City of
Lawrence, Kansas
Residential
Rental Property Ordinance
Administrative
Regulations
Subject: Residential
Rental Property Ordinance |
Applies
to: Planning
and Development Services |
|
Effective
Date: ??????
|
Revised
Date: 1/9/14 |
|
Approved
By: City
Commission |
Total
Pages: 4
|
Policy
Number:
AP-????? |
1.0 Purpose
As authorized by City of Lawrence, Kan.,
Code § 6-1323(a) (July 1, 2013), the Governing Body of the City of Lawrence,
Kansas, hereby promulgates these Administrative Regulations for the purpose of
establishing policies and procedures governing the implementation and administration
of the City's Residential Rental Property Ordinance, codified as amended at
Chapter 6, Article 13 of the Code of the City of Lawrence, Kansas.
2.0 Implementation
of the Residential Rental Property Ordinance
A. Section 6-1303 of
the City Code requires that all residential rental Dwelling Units be licensed
by the City. The Code Official will actively employ several methods to ensure
that all rental properties are licensed, including but not limited to: comparing
utility bill addresses against owner addresses, reviewing online
advertisements, newspaper advertisements, and onsite advertisements, and investigating
complaints, etc. In order to provide an efficient means of
licensing all rental Dwelling Units, including those licensed prior to June 1,
2014 that will be transitioned to the schedule upon license renewal, the Code
Official shall, for the submission of Rental License applications under the
Residential Rental Property Ordinance, for the first year commencing
June 1, 2014, establish the following schedule:
Registration Name Begins With: Date License Due:
K, L June
30, 2014
M, N July
31, 2014
O, P, Q August
31, 2014
R, S September
30, 2014
T, U October
31, 2014
V, W November
30, 2014
X, Y, Z December
31, 2014
A, B January
31, 2015
C, D February
28, 2015
E, F March
31, 2015
G, H April
30, 2015
I, J May
31, 2015
B. The Code Official shall not commence
inspections under Section 6-1310 of the City Code until January 1, 2015 (excluding
inspections conducted in response to complaints, or re-inspections for Notices
of Violation issued prior to June 1, 2014). However, the Code Official may
perform inspections under Section 6-1310 of the City Code during calendar year
2014, if the Licensee or Registered Agent of Licensee specifically requests
such an inspection.
3.0 Master
Licenses for Unified Multifamily Developments/Apartment Complexes
For the purposes of economy, for unified
multi-family developments and apartment complexes where 11 or more units exist that
are located on a single lot, or on contiguous lots, all of which are under the
same ownership and management, instead of issuing Rental Licenses for each
Dwelling Unit under 6-1306 of the City Code, the Code Official shall have the
authority to issue one "Master License."
4.0 Inspection
Schedule
A. The
Code Official will perform inspections of Residential Rental Properties according
to the following three-year cycle, generally as resources allow, beginning in
the year 2015:
1. Year 1 – Registration name begins with K,
L, M, N, O, P, Q, R or S
2. Year 2 – Registration name begins with T, U,
V, W, X, Y, Z, A, or B
3. Year 3 – Registration name begins with C,
D, E, F, G, H, I, or J
B. Residential
Rental Properties licensed prior to June 1, 2014 shall be transitioned to the
inspection schedule contained in 4.0.A. but shall not be inspected sooner than
3 years from the date of their last inspection. Such Residential Rental
Properties will be eligible to qualify for the incentive established at Section
6-1312 of the City Code at their next regularly scheduled inspection.
C. The
Code Official will not perform inspections under Section 6-1310 of the City
Code during July and August of any year (excluding inspections performed in
response to complaints). However, the Code Official may perform inspections
under Section 6-1310 of the City Code during July or August, if the Licensee or
the Resident Agent of the Licensee specifically requests such an inspection.
