AGENDA #7
MEMORANDUM
TO: Mayor and Town Council
FROM: Rental Licensing Task Force
SUBJECT: Recommendations for a Rental Licensing Program
DATE: March 26, 2001
The purpose of this report is to forward to the Council the recommendations of the Rental Licensing Task Force.
On June 12, 2000 the Council adopted a charge, timetable and Council representation for a Rental Licensing Task Force. The charge of the Task Force was to provide the Council with recommendations about whether to enact a system of licensing the rental of dwelling units in Chapel Hill and, if adopted, what form such a system would take. The Council determined the specific responsibilities of the Task Force to be:
1. Considering the rental licensing proposals that have been brought to the Council;
2. Identifying advantages, disadvantages, and implications associated with the proposals;
3. Considering additional alternative rental licensing models; and
4. Preparing a recommendation for the Council’s consideration.
The Task Force included representatives and residents of the Historic Districts and the Northside neighborhood, student and administration representatives from the University, property owners, and property managers.
Between November 2000 and March 2001, Council Members Edith Wiggins and Bill Strom convened five meetings of the Rental Licensing Task Force. The Task Force reviewed the rental licensing programs of Boulder, Colorado, Newark, Delaware and Annapolis, Maryland, and developed an alternative rental licensing program that could apply to Chapel Hill based on North Carolina law. In an early meeting the members of the Task Force voted to supported a complaint driven rental licensing program that would apply to all rental properties in Chapel Hill.
DISCUSSION
The members of the Rental Licensing Task Force have identified the following reasons for need of a Town-wide rental licensing program:
· Members of the Rental Licensing Task Force have indicated a concern that a number of occupants of rental housing fail to comply with standards for trash removal, noise, and parking and that some owners and managers of leased dwellings do not maintain his or her units in compliance with local ordinances.
· Members of the Rental Licensing Task Force have indicated a need to improve the ease and immediacy of communication among the Town of Chapel Hill, owners, property managers, and tenants of rental housing to increase adherence to community standards and develop a greater sense of neighborhood responsibility.
· At present, the Town of Chapel Hill lacks an electronic database and system for collecting information regarding which leased buildings comply with the Chapel Hill Housing Code.
· To protect the health, safety and welfare of the residents of the Town, the Chapel Hill Housing Code establishes the minimum standards of fitness for all buildings used for human habitation.
· The North Carolina Residential Rental Agreements Act requires that all dwelling units that are leased within Chapel Hill comply with applicable building and housing codes.
· The Task Force finds that it would be consistent with the public health, safety and welfare and would be a benefit to all citizens to require the licensing of all persons who lease any dwelling, dwelling unit, and/or rooming house that is subject to regulation by the Chapel Hill Housing Code and the North Carolina Residential Rental Agreements Act.
RECOMMENDATIONS
The Rental Licensing Task Force offers five recommendations using definitions currently in the Chapel Hill Housing Code for the purpose of defining which individuals must comply with a rental licensing program and the housing units that would be covered by this proposal.
1. Applicability
The Town of Chapel Hill should require the annual licensing of all persons meeting the Housing Code definition of “operator” and / or “owner/operator” who lease for consideration any dwelling, dwelling unit, and /or rooming house. These definitions are already contained in the Town’s Housing Code (Please see Attachment 1). In other words, each rental unit will require a license. In many instances, multiple property owners and / or operators will have multiple licenses.
2. Amendment to Housing Code
We recommend that the Council amend the Housing Code as proposed in Attachment 2 in order to establish a Rental Licensing Ordinance. The proposed amendments increase the duties of the Building Inspector to include maintenance of a data base for all properties that upon inspection do not meet the Town’s Minimum Housing Code, and to keep an electronic data base record of all licensed rental units to include all information obtained from the rental licensing applications. The Building Inspector would also be responsible for providing copies of the Rental Duties Information Sheet, information about the Town’s policies and ordinances relevant to trash collection, noise control and parking, and the Town’s Housing Code to property owners.
The proposed amendment would also establish the fee for obtaining a rental license and describe the information that would be required on the Rental Licensing Application.
The amendment would also state that if would be unlawful to operate a rental unit without a rental license.
3. Application Form and Rental Duties Information Sheet
We recommend that the Council adopt the attached “Rental License Application Form” and the “Rental Duties Information Sheet” to be used by the Town staff in carrying out the duties imposed pursuant to the amended Housing Code.
The application form would require property owners to list the address of the property, the number of tenants living in the property, the number of parking spaces provided, and contact information (Please see Attachment 4).
