Rental code survives second reading

Landlords showed up to denounce the proposed rental regulations Tuesday. The ordinance will come up for a final vote Jan. 4, with a handful of amendments hoping to assuage landlord concerns.

An ordinance outlining health and safety standards for rentals has survived its second reading by the Laramie City Council. The ordinance — which passed on a 7-2 vote — must now survive a third and final reading in January before it can be added to city code.

Public comment supporting the ordinance was scant, while landlords opposed to the rental regulations again showed out in numbers.

But Councilor Erin O’Doherty said the need for these regulations was both clear and urgent.

“I would remind councilors that we heard a unanimous vote from the student body; they represent a lot of people,” O’Doherty said, referencing past appearances by ASUW representatives. “There’s overwhelming support from students. Plus there was an exposé in the Boomerang about one of our worst landlords. If that doesn’t indicate the need for some regulation, then I don’t know what it takes.”

The ordinance would establish a City Rental Housing Code that requires apartments and houses-for-rent to be structurally sound, weatherproofed, free of pests and mold, and worked on by licensed professionals. The rentals would also require basic security and fire safety features such as windows and doors that lock and smoke detectors.

The ordinance would also establish a registration system for landlords and a complaint system for tenants.

City Manager Janine Jordan presented on some of these details during the council meeting Tuesday. She outlined a timeframe her office was hoping to follow to bring the ordinance’s various elements online.

The registration system would be active by the end of June, while habitability standards would be in place by the end of 2022. The first day tenants would be able to engage with the complaint system would be the first day of 2023.

“At that point, the landlords would presumably have had 12 months or so to become familiar with the ordinance (and) its requirements, and to have addressed any physical matters in their dwellings that they need to address,” Jordan said. “At that point, complaints and the enforcement program could begin.”

The city manager also addressed the issue of rental registration fees. Should the ordinance pass its third and final reading, Jordan said her office would return in a few weeks with a fee proposal, seeking approval by council.

It is likely not to exceed $20 per unit per year, she said.

“I know some of the landlords as well as tenants have expressed concern in public comment that this would drive up the cost of rental housing in Laramie — that is not our intention,” Jordan said. “And I would certainly hope that a minor fee like this — of $15-20 a year — would just simply be considered a normal cost of doing business and not be passed on, dollar for dollar, to our tenants.”

The council meeting featured both a public hearing on the topic and the ordinance’s second reading, giving two separate opportunities for public comment.

‘What are we doing as a city to reward good landlords?’

The public hearing was dominated by landlord commenters opposed to the regulations. Their objections took aim at almost every facet of the proposed regulations, from the required registration of units to the specific health, safety and maintenance standards.

“The large majority of private landlords strive to provide safe rentals that they themselves would live in; I would ask you not to create an ordinance that requires more bureaucracy to regulate everyone,” Diana Seabeck said. “I do agree and acknowledge that there are landlords that are unresponsive and do not provide safe environments, but I would ask that you target those wrongdoers and not regulate everyone.”

She added that tenants also have responsibilities to care for the property they live in and eschew illegal activity on the premises.

“If tenants are going to have a process to bring complaints that could result in fines, then I think that landlords should also have a process by which they can bring complaints which could result in fines,” Seabeck said.

Joshua Horak said the ordinance felt rushed and agreed with Seabeck that not all landlords need policing.

“The city of Laramie is asking the whole community of rental property owners, landlords, to pay the price for a few landlords that have truly taken advantage of their tenants,” Horak said. “Undoubtedly, there is a need for these landlords to step up their game and be held accountable for their actions. At the same time, I don’t think it’s fair to ask the whole community of landlords and property owners who have walked with integrity, who value healthy and good living conditions, to pay a price for their actions.”

Horak said he was worried about the fees, which he said could raise rents on tenants and make housing less affordable for poor renters.

“Also, what are we doing as a city to reward good landlords?” he said. “I’ve been a property owner and landlord for 20 years and I can tell you every single one of my tenants love renting from me, and go out of their way to find people to rent my places because they believe in me as a landlord. Why not reward that instead of having fees and more ordinances and restrictions that feel not like the city’s place?”

Still others were nervous about the requirement to register rental properties.

“A lot of the owners are kind of old-school and like Wyoming being a non-disclosure state,” said Stephen Pence, owner of Laramie Property Management Group. “It kind of raises the hairs on the back of their neck when they hear about needing to register with the city.”

‘If you’re doing the right thing for your tenants, this really shouldn’t affect you that much.’

During the public hearing itself, only one individual spoke in favor of the regulations: local defense attorney Linda Devine.

She pointed to an issue that others have raised in conversations surrounding the topic: the inherent power imbalance between landlords and poor tenants seeking shelter amid a housing shortage.

Devine said it was disappointing not to hear more tenant voices.

“I will tell you, as someone who represents a lot of folks who rent, quite often they are afraid to speak out because they’re afraid there might be some sort of reprisal against them,” Devine said. “Please don’t misinterpret the fact that they aren’t here tonight as they don’t support this ordinance.”

Devine also took issue with the idea that the regulations in question would in any way punish good landlords.

