But Gwyn wishes she were miles away from that other house, because of what she has had to live with over the past two years.

At least five different tenants have come and gone during that time, and none took care of the rental home. The last family, which included four children, left about two months ago.

Bugs, rodents and snakes moved in right behind them. The house’s roof leaks. The porch is unsafe. The city has had to mow the grass.

Smells coming from the nearby house are overwhelming. Food was left in the refrigerator. Animal droppings are in various piles on the floor. Soiled baby diapers make up part of the debris left behind in every room.

Maggots took up residence in the kitchen. If she could afford it, Gwyn said, she would build a 6-foot fence between her home and the rental house. She worries about her children playing close by.

And she blames herself somewhat for not doing a bit more research about the house next door when she and her husband bought their first home two years ago.

“I guess I feel like an innocent bystander,” Gwyn said. “... It’s unfortunate my family has to live next to a place like this.”

At Mayor Susan Kluttz’s invitation, Gwyn shared her experience Wednesday with members of the Neighborhood Improvement Task Force. The citizen and city staff member task force has been meeting in recent months to find ways to address problems that sometimes result with rental properties.

A pair of landlords in Salisbury, Norde Wilson and Julius Waggoner, also spoke to the group Wednesday about their experiences in dealing with problem tenants.

Waggoner owns Waggoner Realty and manages some 400-plus houses, apartments and commercial properties. He characterized most landlords as law-abiding citizens who are often frustrated by laws that always seem to favor the tenant over the landlord.

Evictions are costly for landlords in time and money, Waggoner said, walking the task force through a typical eviction process that allows a bad tenant to live in a rental property for free up for at least two-and-a-half to three months.

If the tenants are involved in something illegal, such as drug dealing, “we’re stuck,” Waggoner said, adding that tightened laws against tenants must come from the state legislature. When bad tenants finally are evicted, they usually leave behind thousands of dollars in repair costs that their deposits never cover, Waggoner said.

“And in most cases, we have to help them move,” he said.

Waggoner cited his common problems with renters as overcrowding, suspicious traffic in and out of a rental property, abandoned cars, too much trash, noise, abuse of the properties, late payments and non-payments of rent and constant maintenance of things that wouldn’t be necessary if tenants took care of their homes.

“All the landlord can do is evict,” Wilson said, noting that a landlord can’t fine his tenants or imprison them. “... And he doesn’t live there 24 hours a day. He can only do so much.”

Waggoner added, “We have no clout.”

Waggoner and Wilson talked of their own efforts to screen tenants before they rent properties. They check on such things as a potential tenant’s credit and residential history. Wilson said he can smell a drug dealer over the telephone.

If every landlord was doing what he or she was supposed to be doing, there are still bad tenants out there for whom landlords have no redress, except the lengthy eviction process, Wilson said.

Both landlords have their theories on why laws seem geared more toward protecting tenants than landlords. Basically, they said, politicians realize there are more tenants than landlords.

The task force’s work appears headed toward making recommendations to Salisbury City Council on what kinds of ordinances, education and programs might help improve the quality of rental housing and landlord-tenant responsibilities in neighborhoods.

On Wednesday, the group also listed its top 10 issues related to housing and landlord-tenant responsibilities, based on a survey of themselves. The top 10 issues:

• Vacant structures: Fix them up or tear them down.
• Absentee landlords: The city must find a way to communicate to them the maintenance responsibilities for their properties.
• Legal procedures: Violations of law — whether by tenants or landlords — have to be as streamlined as possible.
• Code enforcement and inspections: Is a program of regular inspections needed that focuses on prevention of problems and elimination of recurring problems?
• Property maintenance by landlords: The task force want to motivate landlords and property managers to maintain their rental units.
• Education and communication: Tenants and landlords have to know what their responsibilities for property maintenance are.
• General appearance standards: Existing laws don’t cover some general issues such as exterior paint, fencing, building design, cars parked in front yards, trash in yard and the like.
• Tenant screening and monitoring: The task force wants to help landlords do a better job of screening their tenants before renting to them.
• Rental units vs. home ownership: The group thinks the city could be more effective in providing opportunities and incentives for home ownership.
• Junked cars: Find a way to eliminate them from neighborhoods.