Cape Girardeau rental license deadline nears

Development services staff in Cape Girardeau are working to sign up all landlords for licenses to rent property for an inspection program as an April 12 deadline nears.

A rental inspection program that, as of Monday, had seen 155 landlords register 1,842 units was created through a unanimous city council vote last October.

"We certainly don't want any landlords to be in violation right off the start," assistant city manager Kelly Green told the council last week during an update on the rental inspection program.

A past estimate by city officials showed about 5,000 rental units within the city limits.

The development services office sent out about 550 letters to possible owners of rental property shortly after the ordinance was passed to notify them of requirements to register. Landlords have one month from today to obtain licenses to rent property or they could face penalties for violating the ordinance.

The program mandates landlords purchase annual licenses to rent property and requires maintenance and cleanliness of properties from both landlords and tenants. Complaints from either party or outside parties are investigated by a city inspector and, if evidence of violations is found, citations are issued. Multiple violations could lead to fines and suspension of a license.

Since Jan. 1, the city has received 28 complaints, according to Green, which have come from landlords, tenants and others. Twelve violations stemming from complaints have been corrected, 13 are listed as incomplete because they are being investigated or corrected, one has led those involved into court and two were determined to be unfounded.

No two complaints for the same landlord, tenant or property have been seen, Green said, but the complaints have been wide ranging, from failure to have a smoke detector, to bedbugs or roaches to a dysfunctional toilet. A common complaint is that there are too many people living in one unit. Green said the program is helping the city aid landlords in determining how many people actually are living in a unit and whether the number is allowed by the city's zoning ordinances.

In the years before the ordinance passed, city staff proposed several versions of a rental inspection program to the public and city officials. The purpose of the ordinance and program, according to the city, is to improve rental options and improve the condition of rental property.

Jason Coalter, president of the Cape Area Landlord Association, said the group, which helped draft the ordinance, sees the program working so far.

"One thing that's been incredible is that the city has reached out when there's been questions, like if there've something they wonder about how they handled a situation, they ask if the membership felt like what they did is reasonable or unreasonable to a degree," Coalter said.

Another benefit the group has seen, Coalter said, is that several pieces of chronically rundown property have entered the market as a result of the owners not wanting to spend money for repairs and maintenance, and the properties have since been sold to owners who will do the work to comply with the program.

Ken Kiefer, a local real estate agent who acted as chairman of the Cape County Board of Realtors governmental affairs committee and spoke against several sections of the ordinance when it was up for consideration by the city council last fall, on Monday said he hasn't heard complaints about the program or inspections, but has fielded questions about how to register for the program from real estate agents who represent property leasing.

"Apparently the city could do now or could have done more to help rental property owners be aware of the procedure," Kiefer said. "I think they are going to have difficulties getting everyone signed up, and I thought that at the very first. There are also a lot of people who don't care to have any more government bodies know their business than they have to. I suppose they are going to get a certain level of cooperation, but there's people who will dodge it if they can."

At the time Kiefer spoke against the ordinance before the council, he said the board supported an ordinance that would promote safety for tenants through inspections, but had concerns with the way the ordinance was worded because it could allow unauthorized property inspections and create liability risks for real estate agents. When the ordinance passed, members of the committee said they would keep a close eye on the program and its effects.

Green said the city has extended efforts to register landlords by having staff place calls to phone numbers listed on rental signs when they see property advertised. The city also is working to create a database of landlords as participants enter the program. Green said the goal of the database is to identify all the participants and eventually to be able to track trends for violations.

The rental inspection program application, forms, ordinance and brochure are posted online on the city's homepage, www.cityofcapegirardeau.org, under the heading "Residential Rental Licensing."

eragan@semissourian.com

388-3627

Pertinent address:

401 Independence St., Cape Girardeau, Mo.