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GUEST EDITORIAL - By
Maci Hughes Jacksonville passes new ordinances If you are a college student attending classes at Jacksonville State University, you may be interested to know that the Jacksonville City Council recently passed two new ordinances concerning rental properties within the city. This action was an attempt to solve the overwhelming number of complaints concerning the condition of homes in the city due to neglectful landlords, house parties, and too many residents residing within a single-family dwelling. One of the ordinances (0-519-11) includes tighter restrictions and penalties on landlords, limits the number of unrelated residents in a rental, formed a new housing committee, and gives renters recourse to have grievances addressed. By law, any person, firm, or corporation who operates any residential unit within the city of Jacksonville is required to hold a current residential rental license issued by the city for all of the owner's residential units. Licenses are not transferable from one owner to another. All landlords were required to purchase their business licenses last month (January 2012). The rental unit owner must reside within a 50-mile radius of Jacksonville, unless a person in charge is designated. The property owner and/or person in charge will be responsible for the repair and maintenance of the rental units and for responding to service requests, emergency needs, etc. New occupancy regulations limit the number of unrelated individuals who may reside within a rental property to two people. Violation of the regulation will result in the housing committee declaring the home a nuisance property. Then, a revocation hearing will be held before the city council after the property owner has received a written notice. In addition to other provisions, the new city ordinance establishes a five-member rental housing committee. The committee will consist of the following: one person who lives within Jacksonville city limits and owns a residence but is not a real estate agent, property manger, or rental property owner; one person who lives within Jacksonville city limits, owns a residence, and is a real estate agent, property manager, or rental property owner; who person who lives within Jacksonville city limits who rents or leases their residence; the City Building Inspector, and the City Chief of Police. Lastly, the ordinance gives renters recourse about problems, providing a valid way to request that the city inspect the property. Gail DeParma, a Jacksonville rental property owner, was able to file a complaint with city inspectors concerning a dumpster in a trailer park near one of her properties. The mobile home community was using a common dumpster that was old, unsightly, did not close, and was rusted. Its poor condition was causing a rat infestation and was allowing garbage and debris to blow throughout the neighborhood. As a result of the new ordinance DeParma was able to file a formal complaint, and the issue was quickly resolved. “It made good sense to me to file a complaint with the city inspectors to get the problem solved,” DeParma said. “After my complaints, which were accompanied by photos, the trailer park owners replaced the dumpster with a new unit.” The ordinances went into effect last month. Any renters currently in the middle of a lease were given a grace period of 14 months to allow the lease to expire or make changes. To read the full ordinance, go online to www.jacksonville-al.org/ordinances. |