Clearlake council adopts rental registration and inspection ordinance after months of revisions

Clearlake City Council on Sept. 4 adopted Ordinance No. 279-2025, amending Section 9-4 of the Clearlake Municipal Code to create a city-run residential rental registration and inspection program.

The ordinance passed unanimously after months of staff work and meetings with local real estate managers and the Lake County Association of Realtors. Vice Mayor Slotin moved the ordinance and Council Member Downey seconded the motion; the council’s roll-call vote was unanimous.

City staff told the council the update changes enforcement and inspection procedures, clarifies registration rules and adds new provisions including phased inspections and a self-certification option for property owners and managers. Associate Planner Taylor summarized the ordinance’s background: the city first adopted rental rules in 2001, reexamined them in 2019 and has since developed inspection checklists and staffing to administer a program locally.

Chief building inspector Mary Jane Montana described a recent trial inspection staff used to test the checklist. Montana said the example property was a two-story single-family dwelling with a converted garage containing three rental units. “This 1 took about an hour, hour and a half,” she said of the site visit, and she noted multiple deficiencies including an interior broken-window pane with glass shards, a bathroom ceiling indicating moisture or a leak, inadequate garbage storage and a deck and stairway that required repair or removal. Montana said the department’s practice would be to meet with an owner or manager on site, allow an opportunity to schedule repairs and require a building permit when work is needed.

Realtors and property managers who participated in a task force persuaded staff to make changes to the draft; Jessica (staff representative) and others said meetings produced compromises on numerous points. Several speakers urged a cautious rollout. Real-estate broker Timothy Toy urged a trial or staged implementation and warned of unintended consequences including landlord exit from the local rental market, higher rents and possible displacement of tenants. Broker Katie Evans said she opposed the ordinance as written and urged a pilot to work out details; Evans repeated her comment that, in her view, a prior estimate of about 3,000 rental units and an $108 registration fee would yield roughly $462,000 annually — a figure she attributed to prior discussions with staff.

Supporters of action said the city has longstanding unsafe rental housing and that inspections are necessary for tenant safety. Public commenter Joyce Overton, who said she regularly hears complaints at the senior center, described substandard apartments and urged immediate enforcement. Resident Rick Mayo said people who suffer most from unsafe housing are “the poor, the immigrant, the seniors and the disabled.”

Council members emphasized flexibility after adoption. Council Member Putin (commenting during deliberations) encouraged staff to keep notes on issues that arise and to return to council with recommended amendments if implementation identifies unforeseen problems; staff agreed to return for periodic review. City Manager Flora said staff would report back and described the program’s projected timeline for inspections, noting staff estimates that the city would need several years to inspect the existing rental inventory and would prioritize properties with prior code-enforcement cases.

The ordinance text adopted by the council directs the building department to administer registration and inspections, requires property owners to register rental units, authorizes phased inspections and sets tenant and landlord responsibilities in the code. The ordinance does not specify a final fee schedule in the hearing record; several commenters discussed earlier draft numbers but the council did not adopt a separate fee resolution during the meeting.

The council closed the public hearing before the motion. The ordinance will take effect according to provisions in the city code; staff said they will schedule follow-up meetings with stakeholders and return to the council with implementation details and any recommended amendments.

Ending: Council members said the program can be refined after launch and encouraged continued engagement with landlords, tenants and the Realtor task force as inspections proceed.