NORWICH – Long anticipated changes to the rental registry were a topic of debate when the Norwich City Council met Tuesday for a public hearing and adoption of a resolution they say will improve standards of apartments and rented homes.
In December, the city proposed changes to the agreement between the city and landlords who rent out property as a way to ensure safe and better quality homes for residents. Prior to Tuesday’s resolution to amend the registry, the agreement was optional and allowed a city inspection of a residence prior to new tenants, although state law mandates inspection of a rented, three-unit property once every three years.
Changes to the agreement mandate that all rental units must now be inspected upon a change of tenants, at a $25 per inspection fee to be paid by the landlord, and landlords are required to notify the city of a change of tenants. According to Codes Enforcement Officer Jason Lawrence, these regular inspections would benefit tenants by ensuring decent livable quarters and keeping landlords involved while also proving advantageous for landlords who will have documentation that a unit was in good condition at the time of inspection.
The city must also inspect buildings with three or more apartments once every three years to adhere to New York law.
While most favored the council’s proposal, one spoke out against it during the public hearing. Rich Barnes, a 20-year veteran landlord in the city, argued that “code violations are caused by the negligence of tenants, not the landlords.” A $25 inspection fee would “be another burden on landlords” and it is just another way of collecting revenue for the city, he said.
“The problem is not the building itself. It’s the tenants and their poor standard of living,” he claimed, referring to problematic tenants he’s rented to in the past.
Barnes also argued that many of his apartments are inspected by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and there’s no need to be reinspected by the city codes department. Moreover, he said time spent waiting for codes to inspect the residence is money lost because he cannot rent to a new tenant until the apartment is inspected.
Another speaker and local landlord, Edward Morano, neither argued for or against the change, but requested that if an inspection is required every time there is a change of tenants, background checks of potential tenants should be made easier to carry out.
Ultimately, council members passed the proposed ordinance on a roll call vote with no objection.
The city also adopted two other ordinances during Tuesday’s meeting, the first being an amendment to Attachment 2 of the City Zoning Ordinance. The amendment involves adding a note to the ordinance, stating: “Street setbacks, lot line setbacks and maximum percent lot cover does not apply to harmless encroachments such as eaves, overhangs, handicapped ramps, and open patios.” There were no comments in the public hearing held prior to accepting a resolution.
The third ordinance that was adopted entails changing the city’s zoning map from IN (industry) zone to R-2 (residential) zone for portions of State and Mitchel Street. The change will allow a private developer to continue plans of constructing a $7 million affordable housing complex in that neighborhood.