Rental plan moves forward
The City Council decided Tuesday to move forward with an effort to craft a new law that would increase regulations for rental properties.
The proposal is not yet completed, but the council voted 4 to 1 to continue work on a law that would require landlords to purchase a rental license, register contact information with the city and allow inspections of apartments and rental homes.
Council members also favored a provision in the law that would allow landlords to reduce licensing fees by participating in the Crime Free Multi-Housing program, which this blogger understands to be an educational effort to teach landlords how to keep unsavory people away.
The plan boils down to a proposal to give code enforcement more resources and more authority to go after irresponsible landlords. Jerry Bean, who cast the sole vote against the proposal, voiced his concern that overly-aggressive inspections could result upstanding landlords getting caught up in a bureaucratic tangle.