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II.IntroductionandBackground <br />Thisyear,stafffromwš­;ÝzŒŒ;x­inspections,fire,andpolicedepartmentsaddressedtheRoseville <br />HousingandRedevelopmentAuthority(HRA)Boardtodiscussproblemswithpropertymaintenanceand <br />excessiveuseofpoliceandfiredepartmentresourcesconcentratedwithinseveralmultifamilyhousing <br />complexes.(Forthepurposeofthisreport,multifamilyhousingisdefinedasbuildingscontaining5or <br />morerentalunits).Asaresult,theHRAapprovedtheuseoffundsfromtheUniversityofaz““;­š·x­ <br />CenterforUrbanandRegionalAffairs(CURA)toresearchoptionstoaddresstheseproblems, <br />specifically,toexaminehowcitiesofsimilarsizeintheMinneapolis/St.Paulmetropolitanareashave <br />addressedtheseissues.Aliteraturereviewandpreliminaryscanofpolicyoptionsrevealedmanycities <br />userentallicensingasameanstomonitorandmaintainsafetyinmultifamilyhousingcomplexes.The <br />rentallicenseprogramsof13citieswereanalyzed,and11ofthesecitieswereinterviewedforthis <br />report.Additionally,twocitieswithnorentallicenseprogramswereinterviewedtodeterminehowthey <br />addressissueswithpropertymaintenanceandcrimeconcentration. <br />Thisreportprovidesasummaryofthecommonthemesoftheseinterviewsandhighlightsthe <br />experiencesofeightcities,includingthetwowithoutrentallicensingprograms.Itexploresthe <br />challengesofadministeringtheseprogramswithparticularemphasisontheconsequencestoallparties <br />involvedwhenrentallicensearerevoked.Thefollowingsectionsprovidemoredetailonrentallicensing <br />programsgenerallyandonwš­;ÝzŒŒ;x­currentsystemofmanagingpropertymaintenancecomplaints. <br />RentalLicensing <br />Rentallicensi <br />ngprogramsfunctionlikeanyothertypeofbusinesslicense.Theyprovideatoolforcities <br />tomonitorandcontroltheabilityofpropertyownerstoconductarentalbusiness.Theprimaryfocus, <br />however,istoprotectthehealthandsafetyoftenantsandtherobustnessofthehousingstockthrough <br />theenforcementofpropertymaintenancecodes.Rentallicenseprogramsrequirepropertyownersto <br />obtainalicensetorentouttheirresidentialproperties.Licenseapplicationsaretypicallyaccompanied <br />byaninspectionofthepropertyforcodeviolations.Thecitycanissuerepairordersforanyviolations, <br />hastheauthoritytoimposefinesfornotcomplyingwiththoseorders,andmaysuspendorrevokethe <br />licensealltogether.Suspensionorrevocationmeansthepropertyownercannolongerlegallyrentouta <br />unit.Generally,rentallicensingordinancesincludestipulationsaboutcompliancewiththe-z·äx­ <br />propertymaintenancecodeaswellasstipulationsregardingdisorderlyconductonthepremises.This <br />makesthepropertyownersresponsibleforspecifictypesofcriminalactivitiesthatcontinuouslyoccur <br />ontheirpropertiesandinvolvethesametenantsorthesameunit.Disorderlyusestipulationsinrental <br />licensingordinancestypicallyinclude,butarenotlimitedto,prohibitionofdistributionormanufacturing <br />ofillegalsubstances,illegaluseorpossessionofweapons,prostitution,assault,sexualviolence,and <br />publicdisturbance. <br />2 <br /> <br />