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Item No: 05 <br />Meeting Date: Aug 3, 2020 <br />Type of Business: WS <br />City Administrator Review: _____ <br />City of Mounds View Staff Report <br />To: Honorable Mayor and City Council <br />From: Jon Sevald, Community Development Director <br />Item Title/Subject: Rental Licensing <br /> <br /> <br />Introduction: <br />Mounds View licenses about 1,800 rental units. Annual rental licenses expire December 31st. <br />License renewals are due November 30th, and require a completed application form, fees, and <br />that current utility bills and property taxes be paid. In 2019, a number of owners did not <br />complete renewals on-time, resulting in fines. This prompted some complaints, and a <br />commitment from Staff to research others’ ordinances to determine fairness. This research is <br />on-going. The intent of this Staff Report is to provide a progress report. If any changes are <br />needed to the ordinance or to Staff’s administration of the program, the intent is to figure it all <br />out prior to when 2021 license renewal notices are sent (September/October). <br /> <br /> <br />Discussion: <br />All rental units must be licensed, with some exceptions 1. In 2019, Staff more strictly enforced <br />the rental ordinance than in previous years, regarding rental owners renewing their license on- <br />time. This resulted in 43 (16%) of owners not renewing on-time, and about $11,000 in fines. In <br />2018, 14% of owners were late. The most common cause were owners who did not pay fees <br />and/or utility bills, or did not pay the correct amount. General complaints from owners included; <br /> <br />• The City’s use of email (vs. paper mail) <br />• Requiring Utility Bills to be paid (3rd quarter utility billing date does not coincide with <br />November 30th rental license due date) <br />• Late fees are excessive <br /> <br />This prompted Staff to compare our ordinance and practices to that of similar cities, with <br />populations between 10,000 and 30,000, and which license rentals. Of the 37 cities that meet <br />this population criteria, 25 have license programs. Staff have reviewed about half of these <br />programs (this is on-going). <br /> <br />Findings (partial): <br /> <br />Issue 1: The rental license application form requires applicants to list an email address. <br />Email is the primary means for the City to communicate with applicants and <br />license holders. Although license holders may have email, and list it on their <br />application, many do not use it. <br /> <br />Question 1: Is the City’s dependence on email (as opposed to US Mail) in communicating <br />with applicants, standard in comparison to other cities? <br /> <br />Answer 1: (to be determined) <br /> <br />Issue 2: Prior to the City issuing a rental license, public utility bills and property taxes <br />must be paid. Second half property taxes are due October 15th. Third Quarter <br /> <br />1 City Code, Section 1012.03, Subd 1(b) Exceptions: A rental dwelling license is not required for residences <br />occupied by the owner where no more than two (2) sleeping rooms are rented and the renters have access to the <br />entire residence, or for residences occupied only by the owner’s children or parents.