Council hears concerns about rental registry gaps and out-of-state corporate landlords; borough testing a new registry system

Councilors and staff discussed gaps in the borough's rental registry and concerns about out-of-state corporate landlords who may not have local property managers.

Officials said the prior rental database suffered a crash; staff are testing a new system that they expect to bring online in a test mode in June or July and to be fully operational by early next year. In the meantime the borough does not have a current, comprehensive list of rental properties and managers.

Council and staff said landlords historically provided counts of occupants but resisted supplying personal tenant information, citing privacy concerns; the borough's ordinance requires certain registration details but enforcement and compliance have been inconsistent over time.

The borough discussed measures to rebuild its rental registry, start a current list by contacting owners and managers directly, and reassert the rental-license and registration process. The police chief said current information on who lives at properties often comes from police reports rather than a centralized registry.

Council asked the manager and code enforcement to start a current list immediately, coordinate with property managers where possible and return with a plan for registry enforcement and data collection.

Officials noted the borough ordinance (referred to in discussion as —506' or —506-related provisions) has been contested in the past and that landlords vary in their willingness to provide tenant information; staff recommended focusing on counts of occupants and local property manager contacts where full tenant lists are not obtainable.