The application would also require owners to annually certify that his or her property meets the Town’s Minimum Housing Code. We do not recommend that the Town’s Inspection Department inspect each rental property for compliance with the Minimum Housing Code. A property owner would have the option of obtaining a private inspection at his or her own expense to determine if the property meets the Minimum Housing Code, or he or she could review the Housing Code and make this determination on his or her own and sign the application certifying that the property meets the Housing Code. The Town could provide information on the code to property owners as requested. We note that the existing Housing Code currently requires properties to meet the Minimum Housing Code.
Landlords would also certify that they distributed a “rental duties” information sheet to the tenants (Please see Attachment 5). The Town could make this information available to property owners at Town Hall or via the World Wide Web.
4. Creation of a Database
We recommend creating a database that would include all of the information obtained from the applications. We recommend a Town-maintained database that would be accessible to the public via the Town’s web site. We also suggest that a paper copy of the database be made available at Chapel Hill Town Hall and the Chapel Hill Public Library. We believe that the availability of this information would improve communication between the Town, property owners, tenants and neighborhood residents.
5. Fee Schedule
We recommend that after investigating the anticipated costs of implementing the proposed rental licensing program as described by the Task Force including the creation and maintenance of a database, the Town staff develop a fee schedule for licenses. The Task Force recommends that the fee should not exceed the cost of implementing a licensing program and that a graduated fee is considered for licensees of multiple units.
6. Evaluation
We recommend that in three years, the Task Force reconvene to evaluate this program. The Task Force could evaluate the effectiveness of the complaint driven program as proposed and evaluate whether or not to consider implementing a mandatory system of inspections for all rental units.
7. Appendix
Please see Attachment 5 for an Appendix to the Task Force’s recommendations. The purpose of the Appendix is to address concerns raised during Task Force meetings that we believe cannot or should be addressed by a rental licensing ordinance.
CONCLUSIONS
The adoption of the proposed amendments will establish a complaint driven system to enhance the enforcement of the existing Chapel Hill Housing Code. Because the plan does not call for mandatory inspections of all rental housing, the additional costs of administration and enforcement should be minimal, thereby reducing the amount of the costs of the license necessary to support the proposed enforcement scheme. By building an electronic database that identifies all rental housing in Chapel Hill, citizens will have ready access to information that will facilitate communication between landlords, tenants and neighbors. The requirement that a license be obtained annually by those involved in leasing dwellings will create an information exchange that will increase adherence by all citizens to community standards for dwelling maintenance, safety, trash disposal, noise and other quality of life issues.
We thank the Council for the opportunity to work with you on this very important issue.
ATTACHMENTS
1. Members of the Rental Licensing Task Force (p. 6).
2. Definitions from the Chapel Hill Housing Code (p. 7).
3. Proposed Additions to the Town of Chapel Hill Housing Code (p. 8).
4. Proposed Rental Licensing Application Form (p. 10).
5. Proposed Rental Duties Information Sheet (p.12).
6. Appendix to Recommendations (p. 16).
ATTACHMENT 1
Members of the Rental Licensing Task Force
Council Member Bill Strom
Council Member Edith Wiggins
Carolyn Baucom
Dorothy Bernholz
William Bracey
Joe Capowski
C. Lee Conner
Catherine Frank
John Headley
Estelle Mabry
Steven Manton
Steven Mills
Velma Perry
Betsy Pringle
Brittany Whitesell
Those individuals required to be licensed would be those individuals meeting the definitions already contained in Art. 1, Sec. 9-2 of the Chapel Hill Housing Code as follows:
“Operator” shall mean any person who has charge, care or control of a building, or part thereof, in which dwelling units or rooming units are let.
“Owner” shall mean any person who alone, or jointly or severally with others:
(1) Shall have title to any dwelling or dwelling unit, with or without accompanying actual possession thereof; or
(2) Shall have charge, care or control of any dwelling or dwelling unit, as owner or agent of the owner, or as executor, executrix, administrator, administratrix, trustee or guardian of the estate of the owner. Any such person thus representing the actual owner shall be bound to comply with the provisions of this chapter, and of rules and regulations adopted pursuant thereto, to the same extent as if he were the owner.
Pursuant to the proposal of the Rental Licensing Task Force, an operator and/or owner/operator would be requiredto identify any dwelling, dwelling unit or rooming unit that he leases for consideration as defined in Art.1, Sec.9-2:
“Dwelling” shall mean any building which is wholly or partly used or intended to be used for living or sleeping by human occupants; provided that temporary housing as hereinafter defined shall not be regarded as a dwelling.
