House Bill 216 would kill Laramie’s rental regulations
Co-sponsored by Albany County’s own Rep. Ocean Andrew, the bill would let the state preempt the issue of rental regulations, forbidding local communities from establishing their own.
A new bill before the Wyoming Legislature would outlaw Laramie’s rental regulations — and forbid any town or community in Wyoming from passing their own.
Known officially as the City Rental Housing Code, Laramie’s regulations outline basic health and safety standards for rental units within city limits. They require that major electrical, heating and plumbing work be completed by licensed professionals, that living quarters are free of mold and pests, and that all apartments be outfitted with fire escape windows.
The regulations also established a complaint system for tenants and required landlords to register each of their rental units. The rental housing code was passed one year ago and went into effect this month.
But House Bill 216 seeks to reverse that by revoking the local control towns and cities currently enjoy when it comes to rental ordinances.
“No city, town, county or other political subdivision shall authorize, regulate or otherwise govern the ownership or leasing of residential rental property,” the bill states. “No city, town, county or other political subdivision shall require owners of residential rental property to register rental units or pay any registration fee.”
The city of renters
Laramie renters and activists have been fighting for some form of rental regulation for several years.
The city is home to Wyoming’s only four-year university and Albany County is one of the state’s poorest. On top of that, Laramie, like basically everyone else, is facing a housing crunch. These factors result in a large population of mostly poor and disproportionately young individuals desperate for places to rent — and a community ripe for exploitation.
The city has gained a reputation as not just a college town, but as a college town where student renters are frequently abused by unscrupulous landlords, where mobile home residents watch as their lots are bought out by price-gouging investors — and above all, where the normal avenues to legal compensation are inaccessible to most.
Laramie rental tenants have put up with aggressive and threatening landlords (some of whom are seemingly untouchable by law enforcement), arbitrary rent hikes blamed on fictitious expenses, and even basement apartments where the ceiling leaks human feces.
In 2019, some Laramie City Councilors tried raising the topic of rental regulations. But that effort died on a 4-5 vote when dozens of landlords rallied against it.
In 2021 and early 2022, the Laramie City Council tried again. Since 2019, a new council had been seated and rental horror stories had been more widely publicized in the Laramie Boomerang, on the Laramie Reporter and on Wyoming Public Radio. There was also a stronger coalition pushing for rental regulations — including not just mistreated tenants but also safety net organizations like Laramie Interfaith and SAFE Project, local activists, elected officials and even some landlords who said there was a need to rein in the worst behaved people in their industry.
The City Rental Housing Code passed on a 7-2 vote. (And it’s grown even more popular since then, with one of the two “nay” votes saying he had changed his mind and would support the rental regulations going forward.)
The landlord revolt
But that wasn’t the end of the fight. Almost as soon as the rental regulations were passed, Bell Leasing launched a lawsuit seeking to stop the rental housing code from going into effect. Bell Leasing owns and manages more than 60 rental units across the city and argued the city had no right to pass rental regulations.
But in her final ruling, the Albany County District Court Judge stated unambiguously that cities like Laramie do indeed have the right to regulate health and safety standards for rentals.
The judge said Laramie’s rental regulations are legal because they don’t conflict with state law and because the state has not “preempted” the issue. “Preemption” is when the state explicitly reserves the exclusive right to pass laws on a specific issue. Drunk driving is one area preempted by the state — so local communities are stuck, for better or worse, with the state’s rules on the matter.
The new bill before the Wyoming Legislature specifically preempts the issue of rental regulations.
“The state of Wyoming does hereby preempt for itself the field of regulating owners and renters of residential rental property,” the bill states. “This article is intended to apply to all owners and renters of residential rental property and to be the exclusive remedy for disputes between owners and renters of residential rental property.”
House Bill 216 is sponsored by Rep. Dan Zwonitzer (HD-43) of Cheyenne; it’s co-sponsored by Albany County’s own Rep. Ocean Andrew (HD-46) and Sen. Cale Case (SD-25) of Lander.
The bill will have to be received for introduction and assigned to a committee before lawmakers can work it. When and if a committee takes up the bill, there will be opportunity for public testimony (in-person and via Zoom). If it survives committee, the bill must pass three readings in the House before it can be sent to the Senate.