A proposed rental property licensing program aims to make rental housing safe for Manhattan’s transient population, but is the city willing to pay the costs associated with setting the program up?
The issue of a rental licensing program is nothing new to the Manhattan city commission, but conversation still became heated last night as commissioners and property owners voiced frustrations at the stagnating topic. Assistant city manager Kiel Mangus returned to commissioners with findings from a focus group made up of city employees and property owners. The focus group set goals which include promoting safety of tenants as well as preserving property values. Due to the current structure of local governments, Mangus told commissioners it would be necessary to set up a computerized database to maintain all information on all 12,000 units in the city, however, the database would come with a hefty price tag.
Mangus alluded to the idea of important data from the county appraiser’s office which would include names and contact information for landowners. However, Mangus said the incurred cost of the database would include additional staff and technology.
Commissioners also discussed how to handle nonconforming rental properties. Mangus offered a few different solutions as to how the city should deal with rental properties which are not in code. It was Mangus’s recommendation that the city maintain a reactive approach, and make the process of maintaining code simple for property owners. There was also discussion on the issue of amnesty, as previously the city code offices have granted amnesty to properties which were in code at the time they were built but no longer meet criteria. Ultimately, commissioners decided not to pursue the topic until the rental licensing program has been settled.