D. The
Code Official will select, in accordance with Section 6-1310(c) of the City
Code, which Residential Rental Dwelling Units are to be inspected and shall
give notice thereof to the Licensee or the Resident Agent of the Licensee at a
time reasonably in advance of inspection. If there are Qualified Vacant
Dwelling Units, as that term is defined at Section 6-1302 of the City Code, the
Licensee or the Resident Agent of the Licensee may notify the Code Official,
and the Code Official shall make a reasonable attempt to give such Qualified
Vacant Dwelling Units first priority in the selection of Dwelling Units for
inspection and the scheduling of inspections. Generally, Dwelling Units that
have previously been selected and inspected by the Code Official will not be
selected for inspection in future inspection cycles (see paragraph 4.0.F. below), unless all Dwelling Units of the
Licensee have previously been inspected.
E. The
Code Official will incorporate Residential Rental Properties licensed after
June 1, 2014, into the three-year cycle schedule outlined in paragraph 4.0.B., supra, as they enter the program.
F. After
initial licensing and inspection of a Residential Rental Property, the Code
Official will inspect Residential Rental Properties on approximately a three-year
cycle, see paragraph 4.0.B., supra, regardless of whether a change in
name or ownership has occurred, unless the Residential Rental Property
qualifies for the incentive established at Section 6-1312 of the City Code, at
which time the Residential Rental Property will be inspected on approximately a
six-year cycle. If Residential Rental Property does not qualify for the incentive,
as the result of an inspection, whether it is a scheduled inspection under
Section 6-1310 of the City Code or an inspection due to a complaint, the
Residential Rental Property will remain on approximately a three-year cycle, see paragraph 4.0.B., supra.
5.0 Inspection
Procedures
A. During
the exterior and interior inspection of Residential Rental Property, the Code
Official will note any violations on a form substantially similar to that which
is affixed hereto as Appendix C. On the form, for the sole purpose of determining whether the property qualifies for the
incentive established at Section 6-1312 of the City Code, violations are
categorized either as Major Violations or Minor Violations.
B. While
compliance with the City Code is ultimately the responsibility of the Licensee,
if the Code Official has probable cause to believe that any violation is caused
by a Tenant, or involves personal property of a tenant (such as a tenant’s
inoperable or untagged vehicle, a tenant’s upholstered furniture placed on a
deck or unenclosed porch, or a tenant’s improper exterior storage of junk, debris
or other personal property), the Code Official has the discretion to pursue
compliance and resolution of any such violation directly with the Tenant in
accordance with Section 6-1316(b) of the City Code.
6.0 Notice of
Violation and General Compliance Requirements
A. In
the event that the Code Official finds, during any inspection, one or more
violations of the City Code, the Code Official shall provide to the Licensee
(and/or the Resident Agent of the Licensee) a written Notice of Violation that
identifies each code violation and classifies each violation as either a Major
Violation or Minor Violation.
B. Generally,
in the written Notice of Violation, the Code Official will grant the Licensee
(and/or the Resident Agent of the Licensee) thirty (30) days in which to
remediate any cited Code violation. However, where any Code violation is of
such a nature that it poses an imminent threat to life, safety, health, or
welfare (such as an unvented gas appliance, dangerous electrical wiring, or a
collapsed/backed up sanitary sewer line, etc.)
the Code Official may require that any such Code violation be remediated more
expeditiously than thirty (30) days.
C. In
the absence of exigent circumstances, upon the request of the Licensee or the
Registered Agent of the Licensee, the Code Official shall have the authority to
grant a reasonable extension of time in which to remediate any violation
identified in a Notice of Violation. Such authority shall be granted sparingly
and shall be dependent upon the totality of circumstances, including but not
limited to the nature of the violation(s), weather/seasonal factors, or the
availability of contractor(s) hired by the Licensee or the Resident Agent of
the Licensee to complete remediation.
7.0 Educational
Materials
On or about
September 1 of each year, the Code Official will mail to each licensed Dwelling
Unit a postcard. The postcard will provide residents of that Dwelling Unit with
a website address that contains general information regarding the City's
Residential Rental Property Ordinance and relevant contact information for
reporting to the City any suspected violation of the City Code. The content of
the website information will be substantially similar to that affixed to these
regulations as Appendix E.
8.0 Appendices
The Appendices
affixed hereto are incorporated herein by reference as if set forth in these Administrative
Regulations in full. The Appendices are identified as follows:
A. Rental
License Application
B. Rental
License
C. Inspection
Form/Checklist
D. Consent
for Inspection Form
E. Website
Information Packet