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AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 29A-32 OF THE DULUTH CITY CODE BY ADDING A REQUIREMENT THAT LANDLORDS PURCHASE PROPERTY INSURANCE.
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CITY PROPOSAL:
The city of Duluth does ordain:
Section 1. That Chapter 29A-32 of the Duluth City Code is hereby amended by adding Section 29A-32(h) as follows:
Sec. 29A-32. License conditions.
All rental units are subject to the following conditions:
(a) No license shall be transferred to another rental unit;
(b) At the principal exterior entrance to a rental unit that is not owner-occupied, an
informational notice shall be posted that complies with the following requirements:
(1) The notice shall be displayed in a conspicuous place;
(2) The notice shall indicate the name, e-mail address and telephone number of the
owner or managing agent;
(c) If there is a change in ownership of a rental unit, the new owner shall apply for a transfer
of the license within 30 days of the change and pay the license transfer fee. If the rental unit is sold pursuant to a contract for deed, the purchaser shall be responsible for applying for the license transfer and providing a recorded copy of said contract for deed from the St. Louis County recorders office. A new license shall be issued for the remainder of the license period;
(d) If there is a change in managing agent, the new managing agent shall notify the code
official in writing within ten days of the change;
(e) Except as otherwise provided in this Section, all rental units licensed since March 13,
2011, shall provide a minimum of two off-street parking spaces. In addition, for each additional bedroom in excess of three, there shall be provided one additional off-street parking space. Failure to comply with 6 these requirements will result in an additional nonconformance fee per parking space, except that effective August 1, 2017, each licensee that the code official determines is able to provide or construct the required off-street parking space(s) in conformance with this Code shall provide the off-street parking spaces required in this Section at its own cost, and the licensee shall not be entitled to tender payment of the nonconformance fee in lieu of providing the required off-street parking All one family or two family dwellings that were unlicensed on March 14, 2011, and subsequently converted to a licensed rental unit shall provide the off-street parking spaces required in this Section, and the licensee shall not be entitled to tender payment of the nonconformance fee in lieu of providing the required off-street parking;
(1) The city council shall establish a parking nonconformance variance application
fee pursuant to Section 29A-30;
(f) All off-street parking spaces shall comply with the standards for off-street parking
provided for in Chapter 50 of this Code. The number of required off-street parking spaces shall be determined by the code official at the time of licensure. Failure to comply with these requirements will result in an additional nonconformance fee per parking space, except that effective August 1, 2017, each licensee that the code official determines has space on the rental property to provide or construct the required off-street parking space(s) in conformance with this Code shall provide the off-street parking spaces required in this Section at its own cost, and the licensee shall not be entitled to tender payment of the nonconformance fee in lieu of providing the required off-street parking. The owner shall ensure that all required off street parking spaces are cleared of snow to at least the required dimension of off-street parking spaces within 72 hours after the end of every snowfall;
(1) All one-family or two-family dwellings, licensed on September 1, 2007, may
continue to be licensed even though the property does not conform to the off-street parking provisions of this Section. The rental unit shall be treated as a lawful nonconforming use; however, the nonconformance parking fees provided for in this Section shall apply, except that effective August 1, 2017, each licensee that the code official determines has space on the rental property to provide or construct the required off-street parking space(s) in conformance with this Code shall provide the offstreet parking spaces required in this Section at its own cost, and the licensee shall not be entitled to tender payment of the nonconformance fee in lieu of providing the required off-street parking. If the license for the nonconforming use is revoked or lapses for any period of time, all nonconforming use rights related to off-street parking requirements shall terminate;
(2) The off-street parking requirements shall not apply to a short-term license;
(g) Except as provided in this Section 29A-32(h), the maximum number of bedrooms in a
rental unit that can be occupied by any tenant under new rental licenses, short-term licenses, and rental license renewals shall be based on the number of bedrooms on record in the city assessor’s office on the date of rental application;
(1) The number of tenants cannot exceed the number of bedrooms that can be
occupied under this Code and Minnesota Law
(2) In no case shall a bedroom be allowed that does not comply with all applicable
state and city building and housing codes;
(3) If the rental unit is a one-family or two-family dwelling, the maximum number of
bedrooms that can be occupied by any tenant shall be based on the lesser of the number of bedrooms on record in the city assessor’s office and verified or corrected by the life safety division on the date of the rental application or four bedrooms. The four bedroom limitation shall not apply to multi-tenant one-family or two-family dwellings licensed on July 26, 2012, or those properties that have a valid purchase agreement as of June 9, 2012; instead, the number of bedrooms that may be occupied shall be the greater of the number of bedrooms authorized by the license in effect on July 26, 2012, or four bedrooms, except those properties which are larger than 2,500 square feet as of August 1 2017, may be allowed up to the maximum of five legal bedrooms.
(h) For all rental licenses issued or renewed after September 30, 2020, the owner shall
procure and maintain landlord property insurance covering the actual cash value of every rental unit or the entire dwelling.
Section 2. That this ordinance shall take effect 30 days after its passage and publication.
Statement of Purpose
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE: The purpose of this ordinance is to add a new requirement that landlords obtain and maintain landlord property insurance covering the value of their rental properties. This ensures that landlords demolish, repair, or replace fire-damaged (or destroyed) rental property. Minnesota Statutes Section 65A.50 allows the City to withhold 25% of the property insurance proceeds to cover its costs in demolishing the fire-damaged rental property if the landlord fails to demolish, repair, or replace their property with their insurance proceeds.