City program targets rental properties

By DAVID SKOLNICK

skolnick@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

A rental-registration program will improve the quality of life in the city’s neighborhoods by requiring landlords to keep their property in good shape, Mayor Jay Williams said.

But a property owner is concerned about the program.

The city will mail letters beginning Monday to the owners of about 6,000 rental properties requiring them to pay $20 per unit for an annual rental-property license.

If a property is a multifamily dwelling, landlords would pay $20 for the first unit and $15 for additional units in the structure.

Landlords have till June 30 to register with the city.

“It looks like another tax,” said Michael Anderson of Gander Properties, which owns two apartment buildings with 150 total units on Gypsy Lane. “You’re decreasing the incentive for someone to move into the city.”

The mayor acknowledged the program isn’t perfect and that adjustments probably will be made.

Though there are many good landlords in the city, Williams said, “There are dozens and dozens of irresponsible landlords who don’t make repairs” or “make sure tenants have a nice place to live.”

Williams joined other city officials Wednesday in front of a vacant home on Lanterman Avenue, near Glenwood Avenue and Canfield Road, to announce the program.

“By improving neighborhoods, it will make the city more stable,” Williams said.

There also are about 4,300 rental units in Youngstown that receive federal subsidies from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development through its Section 8 housing program, said Bill D’Avignon, director of the city’s community-development agency.

Those units are exempt from the registration program and already undergo a federal inspection that is more strict than the city check, he said.

But D’Avignon said he wasn’t sure if student dormitory rooms at Youngstown State University would be exempt from the annual rental fee.

“There’s no provision [in the city policy] that speaks to student dorm rooms,” he said. “We’ll have to look at that.”

The city reviewed Mahoning County property and city water-department records to determine rental properties in Youngstown, D’Avignon said.

The city expects to receive about $90,000 a year in registration fees, D’Avignon said.

That will be a little less than the anticipated cost of the program, he said.

The city is hiring the Youngstown Metropolitan Housing Authority, which will use four inspectors, to examine the rental units to make sure they comply with city requirements, he said.

The YMHA will be paid $15 per inspection.

Because of the number of units, it could take a year for every known rental property to be inspected, D’Avignon said.

The plan is to inspect every unit once a year, but that could be changed to when new tenants move into a rental property, he said.

If the units aren’t in compliance, the owners must make repairs and have a follow-up inspection within 60 days. That second inspection fee is $50.

If the unit fails a second inspection, owners must pay $100 for every follow-up inspection.

Also, landlords who rent units without a valid rental license face a fine of up to $100 a day, D’Avignon said.

“The city should punish the offenders,” Anderson said. “I’m concerned I’ll be painted with the same brush” as bad landlords.

Gail Starks, who owns a few rental properties on the city’s South and West Sides, said she has trouble finding responsible renters.

She said the new regulations won’t do much for her except require her to pay an annual fee.