Section
119.01 Definitions
119.02 Applicability
119.03 Registration required; fee
119.04 Registration with the Louisville Metro Revenue Commission
119.05 Enforcement
119.99 Penalties
Editor's note:
Pursuant to Section VII of Metro Ord. No. 174-2016, this chapter shall take effect 60 days after its passage and approval with registration required for applicable rental housing units and apartment complexes by March 1, 2017.
The provisions of Ord. No. 197-2022, approved December 15, 2022, regarding the online rental registry, its application and affidavit shall take effect within six months of its passage, approval or otherwise becoming law, with all remaining provisions to take effect nine months after its passage, approval, or otherwise becoming law.
Pursuant to Section VII of Metro Ord. No. 174-2016, this chapter shall take effect 60 days after its passage and approval with registration required for applicable rental housing units and apartment complexes by March 1, 2017.
The provisions of Ord. No. 197-2022, approved December 15, 2022, regarding the online rental registry, its application and affidavit shall take effect within six months of its passage, approval or otherwise becoming law, with all remaining provisions to take effect nine months after its passage, approval, or otherwise becoming law.
For the purpose of this chapter, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
DIRECTOR. The Director of the Louisville Metro Codes and Regulations, or designee.
HOUSING UNIT.
Any structure or part of a structure that is used or may be used by one or more persons as a home, residence, dwelling, or sleeping place, including but not limited to single-family residences, duplexes, multi-family dwellings, condominium units, boarding and lodging house units, single-room occupancy units, accessory dwelling units, and any other structure or part of a structure having similar living accommodations.
LET FOR OCCUPANCY
or
LET.
To permit, provide or offer possession or occupancy of a housing unit by a person who is not the legal owner of record thereof, pursuant to a written or unwritten lease, agreement or license, or pursuant to a recorded or unrecorded agreement of contract for the sale of land.
MULTI-UNIT RENTAL HOUSING FACILITY. Any structure containing more than one rental housing unit.
OWNER. An individual, corporation, partnership, trustee, lessee, agent or assignee or any equitable title in real property.
RENTAL HOUSING UNIT. Any housing unit that is or may be available for rent, or is occupied or rented by a tenant or subtenant in exchange for any form of consideration, and that is not a short-term rental unit as defined in § 115.515.
RENTER TENURE AREAS. Housing market areas with high renter rates as defined by Metro’s Office of Housing and Louisville Affordable Housing Trust Fund’s Housing Needs Assessment, updated every five years.
TENANT. A person, corporation, partnership or group, whether or not the legal owner of record, occupying a building or portion thereof as a unit.
(Lou. Metro Ord. No. 174-2016, approved 10-5-2016; Lou. Metro Am. Ord. No. 197-2022, approved 12-15-2022)
The registration provisions of § 119.03 shall apply to all rental housing units with the exception of:
(A) Housing units required to register with Louisville Metro Government under another provision of the Louisville Metro Code of Ordinances, including but not limited to short-term rentals and boarding and lodging houses;
(B) Hotels, motels, inns, bed and breakfasts, or similar accommodations that provide lodging for transient guests;
(C) Hospitals, hospice facilities, assisted living facilities, nursing homes, and residential care facilities meeting the definition of KRS 100.982;
(D) Convents, monasteries, or other facilities occupied exclusively by religious order or congregation;
(E) Transitional housing, homeless shelters, rehabilitation homes, and other emergency or temporary shelters;
(F) Housing units owned, operated, or managed by a major educational or medical institution or by a third party for the institution;
(G) Housing units that a governmental entity or housing authority owns, operates, or manages, or those exempted by federal, state, or local law;
(H) Accessory apartments and dwelling units, when the principal dwelling unit located on the same property is occupied by the owner of record.
(Lou. Metro Ord. No. 174-2016, approved 10-5-2016)
(A) (1) The Owner(s) of any rental housing unit, other than those exempted under § 119.02, shall register all rental housing units with Louisville Metro in accordance with the provisions of this section. The Director of Code and Regulations shall take all steps necessary to implement the provisions of this section.
(2) An Owner(s) of any multi-unit rental housing facility is not required to submit separate registrations forms or pay separate registration fees for each individual rental housing unit. The Owner(s) of any multi- unit rental housing facility may register the facility as a whole; provided, however, that the registration form shall include a list by rental unit number of each rental housing unit contained in the multi-unit rental housing facility.
(B) The registration shall be available online through the Louisville Metro Department of Codes and Regulations, and shall include the following information:
(1) A description of the rental housing unit by street address;
(2) The name, mailing and physical address(es), telephone number, and email address of the Owner(s) of the property;
(3) The name, mailing and physical address(es), telephone number, and email address of the responsible managing operator, if other than the Owner(s);
(4) If the Owner(s) is a corporation, limited partnership, limited liability company, or similar entity, in addition to the information required by subsection (B)(1)-(3), the organization shall furnish the name, mailing and physical address(es), telephone number, and email address of a responsible individual partner or officer;
(5) If the Owner(s) is a partnership or similar entity, in addition to the information required by subsection (B)(1)-(3), the entity shall furnish the name, mailing and physical address(es), telephone number, and email address of a responsible individual partner or officer.
