Agenda - Council - 10/27/2015 - Laserfiche WebLink

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lour 1111.1siion: To work together to reiposihty grow our community, and to provide quality, coat -effective, and efficient government ierrlcas. CC Regular Session 7. 1. Meeting Date: 10/27/2015 By: Michael Healy, Community Development Information Title: Review Tools and Work Proposal to Review Strategic Plan Tactic 18) "Expand and Improve Residential Rental Licensing Program" Purpose/Background: Purpose: The purpose of this case is to receive work direction from the City Council regarding the Strategic Plan Tactic to Expand and Improve the Residential Rental Licensing Program, as part of pursuing the initiative of improving and maintaining the safety of the community. The City Council is being asked if review shall be taken to the next step to determine if a program change is necessary. The City Council is not choosing an outcome or alternative at this point, but rather giving direction to staff on how (or if) to continue pursuing this issue. Background: The Reasoning behind Rental License Programs Cities have developed rental license programs to accomplish different goals. Simple registration programs are designed to keep track of landlord's contact information and to develop a database of units are being rented out in the city. More advanced inspection programs have been implemented to maintain the physical appearance and safety of the housing stock. Some studies have suggested that absentee landlords invest less in properties than owner -occupied units, possibly because they do not benefit as directly from the improvements or observe the property on a daily basis. Many metro area cities began or strengthened their licensure/registration programs after encountering problems during the depressed housing economy of the mid-2000s. Often times, owners wanting to sell their homes due to underwater mortgages were unable to find buyers and made the decision to rent their homes instead. Most programs have a tenant safety component as well. The thought is that renters are often at the mercy of their landlords and may not be able to advocate for themselves or demand enforcement of their tenant rights out of fear that they will lose their housing. A goal of Ramsey's current program would be to protect renters from unscrupulous landlords, while taking steps to minimize the inconvenience for good landlords. For example, many programs are structured in such a way that they charge very low fees and have infrequent inspections for properties that have good records. Additionally, some cities' programs have a crime prevention component and use mandatory landlord trainings, background checks, and crime free lease addendums to crack down on what they perceive as vulnerabilities in rental housing. Single-family home rentals, when compared to apartment complex rentals, are thought to be vulnerable to certain crimes such as drug production due to their increased privacy and not having an onsite manager's oversight.