Last Monday, the Council took some action to limit the liability of the property owners who rent to tenants. We voted to limit the liability to 90 days and give the landlords some input into the amount of the deposit paid by each tenant.
The reception to this action was not favorable, simply because some of the landlords were not aware of their responsibility and existing liability in the first place. The City ordinance has included landlord responsibility since 1974. State law actually put it in place in 1951.
There has been some question as to whether the City has enforced the ordinance and the answer is yes. They have required landlords to pay. This does not mean that all landlords have had to pay. The City has made it a practice to go after the tenant first through letters, followed by efforts of a collection agency. In instances where the tenant skips out on a bill and they have had no way to contact them, they have pursued the landlord.
Aside from limiting the liability, our intent was also to give landlords some input into the process by giving them the ability to determine the amount of the deposit – the higher the deposit, the lower the liability, the lower the deposit, the higher the liability.
The ordinance change also included ways to keep the landlord informed about their tenants payment practices – by offering to give them copies of the bills and letting them know when the tenant is late prior to shutting off the account.
After talking to several landlords, city staff developed a new proposal which the Council discussed at yesterday’s study session and is willing to support. Here are the details:
Starting January 1 and beyond
- Deposits for all new tenants will be $180
- Deposits will be retained until the tenant signs out of service. The deposit will actually go toward the final bill and the balance returned to tenant
- The City will eliminate the options of available information to the landlords.
- The City will continue to contact landlords, as is current practice, to tell them when they are about to shut off the water and request the landlord to take action.
- The language regarding the landlord liability will be retained in compliance with state statute. The City Attorney has advised that this needs to stay.
For those tenants who have service prior to January 1, 2009
- As long as these tenants maintain a good payment history, there will be no change to their deposit amounts.
- However, if the account becomes delinquent (tenant does not pay on time) for three consecutive bills, we will increase the deposit to $180.
- Deposits will be retained until the tenant signs out of service. The deposit will actually go toward the final bill and the balance returned to tenant
We will be bringing these changes to vote at a December council meeting. Setting the deposit at $180 seemed high to me, but it will cover most water bills and limit the liability of the landlord. As we discussed at the study session, this amount is on par with – and even lesser than – many other cities. Remember, the water utility belongs to all of us and is entirely self-supported – meaning no general fund revenues (taxes) are used to pay for its costs.
Needless to say, it would’ve been nice to have this sort of input from the very beginning, when we began publicly discussing this in August. It also would’ve been nice if all three media in town – radio, TV and newspaper – had reported this accurately in the first place, instead of creating confusion with misinformation and sensational stories.
But that’s all in the past, so I hope you will see this solution as an example of the council’s willingness to work with our consitutents to address your concerns.
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