(6) If the Owner(s) is a trust, in addition to the information required by subsection (B)(1)-(3), the trust shall furnish the name, mailing and physical address(es), telephone number, and email address of an individual designated and authorized to receive the rents of the rental housing unit or notice of any violation of this section or any section of Chapter 156.
(7) All contact information required by subsections (B)(1) through (6) of this section shall be updated by the registrant within ten business days of any change to any of the required information.
(8) The registration form shall include a sworn affidavit by the property owner that, to the best of Owner's knowledge, all rental units within the registered rental housing unit or registered multi-unit rental housing unit facility are in compliance with the applicable provisions of Metro's property maintenance code. The Department of Codes and Regulations shall create all necessary forms and provide them to the public online, shall create and provide informative materials regarding a landlord's responsibilities under this chapter and the Land Development Code, to include a checklist informing Owners of the top five most common infractions, and provide them to the public online, and shall outline the timelines and fees for maintaining the registry, all to allow for accurate attestation of compliance.
(9) (a) Failure to register the rental housing unit shall cause the Department of Codes and Regulations to conduct inspections of all units within the registered rental housing unit. The inspections required by this subsection shall be in addition to any inspections the Department is authorized to make under Chapter 156 based upon a complaint about the property. Inspections shall only occur upon proper notice under KRS 383.615 and 383.665 of the Uniform Landlord Residential Tenant Act, by administrative warrant, or upon consent of the occupant.
(b) On an annual basis, the Department of Codes and Regulations shall be required to randomly select 10% of registrants within the Renter Tenure Areas that contain a portion of rental housing units greater than 33% of total residential property and conduct an inspection of the rental housing unit. Newly built rental housing units, as verified by cross-reference and inquiry into building permits, shall not be eligible for proactive inspection for ten years. Recently renovated rental housing units, as verified by cross-reference and inquiry into building permits, shall not be eligible for proactive inspection for five years. Inspections shall be used to verify the premises is sufficiently maintained pursuant to KRS 383.595(1)(a). The Department in its discretion may utilize the affidavit required by subsection (B)(8) as proof of compliance in lieu of or in conjunction with a physical inspection of a property. Inspections shall only occur upon proper notice under KRS 383.615 and 383.665 of the Uniform Landlord Residential Tenant Act, by administrative warrant, or upon consent of the occupant.
(c) Pursuant to KRS 383.705, a tenant may maintain an action for retaliatory conduct by a landlord where a tenant has complained to a governmental agency charged with responsibility for enforcement of a building or housing code of a violation applicable to the premises materially affecting health and safety. Whenever a tenant agrees to an inspection of a Rental Housing Unit, the tenant shall benefit from the same presumption under KRS 383.705(2).
(10) In any proceeding before the Board of Code Enforcement it shall be a rebuttable presumption that the subject property is a rental housing unit when the property is occupied by someone other than the owner of record.
(C) Whenever ownership for a rental housing unit or a multi-unit rental housing facility changes, the new owner shall register the rental housing unit or multi-unit rental housing facility within 30 days of the transfer of ownership. A change in ownership of a rental housing unit or multi-unit rental housing facility shall invalidate any existing registration for that property after 30 days.
(D) A nonrefundable fee shall accompany the initial registration form. The fee structure shall be based on the following zoning classifications:
R-4 (max 4.84 per acre) - $25
R-5 (max 7.26 per acre) - $25
R-5A (max 12.01 per acre) - $50
R-6 (max 17.42 per acre) - $50
R-7 (max 34.8 per acre) - $50
R-8 (max 58.08 per acre) - $100
OR (max 12 per acre) - $50
OR-2 (max 58.08 per acre) - $100
OR-3 (max 217 per acre) - $250
C-R (max 38 per acre) - $50
C-1 (max 38.84 per acre) - $50
C-2 (max 217/145 acre) - $250
C-3 (max 435 per acre) - $250
CM and Up (none) - $50
The Director shall provide means for accepting payment online concurrent with submission of the annual registration form. After payment of initial registration, an annual registration shall be required with an accompanying $50 annual nonrefundable fee. For those with no violations pursuant to Chapter 156 and Chapter 119 within the preceding 12 months, the annual fee shall be waived. Rental housing units registered at the time this chapter takes effect shall not be required to re-register, so long as do not have outstanding violations with the Department of Codes and Regulations and they have provided all updated ownership information required by this chapter to Director.
(E) The Director shall assemble an annual report to Council showing the estimated total number of occupied rental housing units, their locations and density, and all other relevant data regarding the rental housing units within Metro that are registered subject to this chapter. The report shall include figures for registration fees collected and code enforcement violations and fines imposed for rental housing units. The report shall not present individual information on any particular owner or rental housing unit or multi-unit rental housing facility.
(Lou. Metro Ord. No. 174-2016, approved 10-5-2016; Lou. Metro Am. Ord. No. 197-2022, approved 12-15- 2022; Lou. Metro Am. Ord. No. 174- 2023, approved 12-5-2023) Penalty, see § 119.99
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