Agenda Request

	City Council
	Agenda Request
Agenda Of:	11/06/07	Agenda Request No:		VII F
Initiated By:	Mike Goodrum, Community & Environmental Services Director	Responsible Department:		Community & Environmental Services
Presented By:	Mike Goodrum, Community & Environmental Services Director	Department Head:		Mike Goodrum, Community & Environmental Services Director
		Additional Department. Head (s):		N/A
Subject / Proceeding:	Residential Rental Property License First Consideration of Ordinance No.1660
Exhibits:	Ordinance No. 1660
Clearances			Approval
Legal:	Meredith Wilganowski, Assistant City Attorney		Executive Director:	Jim Callaway community development
Purchasing:	N/A		Asst. City Manager:	N/A
Budget:	N/A		City Manager:	Allen Bogard
Budget
Expenditure Required: $			N/A
Amount Budgeted/Reallocation: $			N/A
Additional Appropriation: $			N/A
Recommended Action
Adopt Ordinance No. 1660
Executive Summary
The Residential Rental Property License & Inspection Program is a proactive initiative to preserve and improve rental properties, and as a result our vital neighborhoods. Additionally, the program provides for the more efficient utilization of resources which is a key objective of City Council’s Goal of Responsible Government. Background: Approximately 10% of Sugar Land’s Single Family homes are currently rental properties. This number is smaller than some of Sugar Land’s surrounding cities however the number of rental units has increased in recent years. Furthermore, the geographic areas of Sugar Land with the highest percentage of rental properties are also the areas that require the majority of code enforcement resources. These properties are also more difficult to manage because their owners often reside out of the area, state or even country and the only contact information staff has is the properties physical address. As a result of these factors the Community & Environmental Services Department believes it is essential to Sugar Land’s long-term success to implement the proposed rental program. This ordinance requires all single-family rental property owners to annually obtain a license to rent property in Sugar Land. Renting is defined as the offering or leasing of a dwelling unit to an occupant other than the owner and involves the payment of a rental amount. The cost of the license fee is $80 per dwelling unit and is designed to cover the full cost of this program. Each property will receive an exterior inspection annually and will receive an interior inspection under certain circumstances, including upon change in occupancy, if an inspector notes an exterior code violation that indicates a potential critical or life safety violation, or if the occupant requests an inspection. The ordinance will go into effect January 1, 2008 and there will be a six month period of voluntary compliance. During this time rental property owners will be encouraged to obtain a license and there will not be a fine for failing to do so. This will also be a period of extensive public education. Beginning July 1, 2008 there will be a $500 fine for renting a property without a license and the City will not provide new water service to rental properties that are not licensed. There are clear benefits of the Residential Rental Property License & Inspection Program. The renter benefits from having a safe and sanitary place to live, the owner benefits from having issues communicated to them and addressed before they become serious and costly and the community benefits by preserving and improving rental properties.
Exhibits

ORDINANCE NO. 1660

AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF SUGAR LAND, TEXAS, AMENDING CHAPTER 4 (LICENSES, PERMITS, AND BUSINESS REGULATIONS) OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES TO PROVIDE FOR RESIDENTIAL RENTAL PROPERTY LICENSES; PROVIDE FOR A PENALTY IN THE MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF $500.00 FOR VIOLATIONS THEREOF; AMENDING CHAPTER 2 (ADMINISTRATION) TO PROVIDE FEES FOR RESIDENTIAL RENTAL PROPERTY LICENSES AND INSPECTIONS; AND AMENDING CHAPTER 5 (PUBLIC PROPERTY AND SERVICES) RELATING TO WATER CONNECTION SERVICES.

BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL

OF THE CITY OF SUGAR LAND, TEXAS:

Section 1. That Chapter 4, Licenses, Permits, and Business Regulations, of the Code of Ordinances is amended by adding a new Article VIII to read as follows:

Article VIII. Residential Rental Property License

Sec. 4-120. Definitions. In this Article:

Critical violation means a violation of this Code, the Development Code, state or federal law that is capable of causing or contributing to injury or illness of occupants.

Dwelling unit means a building or portion of a building designed to provide independent living facilities for not more than one family and that contains bathroom facilities and not more than one kitchen.

License means a Residential Rental Property License issued under this Article.

Life safety violation means a violation of this Code, the Development Code, state or federal law that results in an imminent threat of death or injury to persons on the premises of a dwelling unit.

Single-family dwelling means (1) a building that contains only one dwelling unit and has open space on all sides of the building, or (2) a building that contains dwelling units located on separately platted lots that are joined to other dwelling units on one or both sides by a common wall that separates the individual dwelling units, commonly referred to as a townhouse.

Rent means the offering or leasing of a dwelling unit to an occupant other than the owner and involves the payment of a rental amount.

Sec. 4-121. License Required.

(a) It is unlawful for any person to rent an unlicensed single-family dwelling unit to another.

(b) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under this Article that the single-family dwelling unit was rented for a period of less than 6 months to a person who was the immediate past owner of the dwelling unit or who will be the immediate next owner of the dwelling unit.