“Dwelling unit” shall mean any room or group of rooms located within a dwelling and forming a single habitable unit with facilities which are used or intended to be used for living, sleeping, cooking and eating.
“Rooming unit” shall mean any room or group of rooms forming a single habitable unit used or intended to be used for living and sleeping, but not for cooking or eating purposes.
ATTACHMENT 3
Pursuant to Chapter 160A of the General Statutes of North Carolina
(a) (Existing code)
(b) In furtherance of providing for a system of comprehensive enforcement in order to establish minimum standards of fitness for the initial and continued occupancy of all rental housing, this chapter establishes a system of rental licensing for all dwellings, dwelling units, and/or rooming houses leased for consideration.
Sec. 9-15. Duties of building inspector.
(c) To keep an electronic and written data base record accessible via the Internet and by the public upon demand of the results of inspections made under this Chapter and an inventory of those dwellings that do not meet the minimum standards of fitness prescribed herein, and
(d) To keep an electronic and written data base record of the registration of all licensed operators and operator/owners of all dwellings, dwelling units, and rooming units that are leased for consideration that will contain the following information:
(1) The identification of the dwelling unit by location;
(2) The name, address, fax and telephone numbers and email of the operator and/or owner/operator who has charge, care or control of a building or part thereof in which the dwelling units are leased for consideration;
(3) An acknowledgement by the licensee that he has complied with Sec. 9-3 of the Chapel Hill Housing Code;
(4) An acknowledgment by the licensee that he has provided each occupant of a dwelling unit with a Rental Duties Information Sheet provided by the Town of Chapel Hill; and
(5) A data base of each violation cited by the Chapel Hill Housing Inspector pursuant to the Minimum Housing Code.
(e) To provide each licensee (property owner / property manager) with two (2) copies of a Rental Duties Information Sheet containing the following information:
(5) A recital of the duties imposed upon landlords and tenants pursuant to the North Carolina Residential Rental Agreements Act;
(6) Information regarding Town of Chapel Hill policies and ordinances relevant to trash collection, noise control and parking;
(7) The availability of the Chapel Hill Housing Code (both printed and electronic) at the Town of Chapel Hill.
(8) Information regarding the option of resolving any dispute prior to filing a complaint with the Town of Chapel Hill through mediation conducted by the Chapel Hill Dispute Settlement Center.
(b) The operator and/or owner/operator of every dwelling, dwelling unit, or rooming unit leased for consideration shall pay an application fee of $(to be determined) to obtain a license to comply with the duties imposed pursuant to Sec. 9-3 of the Chapel Hill Housing Code and each person so licensed shall provide the following information to the building inspector:
(1)The identification of the dwelling unit by location and the number of leases in each unit, number of parking spaces provided to each lessee;
(2)The name, address, telephone and fax number and email of the operator and/or owner/operator who has charge, care or control of a building or part thereof in which the dwelling units are leased for consideration;
(3)An acknowledgement by the licensee that he has complied with Sec. 9-3 of the Chapel Hill Housing Code;
(4)An acknowledgment by the licensee that he has provided each occupant of a dwelling unit with a Rental Duties Information Sheet provided by the Town of Chapel Hill.
(a) same as code
(b) It shall be unlawful for an operator and/or owner/operator of any dwelling unit, dwelling, or rooming unit leased for consideration to fail to obtain a license as provided by Sec. 9-17(b).
(c) same as code
Town of Chapel Hill
Please complete and return this application to the Chapel Hill Inspection Department, 306 North Columbia St., Chapel Hill, NC 27516. If you have any questions about this information, please call (919) 968-2718.
Please complete one application per address. Incomplete applications will be returned to the applicant. Please indicate “Not Applicable” or “NA” where appropriate.
________________________________________________
PIN #: ________________________________________________
______ Number of Dwellings at the Address Listed Above
(Building that is wholly or partly used for living or sleeping by human occupants and is leased for consideration.
For a multi-family apartment please indicate the number of buildings in the complex. A single-family house would be 1 dwelling.)
______ Number of Dwelling Units at the Address Listed Above
(Any room or group of rooms located within a dwelling and forming a single habitable unit with facilities which are used or intended to be used for living, sleeping, cooking and eating and leased for consideration. For a multi-unit apartment complex, please indicate the number of apartments. For a single-family house, please indicate the number of separate units within the house.)
______ Number of Rooming Units
(Any room or group of rooms forming a single habitable unit used or intrended to be used for living and sleeping, but not for cooking or eating purposes and leased for consideration.)
(Person who has charge, care or control of a building or part thereof, in which dwelling units or rooming units are leased for consideration.)
