What Landlords & Investors Need to Know
Transcript:
Hello, this is Andrew Fidler with LaPlante Real Estate, coming to you as always from Toledo, Ohio. We have entered 2026. It was three weeks ago that I generated the 2025 wrap-up video for the year, and I was supposed to be off the hook for making videos for a little while. On Monday, January 5th, the City of Toledo announced that trash pickup as we know it has changed. Since 2009, when I began investing here in Toledo, we had bulk pickup once a month. You could call in and schedule a pickup of unlimited quantity of items, and they would disappear from your curb. The price was free—it doesn’t get any better than that. There were rules and headaches in the case of an eviction. Sometimes neighbors would go through the bags and see what they could treasure hunt, and we’d have to pay to pick all that up. It wasn’t a perfect system, but the price was right.
Starting Monday, January 5th, 2026, residents are now getting weekly bulk pickup of five items—five couches, five heavy bags of garbage, five bundles of sticks, whatever they prefer. There are rules like no gasoline and no tires, but they can have regular pickup. From a citizen standpoint, it is far more convenient. From an eviction standpoint, as landlords, we have a headache on our hands. The cost for this is roll-off boxes. We have 20-yard, 30-yard, and 40-yard options. They are close together in cost and center around $500. It’s not a make-or-break dollar amount, but it is an expense. If your portfolio has evictions on an annual basis, that’s an expense you were not anticipating and one we are not excited to be on the receiving end of.
Just like the federal government implements regulations and taxes and business changes its actions to minimize the impact, we are doing the same thing. If we have a small trash-out, we will grab those materials and transport them to our dumpster here at the office. There is more labor involved, but if we can avoid a roll-off box, we absolutely will. Anyone with a one-bedroom or studio apartment may be able to get everything into a small trailer and bring it over here—not a big deal. When residents notify us they are moving out, or when an eviction set-out is scheduled, we will provide documentation explaining that if belongings are left behind, the resident will be charged for the expense. It will be itemized, and it will hurt.
During annual inspections for lease renewals, we are now far more attentive to outdoor debris, furniture left outside, and hoarding-type situations. There is a great deal we can do to prevent recurrence. How do I think this will affect your portfolio? Our office is in the 43612 zip code. My portfolio is in 43612 and 43613. In stronger neighborhoods, I don’t feel we’re going to have a problem. My portfolio of over 20 properties does not have eviction events budgeted. Residents in stronger zip codes want to keep their records clean. Evictions are blemishes they want to avoid. When we move into weaker neighborhoods, you are going to have more transiency, weaker residents, and a higher chance of eviction or overnight move-outs. This may affect your portfolio.
Ultimately, what we focus on at LaPlante is stability. If your property is rented stably, the rent rate is competitive, and amenities are attractive and well maintained, stability is your ally. Raising rent annually should be done carefully. You don’t want rent increases to cause turnover—stability is more important. In my opinion, this is similar to other city regulations. It’s another evolution. Toledo had it very well with free trash pickup, and this is a change we are acknowledging and rolling with. We are communicating with residents to pass along expenses when appropriate. As always, we appreciate your investment in Toledo and your trust in LaPlante Real Estate managing your portfolio. We are available for any questions. Thank you.