SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) - Sioux Falls officials are drafting stricter rules because many landlords are not following the city’s required rental registry program, a city official said.
City code enforcement manager Matt Tobias said that officials are currently drafting proposed changes to the ordinance that established the program in hopes that more landlords will comply. He said the changes would make the program have “a few more teeth,” the Argus Leader reported (https://argusne.ws/2nnRKJH).
“It’s low,” Tobias said of the number of registered rentals. “We definitely would like to see it higher.”
The original mandatory program created in 2003 required landlords to register every three years, but that changed in 2011.
Tobias told city councilors recently that the registry is important to his office’s efforts to enforce multiple codes. He said tenants may not notify a landlord if they receive a violation notice, but if the city is aware the property is a rental, it can directly contact the property owner.
“It’s another way for us to communicate with you,” he said.
Councilman Greg Neitzert said the city should use text messages to notify landlords.
Councilwoman Christine Erickson, who owns rental property, said it was nice when the city contacted her about a situation in which a tenant who was supposed to mow the lawn wasn’t.
“That relationship is pretty nice to have because I’m not there every single day,” she said.
The changes to the ordinance are expected to be introduced to the council later this spring.
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Information from: Argus Leader, https://www.argusleader.com
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