Registry for Louisville landlords approved

Louisville landlords will have to register their rental properties with the city under a new law that Metro Council passed Thursday evening.

The database is meant to keep track of rental property owners and help city inspectors enforce local property maintenance rules. The measure passed by a 17-4 vote with three members abstaining and one voting present.

"It's very frustrating when no one can find a landlord or get in contact with the owner as we see our neighborhoods changing," said Councilwoman Marianne Butler, the measure's lead sponsor.

Under the ordinance, which takes effect March 2017, individuals or companies who own rental units must provide the city with a description of the property, their contact information and contact information for a property manager if there is one.

The city will not proactively search for rental property owners who fail to register but those who don't and are hit with a maintenance violation will be given a 10-day period to comply. Those who refuse to register after that will be slapped with a $100 fine each day per rental housing unit or apartment complex.

"We want (Louisville) owners to be proactive," said Butler, D-15th District. "Other communities tells us they get 99 percent compliance and that's what we hope for here."

Councilwoman Marilyn Parker said it is hypocritical for the city to require property owners to register when it cannot maintain some of its own properties such as parks or rights-of-way. "It's a double standard," said Parker, R-18th.

The idea was initially met with resistance from real estate groups such as the Louisville Apartment Association, Greater Louisville Association of Realtors, Building Industry Association of Greater Louisville and the Kentuckiana Real Estate Investors Association. Those organizations and other landlords said it is unfair to compel those without a history of untidy rental units to register.

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"I consider this an infringement upon my privacy and my right to ownership," said Denver McFadden, a retiree who owns two rental units. He added the registry would be used to impose a tax on smaller rental property owners.

But Louisville developer Tim Mulloy, a member of the apartment association, said realtors recognize the problem city officials face. "We believe that this ordinance has become a better one and it will certainly not interfere with our business," he said.

Property owners will be able to register online through the city’s codes and regulations department. All information will be kept confidential and would not be made public unless the property was cited for a maintenance violation. No fees are required to register.

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Affordable housing advocates cheered its passage because they said it gives tenants and surrounding residents the ability to know who owns rental properties in their neighborhoods. According to the Metropolitan Housing Coalition, about 36 percent of Louisville residents live in rental housing units.

"City inspectors have found their work so impeded that they've been behind this registry," said Cathy Hinko, director of the housing coalition. "This really is needed for the health and safety of our community to remedy these violations."

Reporter Phillip M. Bailey can be reached at (502) 582-4475 or pbailey@courier-journal.com.