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ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 29A OF THE DULUTH CITY CODE TO ADD TRAINING REQUIREMENTS FOR LANDLORDS, ADDITIONAL NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS FOR TENANTS, AND REQUIRING REPAIRS TO BE MADE IN A TIMELY FASHION.
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BY COUNCILOR RANDORF, PRESIDENT TOMANEK AND COUNCILOR NEPHEW:
The city of Duluth does ordain:
Section 1. That Section 29A-1 of Chapter 29A of the Duluth City Code be amended as follows:
Sec. 29A-1. Findings of Fact, Statement of Purpose and IPMC adopted.
(a) The council recognizes the importance of maintaining safe, dignified, and code-compliant rental housing.
(b) Proactive education and training of landlords contributes to improved housing, enhanced landlord-tenant relationships, and increased compliance with applicable housing statutes, codes and regulations.
(c) Direct communication with tenants is essential to an informed and transparent inspection process, ensuring that tenant concerns are heard, documented and addressed.
(d) The city of Duluth desires to promote accountability and responsiveness through the use of improved communication, education, shortened compliance timelines and citations.
(e) These measures are necessary to protect the welfare of residents, ensure the long-term viability of the city’s housing stock, and support responsible rental property ownership in the city of Duluth.
(f) The city does hereby adopt by reference the year 2012 edition of the International Property Maintenance Code, as hereinafter amended pursuant to this ordinance, as the Housing and Property Maintenance Code of the city of Duluth. Adoption of amendments and new editions to the International Property Maintenance Code as the Housing and Property Maintenance Code shall be established by resolution of the city council. Notwithstanding adoption of any new editions of the International Property Maintenance Code: the Housing and Property Maintenance Code for the city shall not apply to public streets, sidewalks, easements or other public rights of way; repairs, additions or alterations to a structure, or changes of occupancy, shall be done in accordance with the procedures of the Minnesota State Building Code, as amended; and nothing in the Housing and Property Maintenance Code shall be construed to cancel, modify or set aside any of the provisions of Chapter 50 of the Duluth City Code, 1959, as amended, regulating zoning. Where conflicts occur between this chapter and any new editions of the International Property Maintenance Code that may be adopted as the Housing and Property Maintenance Code for the city, the provisions of this chapter shall apply.
Section 2. That Section 29A-3 of Chapter 29A of the Duluth City Code be amended as follows:
Sec. 29A-3. Inspections; enforcement; fees.
(a) For the purposes of attaining uniform acceptable building and maintenance standards in the city and enforcing this Chapter the code official is hereby authorized to enter, examine and survey, between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. all dwellings, dwelling units, housekeeping units, rooming units and other building and premises. The code official, prior to making such inspection, shall inform the owner or their agent of the date and time of the inspection by written notice. After notice has been given, the owner, occupant or the person in charge of the premises to be inspected, shall give the code official free access to conduct the inspection. Upon making entry for the inspection, the code official or designee shall provide written notice to the tenant or occupant of the entry and the date, time and reason for the entry together with the contact information for the code official. The written notice shall be in a format approved by the code official. Nothing in this Section shall be construed to prohibit the entry of the code official:
(1) At any time when in the opinion of the code official an actual emergency tending to create an immediate danger to public health and safety exists; or
(2) At any time when such inspection, examination or survey may be requested by the owner or occupant;
(b) When an order to correct as provided in this Chapter has been issued, the code official is hereby authorized to enter and reinspect the premises. The reinspection shall be made by the code official and any other public officers as deemed appropriate by the code official. The owner, occupant or the person in charge of the premises shall give free access to the premises for the reinspection;
(c) Every occupant of a dwelling, dwelling unit or housekeeping unit shall give the owner thereof, or his agent or employee, access to any part of the premises, at all reasonable times, for the purpose of making repairs or alterations necessary to effect compliance with the provisions of this Chapter or any lawful order issued pursuant to this Chapter.
Section 3. That Section 29A-29 of Chapter 29A of the Duluth City Code be amended as follows:
Sec. 29A-29. Licenses--application, procedure, type.
