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

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• The only fees in this program are inspection fees, $100 for each inspection, so compliant property owners end up saving hundreds of dollars since they only have to have an inspection every 6 years. • City recommends but does not require Crime Free Housing • The City requires "Landlord 101," a program that they have put together • The program seems to be working great and is achieving its goal of helping to ensure safe housing for Saint Paul residents. Shakopee • Rental registration program, not rental licensing • Passed in June 2013 in response to lots of problems and police calls from properties where the landlords were ill-equipped to handle such issues. • Every rental property must register and either the owner or a local agent must take a crime free housing 8 hour seminar o The owner can take it to qualify even if they live out of state but ideally the seminar would be taken by the local agent. • Registration also gets the contact information on file so the City knows who to reach in case of an emergency • No inspections in this program • Structures with 4 or more units require Phase II training in the Crime Free Housing program although the owner is not actually required to implement the changes, just have the training • Staff probably would have preferred a full licensing program with some code enforcement but the council was split on the issue and registration for crime prevention was more politically palatable • Program is free, crime free housing seminar is $25 which covers food. • Owners have 1 year to take the class after registering their property • Failure to register or take class is a misdemeanor • In terms of reception, good landlords have been very supportive of the program • Problem landlords have often grumbled about having to take a day off of work to attend the seminar but have given it rave reviews afterwards and said they wish they had taken it sooner • Corporate rental agencies like Renters' Warehouse are already certified • Last year Shakopee had the lowest crime rate in 20 years o None of the multi -family units were in the top-10 list of problem units which is unprecedented. Spring Lake Park • The program has been in place for about 8 years o Multi -family has been licensed since 2000 but single family was added during the housing crisis when many people stopped adequately maintaining their properties. • Program was created for housing stock preservation/code enforcement reasons • The building inspector is responsible for doing inspections. • The front desk receptionist is in charge of handling the paperwork • Inspection is every other year with no exceptions