City Proposes Creation of Voluntary Rental Dwelling Registry

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CO
TACT: Katy Nimnicht
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Office of Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel
(812) 436-4962
knimnicht@evansvillegov.org

Ben Miller, C.B.O.
Building Commissioner
(812) 436-7868
bmiller@evansvillegov.org

(EVANSVILLE, IN) – October 21, 2010 – Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel, in partnership with City-County Building Commissioner Ben Miller, Department of Metropolitan Development (DMD) Executive Director Tom Barnett, and area landlords and property owners and managers, today announced a proposal for the creation of a voluntary rental dwelling registry.
The proposed voluntary rental registry, the first of its kind in Indiana, is intended to enhance
compliance with and consistent enforcement of the City’s Property Maintenance Code (PMC)
and improve communication between City officials and rental property operators, resulting in
quicker resolution of PMC violations and ultimately improving the quality of rental housing
stock in the City of Evansville.

City officials have been working closely with the Property Owners and Managers Association of
Evansville (POMA), Southwest Indiana Builders Association (SIBA) and other industry
representatives over the past several months to develop this proposal that will benefit all parties:

The City, property owners/managers, tenants, and City taxpayers. “Though it represents a dramatic shift in the way rental dwellings are inspected and maintained, this is a very common-sense proposal. Among other things, City officials will be able to spend more time in the field and less time doing paperwork; operators of compliant properties will be able to perform maintenance on their properties more quickly and often for less money; and operators of non-compliant properties will pay for the cost of enforcement of violations on their properties,” said Mayor Weinzapfel.

An operator (which could be a property owner, manager, court-appointed receiver, etc.) that is incompliance with the PMC can voluntarily register their rental property with the Building
Commission or DMD. The operator will pay a $25.00 per dwelling unit registry fee and submit
the name and contact information for the owner and/or local registered agent annually.
Having the direct contact information of the property owner/manager is something both City
officials and operators have long desired. The ability to address an issue directly with an
operator via email or by phone rather than by sending notices through the mail to “ABC, LLC”
will lead to much quicker resolution of PMC violations. Operators on the voluntary registry will also have the option of performing an annual self inspection of property and submitting an affidavit of compliance with the PMC, or paying a $50.00 per unit annual inspection fee. At this time, annual inspections would be performed by DMD inspectors. Operators will be subject to a $50.00 per unit re-inspection fee. As an additional incentive, operators on the voluntary registry will be granted an annual “limited” maintenance license allowing them to self-perform maintenance work requiring a building permit (rather than having to hire a licensed contractor to perform the work), and an annual building permit allowing maintenance work requiring a building permit up to $3,000 per unit per year.

Operators that do not register their rental property must still meet all the requirements of the
current PMC. They will, however, have to continue to hire licensed contractors to perform
maintenance work requiring a building permit and obtain all required building permits and
inspections.

An operator, whether on the voluntary registry or not, that fails to meet the minimum
requirements set forth in the PMC and fails to make efforts to correct cited PMC violations will
be required to register with the Building Commission or DMD and pay an annual fee of $100.00
per dwelling unit. Operators will be subject to a $50.00 per unit re-inspection fee. As with the
voluntary registry, operators on the required registry will submit the name and contact
information for the owner and/or local registered agent for the property. The City will perform
an annual inspection; self-inspection will not be an option. The operator will also be responsible
for administrative costs of enforcement actions. Before the proposed rental registry can be enacted, it must be presented to the Evansville City Council for approval as an amendment to the City’s Property Maintenance Code.

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