(a) Applications for rental licenses shall be filed with the code official by the owner or the owner’s agent and shall be accompanied by the required license fee together with written proof of completion of the landlord education requirement set forth in Section 29A-32.2 herein. The code official may reject any incomplete application;
(1) Applications for license renewals shall be filed at least 90 days prior to license expiration;
(2) Upon receipt of a complete application and fees the code official may issue a license if the rental unit is eligible for licensure;
(3) Rental units which comply with the State Building Code and have been constructed and certified for occupancy within one year prior to date of application and are otherwise eligible for licensure shall be issued a license for the initial licensing period without further inspection;
(b) All other rental units shall be inspected before a license is issued. No license shall be issued unless the rental unit complies with the provisions of this Chapter and all other applicable laws;
(c) Except as otherwise provided in this Article, any application for the renewal of an expired license shall be processed as a new license application and the rental unit must comply with all applicable laws;
(d) If a rental license lapses as a result of the failure to comply with this Section, the license may be administratively reissued without regard to the provisions of paragraphs (a) through (c) of this Section if within 60 days of the expiration of the license the owner complies with all other requirements of this Section 29A-29;
(e) The applicant shall identify a managing agent or contact person who resides within a 25 miles radius of the city and who has the authority to act for the owner. It shall be the responsibility of the owner or owner’s agent to provide and maintain updated contact information, including address, phone number, and e-mail, for receipt of all notices, orders, or other correspondence relating to the licensed property;
(f) Except as otherwise provided, all new rental license, short term license, type and rental license renewal applications shall be completed and applicable fees paid for the maximum number of bedrooms that can be occupied by tenants. The maximum allowable number of bedrooms that can be occupied by tenants in a rental unit is determined by Section 29A-32;
(g) Except as otherwise provided, a short term rental license, may be issued for a period not to exceed 12 consecutive months for any single-family or two-family dwelling under the following circumstances and pursuant to the following conditions:
(1) The owner is the occupant of the dwelling unit at the time of application or the code official finds that the owner was the occupant within 30 days before the date of application; and
(2) For professional, educational, medical, or military service reasons the owner intends to reside in another community located at least 50 miles from the city; and
(3) The owner provides sufficient evidence of such intention to temporarily relocate. Such evidence may include, but is not limited to written offers of employment, employment transfer directives, a letter of acceptance from an educational institution, or military orders; and
(4) The license may not be issued more frequently than once in any three year period; and
(5) The license shall be applied for in the same manner as other rental licenses; and
(6) Except as otherwise provided in this Article, the rental unit shall comply with all applicable rental licensing standards; and
(7) A short term license may be extended for additional six months periods provided that an application for extension is received prior to the expiration of the short term license or six-month extension and adequate evidence justifying the extension is submitted.
Section 4. That Section 29A-32.2 of Chapter 29A of the Duluth City Code be added as follows:
Sec. 29A-32.2 Landlord Education Requirement.
(a) Every owner or owner’s agent shall be required to complete a landlord education course or program approved by the code official and provide satisfactory written proof of completion within the past six months:
1. Upon application for a new rental license or a renewal rental license except that proof of completion of the approved course is valid for a period of three (3) years; and
2. Upon verification by the code official of one or more tenant complaints or city code violations, the owner or owner’s agent shall be required to again complete and provide satisfactory written proof of completion of an approved landlord education course or program within ninety (90) days of notice by the code official to the owner or owner’s agent.
(b) The landlord education course or program shall include curriculum as determined by the code official, to include but not be limited to, rental housing law, Duluth rental ordinances, tenant rights, landlord responsibilities, and maintenance standards. The code official may establish and maintain a landlord education course or program that satisfies this requirement.
Section 5. That Section 29A-33 of Chapter 29A of the Duluth City Code be amended as follows:
Sec. 29A-33. Inspection procedure.