Name: _________________________________________________
Address: __________________________________________________
Phone Number: ________________________ Fax Number: ___________
Email Address:________________________
Pager / Cellular Number: ______________
(Any person who alone, or jointly or severally with others, has title to any dwelling, dwelling unit or rooming unit that is leased for consideration)
Name: _____________________________________________________
Address: _____________________________________________________
Phone Number: _____________________________ Fax Number: ___________
Email Address:_____________________________
Pager / Cellular Number: _________
Number of Leasees (renters / occupants) : __________ (only if single family or duplex)
Number of parking spaces provided: _____ Street ______ On premises ______
Is this an owner-occupied dwelling? Yes ____ No ____
Is there an on-site property manager at this address? Yes _____ No _____
I, the Operator/Owner of the above property, do hereby affirm the following:
1. That to the best of my knowledge the above described property complies with the Chapel Hill Housing Code;
2. That I have provided a Rental Duties Information Sheet prepared by the Town of Chapel Hill to the occupants of the above described property;
3. That the above information is correct; and
4. That this information provided to the Town of Chapel Hill will become part of the public record, and therefore will be entered into a database and open to public examination.
Signature _______________________________ Date_________________
For Town Staff Only:
Date received: _________ Number of Units: __________ Fee: _________________
Reviewed by: _________
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I. ALL RENTAL LICENSEES ( Landlords, Property Managers, Property Owners) ARE REQUIRED TO:
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· Comply with the current applicable Town Building and Housing Codes and the Town’s Development Ordinance;
· Make all repairs and do whatever is necessary to put and keep the premises in a fit and habitable condition;
· Keep all common areas of the premises in safe condition;
· Maintain in good and safe working order and promptly repair all electrical, plumbing, sanitary, heating, ventilating, air conditioning, and other facilities and appliances supplied or required to be supplied by the landlord provided that notification of need repairs is made to the landlord in writing by the tenant, except in emergency situations; and
· Provide operable smoke detectors having an Underwriters’ Laboratories, Inc. listing or other equivalent national testing laboratory approval.
NOTE: A copy of the Chapel Hill Housing Code is available at Town Hall, 306 N. Columbia Street, Chapel Hill or at the Town of Chapel Hill Website (www.ci.chapel-hill.nc.us). If, after written notice to the landlord, a citizen is still concerned about any failure to perform the duties listed above, call the Town of Chapel Hill Inspection Department at (919) 968-2718 and give them the name and Rental License number of your landlord.
NOTE: The Town of Chapel Hill licenses your landlord and information regarding your premises is on file at the Town of Chapel Hill.
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2. ALL TENANTS ARE REQUIRED TO: |
· Keep that part of the premises that the tenant occupies and uses as clean and safe as the conditions of the premises permit and cause no unsafe or unsanitary conditions the common areas and remainder of the premises that the tenant uses;
· Dispose of all ashes, rubbish, garbage, and other waste in a clean and safe manner;
· Keep all plumbing fixtures in the dwelling unit or used by the tenant as clean as his or her condition permits;
· Not deliberately or negligently destroy, deface, damage, or remove any part of the premises, nor render inoperable the smoke detector provided by the landlord, or knowingly permit any person to do so;
· Comply with any and all obligations imposed upon the tenant by current applicable building and housing codes and the Town’s Development Ordinance;
· Be responsible for all damage, defacement, or removal of any property inside a dwelling unit in the tenant’s exclusive control unless the damage, defacement or removal was due to ordinary wear and tear, acts of the landlord or the landlord’s agent, defective products supplied or repairs authorized by the landlord, acts of third parties not invitees of the tenant, or natural forces;
· Notify the landlord, in writing, of the need for replacement of or repairs to a smoke detector and any other repairs; and
· The landlord shall notify the tenant in writing of any breaches of the tenant’s obligations except in emergency situations.
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3. ALL CITIZENS ARE REQUIRED TO PROPERLY DISPOSE OF TRASH. |
NOTE: The Town of Chapel Hill requires that citizens do the following with respect to trash collection and disposal:
Residential Refuse/Rubbish: Beginning the week of February 1, 2001, the Town will begin once a week curbside pickup for the following neighborhoods: Northside, Westwood, Colony Woods, Windhover, Briarcliff, Silver Creek, Spring Crest, Chesley, The Oaks, Morgan Creek, South Bridge, The Meadows, Birch Meadows, Covington Place, McCauly-Cameron, and Englewood.
If you are in one of the areas listed above, you will be required to do the following:
· Have your trash on the curb by no later than 6:00 am for pickup on your prescribed pickup day.
