FLOYD COUNTY —
New Albany Mayor Doug England said Monday he intends to bring a rental property registration ordinance before the City Council within two months.
Though a council committee that included administration officials formed in 2008 to research implementing a registration program, momentum to pass any legislation on the issue waned in 2009.
“We need this — to be able to let [a landlord] know that you’re falling way behind here and we’re going to have to file a lien soon,” England said.
Anyone owning rental property would be required to register with the city. This would expedite the process of contacting property owners when there’s a problem — such as overgrown grass, rodent infestation or other code violations — England said. The mayor also said landlords whould have to register annually.
Frequently the city runs into issues tracking down a landlord that lives out of state, he continued. Contact information can be tracked through county deed records, but England said that can take quite awhile to confirm.
“If we can already have it registered, it makes it easier for code enforcement,” he said. “Our objective is to help clean the city up and work with the [property] owners — most of them want to work with you.”
Councilman Steve Price and Council President John Gonder were members of the 2008 rental property committee.
Gonder said he would welcome a rental registration ordinance for council consideration. Such a program would be another tool for code enforcement, which Gonder said is important for New Albany.
“It’s a health issue, it’s a quality of life issue — it’s something that just has a tremendous impact on the entire community,” he said. “You’re talking about increasing the tax base of the city by allowing neighborhoods to actually mend themselves.”
Once the details of the ordinance are finalized, England feels it will be a measure widely supported by the council.
But Price — who owns rental property in New Albany — is worried such a piece of legislation will penalize landlords and lead to the hiring of additional city workers to deal with the paperwork.
“I don’t have a problem letting people know what I own, what I’m worried about is it leading eventually to fees...more layers of fat,” Price said.
“They could give me any address in New Albany and I can guarantee you I can find out who the owner is, you just have to do a little leg work.”
England anticipates a registration fee would only be nominal, as he said it would be just enough to cover the city’s cost for paperwork.
It’s not meant to punish landowners but to actually help them be better informed about the state of their properties, he continued.
England said he’s discussed the idea with several realtors and the feedback has been positive.
Gonder said he would support rental registration as a way to make New Albany more livable.
“When you look at the different positive elements of code enforcement, anything you can do to facilitate that is worth pursuing,” he said.
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