URBANA — City officials say a formal agreement with a landlord is working to quell some of the crime problems in a troublesome southeast Urbana neighborhood.

For weeks, the city has been working with Paul Zerrouki, who manages a number of apartments near the Philo Road business district, under a contract that requires him to bolster security at his buildings.

The BZ Management landlord has been meeting with the city on a regular basis, and officials have verified that he has been complying with the contract, said assistant city attorney Michelle Brooks.

City officials have pointed to his properties as the hub of some of the criminal activity that provoked area residents to speak up within the past few months. Mayor Laurel Prussing and Alderwoman Diane Marlin, D-Ward 7, had pledged to deal with the issues.

Zerrouki has previously denied that his buildings in southeast Urbana are causing problems. On Friday, he maintained that his tenants are "decent people" and that they are not the source of the crime, but he and the city are "working in harmony now, making progress, to do anything we can."

The agreement requires he make sure locks are functional, that emergency lights are working and that he screen tenants before they are allowed to take residence, among other rules — "business as usual," he said.

"They haven't made me do anything out of the ordinary," Zerrouki said.

He added that his relationship with city officials has recently been more cordial than it was months ago, when they and he exchanged blame for some of the crime problems.

Urbana police Lt. Bob Fitzgerald said crime issues "have been improving. He's been working with us; some things are getting done quick; other things are dragging a little bit."

Police have stepped up patrols in the area since residents became vocal several months ago.

"Over the last few weeks, I think things have calmed down there a lot," Fitzgerald said.

With the extra patrols, he said, there has been less loitering and fewer complaints about loud noise.

Officials are "moving toward a solution," Fitzgerald said, and conditions will continue to improve "if we can work with the landlords down there."