· Have your cart removed from the curb by no later than 7:00 pm after your trash is picked up.
· Have your trash placed in a container for pickup.
To better assist you in the new service, the Town will be offering 68-gallon carts to all citizens in the affected areas.
All trash must be bagged. However, extra bagged trash or oversized household trash may be placed at the curb for collection. Residents are encouraged to recycle all items possible. The Town does not collect construction material such as wood, plaster etc.
Bulky waste such as furniture, large appliances, carpet, large rugs, lawn mowers, mattresses, box springs, sofas, chairs, bicycles, etc . are collected from the curb only upon request by calling 968-2796. There is a fee of $15.00 for 3 items and $5.00 for each additional item paid to the Public Works Department.
Yard Waste Collection: Collection of yard waste (limbs, grass, brush etc.) is performed on an unscheduled basis. Yard waste must be separated from other materials. Brush must be either bundled (not to exceed 60 lbs. or 4 feet in length) or piled (not to exceed 3 cubic yards. All yard waste must be behind the curb or street side.
Residents may also obtain a permit from the Department of Public Works at 1099 Airport Road to haul any yard waste debris, including leaves, to the landfill at no cost.
Residents may rent a 12 cubic yard container for yard waste on a daily or weekend basis. Public Works will deliver a bulk container to a residence, leaving it in a location that is accessible to the delivery truck and convenient to the resident. Containers may be rented for $12 a day or weekend for a maximum of 2 days per month. If interested, please call 968-2796.
Residents may place leaves in yard waste roll cart or other rigid container for curbside collection. Yard waste roll carts may be purchased for $65 each from the Town’s Public Works Department. The Town cannot collect yard waste in a plastic bag.
Leaf Collection: From mid-October through mid-March, the Town of Chapel Hill will collect and haul away all leaves raked to the curb in piles. The Town also will deliver leaves to those requesting them for compost or mulch for gardening.
The Chapel Hill Public Works crews start at one end of Town and make a complete circuit at least three times during the period from October through March to give all residents the same number of pick ups
Recycling: Residents may recycle the following items at the curb weekly: newspapers, glossy magazines, glass bottles, aluminum and steel beverage and food cans, plastic bottles #1 and #2 only. Items should be placed at the curb I the blue recycling bin by 7 a.m. on your collection day. Please call 968-2788 for information.
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4. ALL CITIZENS ARE REQUIRED TO COMPLY WITH THE CHAPEL HILL NOISE ORDINANCE |
(SUMMARIZE DUTIES REQUIRED BY THE NEW ORDINANCE)
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5. ALL CITIZENS ARE REQUIRED TO COMPLY WITH THE APPLICABLE PARKING ORDINANCES |
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6. ALL CITIZENS ARE ENCOURAGED TO ATTEMPT TO RESOLVE HIS OR HER COMPLAINTS WITH THE DISPUTE SETTLEMENT CENTER PRIOR TO FILING A COMPLAINT W/THE TOWN OF CHAPEL HILL |
“Mediation brings people together in a neutral setting to work through a problem and find a solution”
302 W. Weaver Street
Carrboro, NC 27510
Telephone: (919) 929-8800
RENTAL LICENSING TASK FORCE
During meetings of the Rental Licensing Task Force, several issues were raised that we believe could not or should not be addressed in the proposed Rental Licensing Ordinance. Therefore, we make the following additional recommendations to the Council:
The Task Force expressed that parking is an issue in the neighborhoods closest to the UNC campus. The Task Force recommends that the Town initiate a process to consider adopting a Town-wide front-yard parking ordinance and other parking enforcement initiatives.
We recommend that the Town create a violations database to track housing code violations registered through the Inspection Department. We believe that this could help the Town monitor properties that are not in compliance with the Minimum Housing Code.
Several members of the Task Force expressed concern about the upkeep of front porches in the Northside neighborhood. We do not believe that this is an issue to be addressed by the Rental Licensing Task Force. The Town’s Housing Code currently requires the upkeep of front porches (Sec. 9 –110, “Every inside and outside stair, porch, and any appurtenance thereto shall be safe to use and capable of supporting the load that normal use may cause to be placed thereon; and shall be kept in sound condition and good repair). We recommend that the Council pursue more strict enforcement of this ordinance.
We do not believe that a rental licensing ordinance should address the number of unrelated people that can live in a dwelling unit. We understand that residents of the Northside neighborhood have asked the Council to consider adopting a single-family overlay zone for that neighborhood. We recommend that the Council initiate a process to consider this recommendation.