At its regular business meeting Tuesday night, the Town Council discussed the merits of the rental licensing proposal, which would require local property owners to purchase a rental license for each dwelling unit and complete an application with contact information that would be compiled into a database for public record.
"(The rental licensing program) deals with issue of absentee landlords," said Lee Conner, a student member of the Rental Licensing Task Force. "I think it's beneficial because a lot of students don't know who their true landlord is, and if they have problems, they don't know who to contact."
The task force was created to address varying concerns from property owners, students and local officials. A finalized proposal was sent to the Town Council on March 26, 2001.
The goals of the rental licensing program are to maintain building codes and increase landlord accountability, Conner said.
But some town officials voiced concern that many landlords might not want their property history to become public record.
"(Property owners) feel that the rental licensing would impact them in deciding not to register with the database or stop renting," said council member Pat Evans. "They're worried students may just log online to all that data and see who has the most complaints."
But Conner said the licensing program was created for the purpose of increasing renter awareness of landlord history. "People that are complaining to (Evans) don't want to comply with the law," Conner said. "I have a feeling that most (landlords) will be willing to fill out a form for $6,000 in rent."
Students and local residents alike have identified several problems with past landlords.
"My apartment was roach-infested, I could barely use my commode, and my kitchen sink stayed stopped up for two months," said Kara Baldwin, a former resident of Sykes Street. "You don't want to put up a resistance because you're afraid you might get put out (by the landlord.)"
