Syracuse (WSYR-TV) - Syracuse City Hall is about to deliver on a long-standing promise to make the law tougher on lousy landlords and easier on the good ones.
On Wednesday, the Common Council gets its first look at a revised "Rental Registry" program and a new law, which would force the managers of rentals to register with the City as well. It's taken the City several months to draft the legislation aimed at weeding out bad landlords.
Three years ago, the City launched the program that requires all landlords of one and two family homes to register with City Hall. Many refused or failed to comply.
There are an estimated 11,000 one and two-family rental properties in the City of Syracuse. Under the old registry law, only about 75 percent of landlords have signed up. That leaves almost 3,000 rental properties unregistered.
The new Rental Registry levies daily fines for un-registered landlords and gives those who've already registered a break.
"We want to reward those folks, that went through and played by the rules, the first time, by allowing them to sign an affidavit that says everything's the same here," said Paul Driscoll, Director of Neighborhood and Business Development.
Driscoll's office is also proposing a separate, mandated registry for property managers, those who do the leasing or collect rents.
"We hope that by registering property managers, we can post them on our website, or give them occasional credit, so that if someone is looking to invest in the City of Syracuse, they know that this person is at least registered with the City and they can count on them to manage the property responsibly," Driscoll said.
If Common Council agrees, the new rental and property management registry programs could take effect as soon as January 1.
The idea is to ensure safe rentals that meet or exceed code requirements. Landlords who have already registered would not have to pay a new fee or submit to an interior inspection as long as there are no open codes violations.
Those who have yet to register would pay a two-year fee of $150.
The new law would also hold the people behind "limited liability corporations" criminally liable for rentals that are deemed "unfit."
