize that college students lie about a lot of things & this arrangement was one of those things. I know the owners first hand & know that those kids were warned several times about noise levels & destroying neighbors property. Those kids should be fined the $11,000 for causing all these problems & the Deputy Director has clearly been conned by these students & should be ashamed for only taking the tenants' word for it.

Posted 2:04 PM, 06.05.09

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