(A) No owner of real estate within the city shall use real estate for the purpose of erecting or maintaining a rental unit thereon without registering the property with the Rental Housing Officer. The registration shall be effected by furnishing to that officer, upon a form furnished by the officer, the following information:
(1) Name of owner;
(2) Address of owner;
(3) Street address of owner;
(4) Telephone number where owner can be reached in an emergency;
(5) Brief description of type and number of rental units;
(6) If the owner is not a resident of Howard County, Indiana, or a county contiguous to Howard County, the name, address, and telephone number of owner's agent authorized to receive notification of complaints, damages, emergencies, substandard conditions or other communications, including service of process. The address of any agent so designated shall be within the county or a contiguous county. Any owner who does not reside in Howard County, Indiana, or a contiguous county, shall be required to designate a resident agent; and
(7) Property in service as a rental property prior to November 1, 2003 shall be allowed to continue as a rental property as it pertains to this chapter, and any subsequent purchaser of the property shall retain this right.
(B) The registration form shall be signed by the owner.
(C) Whenever ownership of a rental unit changes, the new owner shall have the responsibility to report the change in ownership to the Rental Housing Officer within 30 days of the change of ownership. Previously issued registration permits shall automatically expire 30 days following transfer of title to a registered property.
(D) Notification of the owner or his or her agent at the address shown on the registration form shall constitute sufficient notice pursuant to any provision of this chapter.
(E) Registration shall be evidenced by issuance of a registration permit. The registration permit for a given property shall remain in effect until revoked for cause as set out in this chapter, or until a transfer of the legal title to the property, whichever occurs first.
(F) It shall be a violation of this chapter for any owner to maintain a rental unit which has not been registered in accordance with this section.
(Ord. 6424, passed 6-12-06; Am. Ord. 6454, passed 11-13-06) Penalty, see § 160.99