(a) An owner or operator shall register, on a registration form that the Department of Community Development shall provide, all rental units that the owner owns, or that the operator operates, no later than January 1 of each year, and upon the completion of transfer of title to a premises or structure with a rental unit.
(b) The registration form shall include information as the Department of Community Development shall determine, including the total number of rental units that the owner owns, or that the operator operates, the number of premises and structures with a rental unit, the address of each premises and structure, the number of rental units on each premises and in each structure, the identification number or letter of all rental units on each premises and in each structure, and information concerning the owner, which shall include:
(1) If the owner is one or more individuals or a sole proprietorship, the owner's name, address, date of birth, social security number (optional) and phone number;
(2) If the owner is a partnership, the name, address, tax identification number and phone number of the partnership, and the name, address, date of birth, social security number (optional) and phone number of one of the partners;
(3) If the owner is a corporation, the name, address, tax identification number and phone number of the corporation, the name, address and phone number of the corporation's statutory agent, and the name, address, date of birth, social security number (optional) and phone number of one of the officers; and
(4) If the owner is a trust, the name, address and phone number of the trust, and the name, address, date of birth, social security number (optional) and phone number of one of the trustees.
(c) If the owner of a rental unit has an operator that is not the owner, then the registration form shall include, in addition to the information required by subsection (b) hereof, additional information concerning the operator, as the Department of Community Development shall determine, which shall include:
(1) If the operator is one or more individuals or a sole proprietorship, the operator's name, address, date of birth, social security number (optional) and phone number;
(2) If the operator is a partnership, the name, address and phone number of the partnership, and the name, address, date of birth, social security number (optional) and phone number of one of the partners; and
(3) If the operator is a corporation, the name, address and phone number of the corporation, the name and address of the corporation's statutory agent, and the name, address, date of birth, social security number (optional) and phone number of one of the officers; and
(4) If the operator is a trust, the name, address and phone number of the trust, and the name, address, date of birth, social security number (optional) and phone number of one of the trustees.
(d) Within thirty days of any change of information that is required on a registration form, the owner or operator of a rental unit shall contact the Department of Community Development, Division of Code Enforcement, in writing, to update the information on the registration form. A ten dollar ($10.00) fee shall be charged for the updating of information on the registration form.
(e) No owner or operator shall fail to register, with the Department of Community Development, Division of Code Enforcement, all rental units that the owner owns or that the operator operates.
(f) No owner or operator of a rental unit shall fail to contact the Department of Community Development, Division of Code Enforcement, in writing, within thirty days of any change of information that is required on a registration form, to update the information on the registration form.
(g) A registration fee per owner or operator shall be imposed as follows, or as the City Commission shall subsequently establish by regulation:
(1) The fee for the first rental unit an owner owns or the operator operates is $100.00
(2) Each additional rental unit after the first has a fee of $35.00 per said unit
(3) Any dwelling owned by an owner or operated by an operator which has more than 10 rental units which said rental units are owned or operated by the owner or operator, will have the fees capped at 10 units per said dwelling.
(4) Any dwellings owned by an owner or operated by an operator which have rental units, which said rental units are owned or operated by the owner or operator, that form a community housing development shall be capped at 50 rental units per said development.
(5) If a registration form is filed late, an additional late fee of $10.00; and
(6) If the owner or operator becomes the owner or operator of additional rental units between registration periods, the owner or operator shall pay the pro-rated fee from the date of closing for the remainder of that year.
(7) Only for the registration year 2016, any persons obligated to pay under this section will be given until June 1, 2016 to pay the full amount due. Thereafter all payments shall be due and owing on January 1st of each year thereafter.
(8) As a component of the registration process the units will have an exterior inspection at least once every three years. Interior inspections shall only be conduct upon obtaining a search warrant or based upon any of the legal exceptions to a warrant.
(9) On or before June 1st, 2018 the City staff shall review this program and provide a report our to City Commission regarding the program's external inspections only policy's effectiveness and review ways to make the program better, including but not limited to the possibility of interior inspections.
(10) In any regular scheduled City Commission meeting held in December or January (unless otherwise ordered by the City Commission), The Chief Development Officer or his/her designee shall give an annual report to the City of Commission as to the activities and impact of this program.
(h) Money collected under this section shall be used exclusively for funding and administering purposes for the implementation of the rental unit registration process and inspections conducted under this section..
(i) A registration form shall be valid for one year, unless;
(1) False information is furnished to the Department of Community Development in the registration form; or
(2) A transfer of title to a rental unit has been completed.
(j) No person, including an operator, owner, purchaser, escrow agent, real estate agent, or realtor, shall participate in a transfer of title to, or disburse proceeds from a transfer of title to, a premises without having in escrow with the escrow agent handling the transfer of title to the premises, a copy of a registration form completed by the purchaser of the premises, or a statement from the purchaser that the premises contains only one dwelling unit, and will be occupied by the purchaser for one year after the transfer of title. The escrowed document shall be forwarded to the Department of Community Development, Division of Housing upon the transfer of title.
(k) This Chapter applies to any building and/or any rental unit therein which is made available for rent for the living of human occupants. This Chapter does not apply to licensed rest homes, convalescent care facilities, licensed group homes, nursing homes, hotels, motels, owner-occupied units, or owner-occupied condominium units.
(l) As used in this chapter the following are defined as such:
(1) "Dwelling" means any building, structure, or other living quarters used, intended to be used, or designed to be used in whole or in part for the living of human occupants, subject to the exclusions expressed in subsection 1341.29 (k).
A. It is possible that more than one dwelling may be located on one parcel of land, or area of property, in this case each separate building would be a separate dwelling for purposes of this section, unless the dwellings qualify as a Community Housing Development as defined herein.
(2) "Rental unit" means any dwelling occupied, or intended to be occupied, or designed to be occupied for residential purposes by a tenant or person in like circumstances of a tenant such as the tenant (purchaser) of a land contract.
(3) "Community Housing Development" means an area within one parcel or contiguous parcels which have multifamily dwellings under a common operator or owner(s) and the multifamily dwellings have similar architecture and design as determined by the Chief Development Officer or his/her designee.
A. Contiguous under this section would include parcels that are separated merely by public rights of ways and/or streets and the like.
(m) Severability. Sections and subsections of this Section and provisions thereof are hereby declared to be independent sections, subsections and provisions, and the holding of any such section, subsection and provision thereof to be unconstitutional, void or ineffective for any cause shall not affect nor render invalid any other section.
(Ord. 15-181. Passed 12-14-15.)
(Ord. 15-181. Passed 12-14-15.)