Item 3: Ordinance Extending the Sunset Date for the Rental Housing Code

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ECC UGENE ITY OUNCIL AIS GENDA TEM UMMARY Public Hearing: An Ordinance Extending the Sunset Date for the Rental Housing Code Meeting Date: November 21, 2011 Agenda Item Number: 3 Department: Planning and Development Staff Contact: Stuart Ramsing www.eugene-or.gov Contact Telephone Number: 541-682-6801 ISSUE STATEMENT This is a public hearing to consider an ordinance that would extend the Rental Housing Code’s sunset date to September 30, 2012, for further evaluation of the program. The City Council is scheduled to take action on this item on November 28, 2011. BACKGROUND Rental housing accounts for nearly half the housing in our community and is dispersed across the City. The Rental Housing Code was adopted in 2005 to set habitability standards that safeguard the health, property and public well-being of owners, occupants and users of rental housing. The current code covers structural integrity, plumbing, heating, weatherproofing, security, smoke detectors and mold. The program was adopted with a sunset date of three years. In 2008, the sunset date was extended for three years to December 31, 2011. The Rental Housing Code program provides a local option to address habitability concerns that is not dependent on one’s knowledge of the legal systems and statutes. It was designed to ensure owners hear about problems from their tenant first and have an opportunity to resolve any issues before the City becomes formally involved. The program also reaches out to renters to inform them of their rights and responsibilities. Survey Results In June of 2011, staff presented the council an overview and update to the program in anticipation of the December 2011 sunset date. In that work session, staff outlined a plan to evaluate the program through the lens of the triple bottom line and conduct a survey about the program. The City launched a survey in September with over 550 responses collected by the time the survey closed on October 11. A brief summary of the survey responses follows and the full report is included in Attachment A.  Survey responders self-identified their relationship to rental housing with a distribution of about 43 percent owners and property managers to just over 51 percent renters and others (six percent did not identify).  Over 50 percent of respondents reported that the code supported the City goals of safe community, effective, accountable municipal government, and fair, stable, and adequate S:\CMO\2011 Council Agendas\M111121\S1111213.doc