Jul 13, 2015 2 min read

CHARLEROI – Tenants were evicted from nine Charleroi houses under a local crackdown on blight.

The evictions involve as many as 18 people who rent from Ida Eicholtz, a Belle Vernon woman who repeatedly has been cited for building code violations, said Donn Henderson, Charleroi’s borough manager.

“They were notified at different times over the past three weeks,” Henderson said Monday.

Borough Code Officer Michele Mackey revoked the rental licenses for the houses under the local rental licensing ordinance. Most of the people who were evicted already have relocated.

“Council has made it clear that landlords need to be more responsible, and we will not tolerate this level of violation any longer,” Mackey said.

Eicholtz will not be permitted to rent the dwellings again unless she eliminates the building code issues. One of the houses on Fallowfield Avenue is missing a porch pole supporting its roof, Henderson said.

Under the crackdown, the borough also demolished nearly 20 buildings in the past three years. It also hired a part-time code officer last year to assist Mackey, Henderson said.

The borough also is developing a code violation ticketing ordinance that would allow the code officers to issue tickets to tenants and property owners for such problems as tall grass or rubbish in yards, he said.

If enacted in August or September, the violators will immediately be cited and ordered to comply or more fines will be issued.

“The tickets would work like a parking ticket,” Henderson said.

Charleroi has problems with out-of-town property owners who attempt to flip their houses quickly for an increased price while the buildings sit vacant.

Eicholtz could not be reached Monday.