(A) Crime-free lease addendum.
(1) All residential rental property owner with four or more rental units, entering into leases regarding residential rental property shall utilize the crime-free lease addendum provided by the city. Property owners shall advise prospective tenants of the required crime-free lease addendum prior to entering into any lease or rental agreement.
(2) The crime free lease addendum shall make criminal activity a lease violation and will specify that criminal activity is not limited to violent criminal activity or drug-related criminal activity engaged in by, facilitated by, or permitted by the tenant, a member of the household, a guest or any party under the control of the tenant. The property owner shall take all reasonable action to enforce the terms of the crime-free housing addendum, including eviction of the tenant in violation pursuant to the requirements of state law.
(3) It shall constitute a violation of this subchapter for any residential rental property owner to knowingly permit any tenant to occupy any residential rental property without entering into a crime-free lease addendum or to occupy any residential rental property in violation of any provision of the crime-free lease addendum required under this section. Any failure to include a crime-free lease addendum or similar approved language may result in penalty as set forth in division (F) of this section.
(B) Training. All residential rental property owners with four or more rental units, shall have successfully completed mandatory crime-free management training, administered or certified by the city, prior to issuance of occupancy permits. Recertification training will be required of all residential rental property owners every three years.
(C) Property contact information. The residential rental property owner shall provide the city with emergency contacts for each rental property, who can provide the names of the residents in each unit and has authority to make decisions with respect to the property.
(D) Tenant background checks. All residential rental property owners with four or more rental units shall check the criminal background of all perspective tenants through a screening program approved by the Police Department. Copies of the completed background check must be retained in the tenant’s files and made available to the city upon request.
(E) Chronic law enforcement issues. Residential rental property owners with fewer than four rental units will be subject to program requirements of this subchapter only if the rental unit(s) experience chronic law enforcement issues. In the event of chronic law enforcement issues, property owners shall remain subject to program requirements for a period of 24 months violation free, following the latest founded incident. Chronic law enforcement issues are unit specific, with occupants therein and defined as:
(1) One or more Founded Level 1 Violations as defined in § 151.84(A)(2)(a) of this subchapter within a 12-month period.
(2) Two or more Founded Level 2 Violations as defined in § 151.84(A)(2)(b) of this subchapter within a 12-month period.
(3) Three or more Founded Level 3 Violations as defined in § 151.84(A)(2)(c) of this subchapter within a 12-month period.
(F) Enforcement/penalties.
(1) Notice. Whenever the city determines that a violation of this section exists, the city shall give notice of violation and an order to correct to the property owner. The notice shall be in writing and shall describe with reasonable detail the violation(s) so that the property owner has the opportunity to correct said violation.
(2) Violation. Any person who fails to comply with any provisions of this subchapter after receiving written notice of the violations(s) and being given a reasonable opportunity to correct such violations(s) shall be deemed to be in violation of this subchapter.
(3) Penalty. Any property owner violating any provision of this subchapter or other applicable code or regulation with regard to the Crime-Free Multi-Housing Program shall be subject to a fine as set forth in § 10.99 for each offense. A separate offense shall be deemed committed on each day a violation occurs or continues to exist. Permit renewals will not be approved unless all outstanding penalties are paid in full.
(4) Suspension/revocation. Any failure of an owner to take reasonable action enforce the terms of the crime-free lease addendum after having been notified by the city of activity or conduct occurring on the residential rental property in violation of the addendum, and after having been given a reasonable opportunity to remedy such activity or conduct, shall be sufficient grounds for the suspension of his or her residential rental permit for a period of up to 90 days. Repeated suspensions may be grounds for revocation. The property owner shall have the right to appeal any suspension as set forth in this subchapter.
(Ord. 2365, passed 9-3-2019)