Sec. 4-122. License Requirements.

(a) License applications must be made on the forms provided by the City and accompanied with the application fees.

(b) Licenses are not assignable or transferable and are valid for one year.

c) A new license must be obtained within 30 days of any change in ownership of a single-family dwelling unit.

(d) Within 30 days from the date the city receives a completed License application the City will issue a License or notify the applicant that it refuses to issue a License.

Sec. 4-123. Denial of License.

If the city refuses to issue a License, the city will give written notice of the denial to the applicant as soon as reasonably possible, but not more than 5 business days after the decision is made to deny the License. The written notice will include:

(a) A clear statement of the reason for the city’s denial; and

(b) A statement that the applicant may appeal the denial of the License to the city’s building standards commission by filing a written notice of appeal with the city within five days of the effective date of the denial.

Sec. 4-124. Revocation of License.

The city may revoke a License for repeated violations of this Code. To revoke a License the city will send written notice of the city’s intent to revoke the License not less than 30 business days prior to the date of revocation. The notice will include:

(a) A clear statement of the reason the city intends to revoke the License;

(b) The date the revocation will become effective, which will be not less than 30 business days from the date written and

(c) A statement that the License holder may file a written appeal of the proposed revocation to the city’s building standards commission within 5 business days of the date of the notice.

Sec. 4-125. Appeals.

(a) The city’s building standards commission will hold a hearing on an appeal as soon as is reasonably possible, but not more than 15 business days after the date the appeal is properly filed. The city, the person appealing, and any other interested party, may present evidence and argument to the Commission. An audio recording of the hearing will be made.

(b) After completion of the hearing, the commission will render a written decision on the appeal that includes a summary of the evidence that supports the decision. The Commission may issue appropriate orders to implement any decision made. A copy of the written decision will be provided to the person filing the appeal.

(c) The appeal provisions in this section govern over any other conflicting provision in this Code.

Sec. 4-126. Posting of License.

A License issued pursuant to this Article must be available at a location that the occupants and City inspectors have access to.

Sec. 4-127. Inspections.

(a) Upon application or renewal of a License, the City will inspect the exterior of the single-family dwelling unit to determine and ensure that the dwelling unit is not a public nuisance or substandard and that the unit meets all zoning, health and safety requirements of the Code.

(b) Subsequent to the initial exterior licensing inspection, the City will conduct interior inspections of a single-family dwelling unit when:

(1) There is a change in occupancy;

(2) An inspector notes an exterior code violation that indicates a potential critical or life safety violation; or

(3) Requested by the occupant.

(c) An inspector may enter a single-family dwelling unit at reasonable times to inspect the dwelling unit to ensure compliance with this Code if the officer:

(1) Obtains the consent of an adult lawfully occupying the dwelling unit;

(2) Obtains the consent of the License holder for an unoccupied dwelling unit; or

(3) Obtains a warrant from a court to inspect the dwelling unit.

Sec. 4-128. Repairs.

(a) Violations noted during an inspection must be completed as follows:

(1) Life safety violations must be corrected within 24 hours of notice. Life safety violations that have been safely isolated from occupants may be repaired by the date given in the notice.

(2) Critical violations must be corrected within 72 hours of notice.

(b) To pass reinspection, all repairs must be performed in a workmanlike manner, to current industry standards utilizing materials and methods commonly associated with repairs of a similar nature and comply with this Code, the Development Code, and state and federal law.

Section 2. That Chapter 2, Article 5, Division 4, Sec. 2-136(2) is amended by adding a new subparagraph (n) to read as follows:

(n) Residential Rental Property License:

1. Single-family License . . . 80.00

2. First Inspection . . . 0.00

3. First Reinspection . . . 0.00

4. Second Reinspection . . . 50.00

5. Third and subsequent reinspections . . . 100.00

6. Replacement License . . . 6.00

Section 3. That Chapter 5, Article 8, Division 7, Sec. 5-301(c) is amended to read as follows:

(1) the applicant is indebted to the city for service previously supplied at the same or other address, until payment has been made or an acceptable payment agreement has been made for the indebtedness, or

(2) the property is required to have, but does not have, a valid Single-family Residential Rental Property License.

Section 4. That the provisions of this ordinance are severable and the invalidity of any part of this ordinance shall not affect the validity of the remainder of the ordinance. Notice of the enactment of this ordinance shall be given by publishing the ordinance or its descriptive caption and penalty in the city's official newspaper one time within thirty days of passage.

Section 5. That any person found guilty of violating this ordinance may be fined not more than $500.00 for each offense. Each day a violation continues constitutes a new offense.

Section 6. That Sections 1 and 2 of this ordinance are effective on January 1, 2008, and Sections 3 & 5 of this ordinance are effective on July 1, 2008.

APPROVED on first consideration on _________________________, 2007.

ADOPTED upon second consideration on ______________________, 2007.

__________________________

David G. Wallace, Mayor

ATTEST:

____________________________

Glenda Gundermann, City Secretary

Reviewed for Legal Compliance: