Longmont will move ahead with an ordinance creating a program to license and inspect rental housing in the city, a change that a majority of Longmont City Council members say will protect both renters and landlords.
Cataloging rental properties will also give the city a better idea of what kind of quality housing is available in Longmont, which up until now has been largely guesswork, Councilmember Marcia Martin told the council.
“It would tell us what we don’t know now,” Martin said. “When we are talking about affordable housing, we are really not really sure what we got.”
The council voted 4-2 — with Councilmember Tim Waters and Mayor Pro Tem Aren Rodriguez dissenting — to switch from the current complaint-based system in which tenants report problems with landlords to the city. The change will not be immediate.
The council will also have to decide if single-family rental homes should be included in the ordinance, which will likely add to the cost of the new program. As of now, the effort will cost $300,000 and require at least three new inspectors, according to a staff report.
There was no indication when the ordinance will return to the city council for review.
Inspections would be conducted every three years on structures eight years or older, according to the ordinance advanced by Councilmember Polly Christensen.
The new law protects tenants fearful of reporting problems with their housing for fear of retaliation from landlords, Christensen said. “There is nothing more important to me, for residents to have a safe and decent city to live in,” Christensen said.
Landlords would also benefit by having the condition of the unit they are renting on the record with the city, to protect them from baseless complaints from renters, council members said.
Waters told the council, city staff are already taking on too many wide-ranging projects and there didn’t seem to be an overwhelming need to introduce a new program. The cost of the programs is also likely to be passed on to renters, Water said.
“I just think we are using a big hammer to find a little nail,” Waters said.
Rodriguez told the council there is too much uncertainty in the economy, including in the local housing market, to introduce the ordinance at this time.
“There are just too many moving parts right now to move forward with this,” Rodriquez said.
