Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Housing Rentalcode topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Council alerted to proposed repeal of two rental-code provisions found preempted by state law
Summary
Borough staff and the solicitor briefed council on a recommended amendment to the Center Region Rental Housing and Building Safety Code to repeal two provisions the solicitor and tenant-advocate attorneys identified as preempted by state law; final council vote is scheduled for March 3, 2025.
Tom Fontaine, the borough manager, told council the borough and regional partners reviewed the 2023 Center Region Rental Housing and Building Safety Code after tenant-rights groups raised concerns about enforceability and preemption by state law. Fontaine said staff, in consultation with legal counsel and tenant advocates, recommends repealing two specific sections that were judged to interfere with landlord-tenant contractual relationships and to be preempted by state statute.
Solicitor Williams explained the legal concerns in detail. Williams said local landlord-tenant provisions are difficult to draft without conflicting with comprehensive state landlord-tenant law. He identified two specific code provisions for repeal: a section requiring landlords to provide fully executed lease copies to all parties that effectively interferes with typical deposit and holding procedures, and a provision that would allow lease termination after a protection-from-abuse order in a way that could produce unworkable outcomes if both parties request relief. Williams said those two provisions appear unenforceable and could risk broader legal challenges to the code if retained.
Fontaine said the ordinance to repeal the two sections was included with the meeting packet and that final consideration is scheduled for the council meeting on March 3, 2025. He said staff and counsel will be available to answer questions before that vote.
Council members acknowledged the intent behind tenant-rights provisions but agreed with counsel and the housing attorney that the two flagged sections create enforceability risks. Council member Balachandran said the provisions had already been discussed when the code was adopted and that the housing attorney had flagged concerns at the time.
What happens next: the borough will present an ordinance to repeal the two specified sections at the March 3 council meeting; staff said additional code sections flagged as possibly problematic could be reviewed later but that the immediate recommendation is limited to the two sections described in the packet.