(a) All premises licensed pursuant to this Article shall be made available for inspection by the code official at any reasonable time whether the request for inspection is in conjunction with the licensing of the rental unit or the result of a complaint. In addition, the code official may require the single-tenant licensee to produce records and information demonstrating that the single-tenant rental unit complies with the occupancy limits of the single-tenant license;
(b) If during the inspection or other investigation, violations of the provisions of this Chapter, or other applicable provisions of this Code are identified, or the licensee fails to produce records or information as requested by the code official, written notice shall be mailed to the licensee at the notification address on file with the code official. The notice shall identify all violations identified and provide a timeline establish a reasonable time, not to exceed 180 days. in which all violations must be corrected or the rental unit vacated. Emergency repairs shall be completed in an expedited fashion in accordance with Article III below. All other repairs shall be completed within a reasonable period of time as determined by the code official. For repairs not listed in Article III, the owner or owner’s agent shall, within fourteen (14) calendar days of receiving the notice of violation, inform the code official and the tenant(s) in the affected unit(s) of the scheduled repair date. At the end of the correction time, the rental unit shall be reinspected. If the rental unit is not vacated or the violations are not corrected, the code official may take any of the following actions:
(1) Provide for an additional correction period. In no case may the total amount of correction time provided by the initial period and any additional period exceed 180 days;
(2) Revoke the license and order the vacation of the rental unit of all persons and property. The code official shall provide a reasonable time for vacation which shall not exceed 30 days;
(c) If the code official revokes a license, written notice shall be mailed to the licensee at the notification address on file with the code official and posted in a conspicuous place at the rental unit.
Section 6. That Section 29A-34 of Chapter 29A of the Duluth City Code be amended as follows:
Sec. 29A-34. Violations, enforcement and penalties.
(a) Violations. It shall be a violation of this Article, and a public nuisance, to do any of the following:
(1) Allow tenant occupancy in any portion of an unlicensed rental unit;
(2) Allow tenant occupancy in any unlicensed portion of a licensed rental unit;
(3) Allow more total tenants to occupy a rental unit than are allowed pursuant to that unit’s number of legal bedrooms.
(4) Refuse entry to an inspection official where such entry is allowed pursuant to Section 29A-3;
(5) Fail to comply with any final order of the code official;
(6) Advertisement by a property owner or owner’s representative of any dwelling or rental unit or any portion thereof as available for rent that is not licensed for rental at the time the advertisement is made. For purposes of this Section, advertisement includes, but is not limited to, oral or written notice, such as a poster or a paid announcement in the print, broadcast, or electronic media, designed to attract public attention or patronage;
(7) Advertisement by a property owner or owner’s representative of any dwelling or rental unit or any portion thereof in excess of the number of bedrooms licensed for rental at the time the advertisement is made. For purposes of this Section, advertisement includes, but is not limited to, oral or written notice, such as a poster or a paid announcement in the print, broadcast, or electronic media, designed to attract public attention or patronage;
(8) Failure to comply with the landlord education requirement in Section 29A-32.2;
(9) Failure to timely complete repairs or inform the code official and tenant(s) of the scheduled repair date within fourteen (14) calendar days as required under Section 29A.-33.
(108) Advertisement by a property owner or owner’s representative of any dwelling or rental unit or any portion thereof as available for rent without the rental application license number for the rental unit appearing in the advertisement. For purposes of this Section, advertisement includes, but is not limited to, oral or written notice, such as a poster or a paid announcement in the print, broadcast, or electronic media, designed to attract public attention or patronage;
(b) Continuing violations. Each day that a violation occurs or remains uncorrected after the final order of the code official shall constitute a separate violation;
(c) Enforcement. The city has the following enforcement powers:
(1) The city may issue an administrative citation pursuant to Chapter 12 of this Code;
(2) The city may issue a citation as authorized by Section 1-7 of this Code;
(3) The city may pursue any other civil action in law or equity in any court of competent jurisdiction, including without limitation a request for a declaratory judgment, restraining order or a temporary or permanent injunction;
(4) The city may revoke a rental license and issue an order for vacation of the premises;
(d) Penalties. The owner of any property where a violation of this Article occurs, and any person violating this Article, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and may be fined as provided in Section 1-7 or Section 12-6 of this Code.
Section 7. That this ordinance shall take effect and be in force 60 days from and after its passage and publication.
Statement of Purpose
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE: This is an alternative ordinance under Section 51 of the City of Duluth Charter that covers the same subject matter as the petition ordinance prepared by the Duluth Tenants Union and Housing Justice Center. This ordinance amends Chapter 29A of the Duluth City Code to provide a more robust enforcement process for repair issues and other code violations, to improve communication and transparency for tenants, and to require landlords to complete a landlord education program on a regular basis. This ordinance recognizes the importance of maintaining safe, dignified and code-compliant rental housing and ensuring the long-term viability of Duluth’s housing stock.