Scottville passes rental ordinance.

Scottville passes rental ordinance.

#ScottvilleNews.

SCOTTVILLE — Scottville City Commission passed a residential rental property inspection ordinance during its regular meeting Monday, Sept. 4. The ordinance, similar to the ordinance adopted by the City of Ludington a few years ago, allows the city to inspect residential rental properties. It also requires all residential rentals to be registered with the city by May 1, 2019. Landlords who do not comply will face a $500 fee for each unit.

The ordinance does not yet establish registration or inspection fees. Those fees will be established once an inspection firm is contracted. According to City Manager Amy Williams, two companies have been solicited to submit proposals. The City of Ludington currently administers its own rental ordinance program while the City of Manistee contracts its services. Williams said Scottville’s staff is unable to take on more duties without incurring more costs.

The ordinance was proposed over a year ago by the city planning commission, which stated at the time that its purpose was to create a program that would protect the health and safety of renters and also provide protections for landlords as well.

Currently, the city has only been able to enforce its exterior blight ordinance, which applies to all properties in the city. Williams said prior to this ordinance being adopted, the city could not respond to complaints by tenants about unsafe conditions of rental properties