“If you’re doing the right thing for your tenants, this really shouldn’t affect you that much,” she said. “You’ll be okay. I will tell you, as an attorney that represents the poor a lot, I get lots of calls from people — whether it’s mold, whether they can’t get their furnace fixed, whether the windows are broken. Over and over again, these are the calls I get from people.”

Two rental tenants did speak later, during the reading at the end of the meeting. During the ordinance’s first reading two weeks ago, there were more public commenters speaking in support of the issue, including a representative from the student government and even a handful of landlords.

‘We’re not a completely different species.’

The second reading brought with it amendments, seeking to address concerns raised by some landlords during the first reading two weeks before.

The new amendments limit the plumbing, heating and electrical work that must be performed by licensed professionals.

“What we’ve done here is just to add some language that clarifies,” City Manager Jordan said. “It makes no change to what you saw on first reading, but instead just clarifies that there is no new burden placed on landlords to engage licensed contractors.”

The ordinance previously did not explicitly specify what maintenance projects would require the work of a licensed professional. Landlord Brett Glass raised the concern that this might require landlords to hire licensed professionals for even small tasks, like swapping out a light switch cover. During the ordinance’s first reading two weeks ago, city staff said licensed professionals would only be required for work that requires a permit under the International Residential Code adhered to by the city.

“Unfortunately, the language we provided you on first reading was not nearly as clear as it could have been and, rightly so, folks raised concerns,” Jordan said. “We are in fact just mirroring the existing requirements already in the code.”

New additions to the ordinance also reduce the number of required entry/exit points from two to one, while adding the requirement that each sleeping area have an emergency escape. This change also came in response to landlord complaints.

Two further amendments are likely to be added in January; these two proposals garnered discussion and support during the meeting Tuesday but were ultimately withdrawn or voted down to give city staff more time to craft the appropriate language.

One of these will clarify which appliances a landlord must maintain. Currently, the ordinance states: “All appliances that are furnished by the landlord must be in good working order and shall be maintained by the landlord.” Additional language, to be inserted next week, will likely clarify that this only applies to those appliances delineated in a lease.

Councilor Andi Summerville outlined a possible scenario in which a former tenant leaves behind an appliance they had personally owned, such as a dryer. Typically, the landlord might leave that dryer in the unit for use by the next tenant, but the landlord might be tempted to remove that dryer altogether if, by leaving it, they became liable for its maintenance.

Laramie Property Management Group’s Stephen Pence echoed this concern, but added the city should not be mandating certain appliances, as that should be worked out between landlord and tenant.

“The younger generation, many don’t cook and don’t find it important to have said facilities — we’re seeing more kids transition in that direction,” he said. “I don’t feel like we should be mandated to supply certain appliances solely because the council thinks they’re important, if the tenant does not agree.”

This statement raised a few eyebrows and inspired another public commenter, a rental tenant, to respond.

“As a youth in the community, I promise we do cook,” Kaitlyn Hettinger said with a small laugh. “I cook every day. I do need a fridge and I need a stove. And I think landlords acting like a fridge is not a basic necessity in a kitchen is part of the problem that we’re seeing. We might be in our twenties, but we do still eat. We’re not a completely different species.”

Hettinger added that while landlords should be required to maintain those appliances and the apartments they rent, she supports the measure that requires licensed professionals for some of that maintenance.

“I’d also say that landlords trying to maintain their properties without proper knowledge or experience has caused so many of the issues that we’ve seen in our houses,” Hettinger said.

The other proposed and delayed amendment is likely to redefine just how local a property manager must be.

The current ordinance, as written, requires that property managers reside in Albany County, meaning that out-of-county and out-of-state property owners would have to designate and identify a local agent that could field calls and answer city concerns. Jerimiah Rieman, a resident of Laramie County, owns rental property within the city of Laramie and raised the issue during public comment.

Councilor Brian Harrington suggested changing the definition of property manager to include those living within 60 miles of Laramie.

Councilor Bryan Shuster also put forward an amendment — one which would require all rental tenants to register with the city, paying a fee just as the landlords would. Shuster’s motion failed to get a second and was therefore dismissed without comment.

‘The state statute doesn’t protect them.’

The ordinance advanced out of its second reading on a 7-2 vote, with Councilors Shuster and Pat Gabriel voting against it.

Gabriel, who enthusiastically shot down rental regulations the last time council considered the issue, voiced his disapproval of the new ordinance as well.

“It’ll come as no surprise that I’m not going to support this tonight,” he said. “I have received overwhelming opposition to this, emails, phone calls. A handful of people have supported it, but I feel as a councilor it’s important to represent those people that have contacted me.”

Gabriel said he believed that state statutes provided enough protection for renters.

Councilor O’Doherty forcefully disagreed.

“I hear from students time and time again that the state statute doesn’t protect them,” she said. “It doesn’t require egress windows. It doesn’t require smoke detectors. It doesn’t require basic health and safety. I have great concern over those things. And somebody who’s new to leasing shouldn’t have to pull down the state ordinance and then take their landlord to court to just have windows that seal.”

The ordinance is up for its third and final reading Jan. 4. If the ordinance passes, the City Rental Housing Code will become law. If it fails its third reading, rental regulations will have been crushed in Laramie for the second time in three years.

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