Left of College Station

Landlords in CS Must Register

By Cassie Smith

From the Bryan-College Station Eagle

College Station landlords will soon be required to register with the city or face a fine.

City officials say the registration will be used to establish a database of the city's many landlords. The database will allow a better understanding of how many homes in the city are rented and provide officials with contact information for emergencies.

The goal, city officials say, is to preserve neighborhood integrity.

As part of the ordinance, owners of all single-family and duplex rental units must register annually. The ordinance does not apply to apartment owners. Each out-of-area landlord will have to a local contact person. The registration deadline is March 1.

The city of Bryan has reviewed College Station's program but hasn't adopted the idea.

Lance Simms, College Station's assistant director of planning and development services, said the landlord registry would help maintain quality neighborhoods by adding a level of accountability for landlords.

"It's all about protecting and sustaining the neighborhood," Simms said.

Cindy Dillard, the city's code enforcement supervisor, said the ordinance would aid emergency officials because contact information will be readily available for health and safety issues.

"Any time there's a major fire or criminal activity, the Police Department and the Fire Department are tied to the scene until someone comes to the building," Dillard said. Knowing whom to contact will help free officials to do other things, she said.

The ordinance will ease some of College Station's challenges as a university town in which as many as half of the homes are estimated to be rentals, Simms said.

The registry will help officials locate owners when students are not in town and homes are vacant for long periods.

"There could be an incident, like a busted water pipe, and no one would be home and we don't even know where to start to get ahold of anybody," Simms said.

The ordinance is also meant to serve as an incentive for landlords to enforce the city's occupancy limit, maintain sanitary conditions and ensure that pets are properly cared for and under control.

"If we're able to be proactive in code enforcement issues ... we'll help be able to maintain a level of integrity and, in turn, maintain property values," Dillard said. "This is not set up to target renters at all."

Susan Irza, spokeswoman for the SummerGlen Neighborhood Association, said she liked the idea of landlords registering with the city because it gives property owners a stake in ensuring the quality of the neighborhoods.

"It gives a point of contact in the event of continued noisy parties, parking problems or ineffective maintenance of houses or yards," Irza said. "These have a detrimental effect on property values in a neighborhood, not to speak of the quality of life of homeowner-occupants."

College Station Community Relations Manager Peggy Calliham said city officials spent a lot of time evaluating the worthiness of the registration program and studied college towns across the country that had successfully implemented similar requirements.

"We're not unique in this," Calliham said.

The program's $15 registration fee will pay for the database software, which has mapping capabilities to allow people to see which homes in their neighborhood are rentals.

Dillard said the mapping aspect of the program, which would be available through the city's Web site, could encourage residents to report unruly renters and motivate renters to be better neighbors.

"They will rat you out if there's a problem," she said.

In Short

College Station landlords must register with the city by March 1. Landlords will be required to provide their contact information and the number of tenants in each home. Tenants will not be held responsible for the registration.

*Cost: $15 per year

*How to register: Visit www.cstx.gov/rentalregistration or the Planning and Development Office at 1101 Texas Ave. Residents may also print a registration form at the city's Web site and mail it to College Station Planning and Development Office, P.O. Box 9960, College Station, Texas 77842.

*If you don't register: Violation of the city code is misdemeanor that carries a fine from $25 to $2,000.

*For more information: Call 764-3570, e-mail rentalregistration@cstx.gov or visit www.cstx.gov/home/index.asp?page=2784 

Published Sunday, February 08, 2009