City looking at rental changes

Landlords of single-family residences may soon be required to have licenses

Eastlake City Council’s Ordinance Committee met on May 29, to discuss a potential ordinance that will require landlords in the city to be licensed to rent single-family residences.

Currently in a draft form, the ordinance would require landlords to submit a rental license application with a required $300 application fee for a rental permit per property and submit to a property inspection.

The inspection would include making sure the dwelling is adequately sized and has adequate sleeping rooms for the proposed number of occupants per the city’s building code. Additionally, the inspection would include making sure the unit has no culinary facilities outside the kitchen, and that each unrelated tenant has their own bedroom and be a minimum of 120 square feet.

Bedrooms in basements or below grade are prohibited and all bedrooms must have a

The ordinance will need to be presented to Council and voted on before taking effect.

bathroom directly attached or abut a hallway leading to one.

The inspector will also be looking to see that the dwelling satisfies both the Building Code and the Fire Prevention Code.

The property owner/ landlord will need to acknowledge responsibility for all interior and exterior maintenance, adhering to both state and local codified ordinances.

If the initial inspection shows any violations, the landlord/property owner would be granted reasonable time to make the repairs and schedule a follow up inspection Reasonable time would be determined by the chief building inspector or a designee of the chief building inspector.

Once the dwelling has been inspected and found to meet the requirement the landlord would then receive the rental license which would be valid for two years upon completion of a property inspection.

Rental property owners failing to comply with the obtainment of the license required by the ordinance would face a $200 a month fee for each month they fail to comply.

The ordinance will need to be presented to Council and voted on before taking effect.

Eastlake Mayor Dennis Morley encourages all landlords to attend the June 12 meeting to find out more and talk to Council about questions and concerns they may have regarding the potential ordinance.