GREENFIELD – Greenfield landlords and rental property owners could soon be required to register their long-term rental properties if the city council approves an ordinance next month.
On Wednesday, the Greenfield City Council passed the ordinance on first reading. It must be passed on second and third readings in order to be enacted.
A public hearing and second and third reading will likely be held at the next City Council meeting Sept. 11.
The ordinance presented by the city’s plan commission would establish a Landlord Registration Program for the City of Greenfield.
City planner Joanie Fitzwater said the ordinance would help the city keep better track of its long-term rental properties by requiring that all such properties be registered annually for a one-time fee of $5. The ordinance would not affect short-term rentals such as those listed through Airbnb and Vrbo.
Safety is the key concern, she said, especially when it comes to fire and police protection.
“Sometimes if a property has been converted to a rental, a single-family home could now have more than a single family living in it, but the fire department doesn’t know that,” said Fitzwater.
“It’s really imperative for public safety that we understand how many rental properties are in a house and how many families are in a house, and who to contact in case of an emergency,” she said.
Having owners and landlords register their long-term rental properties could also dissuade problems other communities have had, said Fitzwater, like rental homes being used for drug trafficking.
“With rental properties there can be a lot of layers to who actually owns the rental property. A lot of times, police and fire don’t know who to notify when there’s an issue,” she said.
The proposed ordinance states that, starting Jan. 1, all owners or landlords of long-term rental units within the city shall register with the department and provide the owner’s name, address and telephone number, the name of an Indiana resident authorized to manage the rental unit if applicable, as well as a person authorized to act as agent for the owner when it comes to issuing notices and demands.
Rental owners or landlords must also share the number of rental units on each separate parcel of property covered by the registration, as well as a statement that the registered units are free of any current violations of state and local codes.
The ordinance states rental owners and landlords must pay the city an initial registration fee of $5, with only one fee required for all units in a shared community.
Registrations must be renewed annually, but no new fees are required.
In the event of a change of ownership, the new owner or landlord must provide updated registration information within 30 days. Registrants must also notify the department of any changes to registration information within 30 days.
If the ordinance passes, the registration fees will go into a newly designated Landlord Registration Fund, a continuing, non-reverting fund dedicated solely to reimbursing the costs the city incurs through the program.
Any person or entity who violates the guidelines will have committed a civil zoning violation and may be issued a citation.
Fitzwater said the proposed rental ordinance has been many months in the making, with ongoing discussions between the city’s police and planning departments and members of the Metropolitan Indianapolis Board of Realtors, which opposed the plan.
“It’s a really sticky wicket. On the one hand we’re trying to advocate for public safety, and on the other hand they’re trying to advocate for less government intrusion on business,” said Fitzwater. “But, in our experience, the honest landlords want a city to know who they are and for their property to be on the radar, so nothing nefarious happens on their property,” she said.
