Council discusses rental registration and inspection plan; no vote taken

City Engineer Marcus Myers told the Terre Haute City Council on Aug. 7 that a proposed rental registration and inspection ordinance would require landlords to register units and pay a $5 annual fee, create a searchable contact database, and authorize complaint-driven inspections. "Sometimes it can be difficult to find the owners of some of these rental properties," Myers said, describing owners listed as LLCs or PO boxes. He said the program would make it easier for code and emergency staff to reach responsible parties and could require follow-up inspections for properties with multiple major violations. The draft would waive a charge for a first inspection and impose fees for failed inspections or repeated annual inspections; it treats apartment complexes with five or more units as a single registered community. Landlords and stakeholders asked for clear language on when penalties apply. Shelly Jenkins, a local property manager, asked whether fines are imposed immediately upon inspection; Myers and council members said penalties would follow a notice and a chance to remedy, and they agreed to tighten the enforcement wording. Councilperson Thompson recommended explicitly referencing the property maintenance code so that timelines for remedial action match the property-maintenance ordinance's shorter deadlines for immediate hazards. Council discussion noted the draft treats malicious or false complaints separately and that the intent was not to be punitive to good landlords. The council did not take action; staff said they will submit clarified language and align the enforcement section with the property maintenance ordinance before next week's meeting.