New Castle County councilors debate sweeping updates to rental code including 4-hour response rule and higher fines

New Castle County Council Finance Committee members spent much of their Sept. 23, 2025 meeting debating Substitute 1 to Ordinance 25-107, a substantial update to Chapter 19 of the county code covering residential rental properties. Councilman Koneko, who presented the substitute, said it would tighten registration timelines, increase penalties for noncompliance, require landlords to respond quickly to emergency conditions and clarify responsibilities for infestations and mold.

The revisions would, among other changes, shorten the required time to register rental units from 20 days to 10 days for certain notices; require landlords to acknowledge notice of emergency conditions within four hours and show corrective action within 24 hours; keep rental registration on a biannual schedule; mandate landlords provide current emergency contact emails to the county; raise fines and penalties that have not been updated in years; and require landlords to exterminate infestations unless there is substantial evidence the tenant is responsible.

Why it matters: the ordinance changes how code enforcement would interact with landlords and tenants in emergency situations and clarifies county expectations for maintenance, mold remediation and infestation response. Koneko framed the changes as shifting protections toward renters, saying the existing code is “much more pro landlord” and the county needs to “turn the tables to protect renters.”

Key provisions and clarifications

- Emergency response: Under the proposed language, the landlord must respond to code officials within four hours of notice of an emergency condition and must begin corrective measures within 24 hours, or document a plan that shows work is underway. Councilman Koneko said, “there has to be some type of action shown to the county within 24 hours.” Land Use staff and other council members clarified that a documented plan (for example, ordering a part that takes days to arrive) would not automatically be treated as a violation if work is underway and documented.

- Registration and notifications: The substitute shortens certain timelines for registering units and keeps the overall rental registration on a biannual schedule rather than moving to an annual cycle. Landlords would be required to provide an emergency contact email; David Carver, General Manager, Department of Land Use, said, “We do have emails we can send out, but we don't have all the emails.” Land Use staff told council the department would publish the ordinance on its website and include the changes in future rental renewal mailings.

- Fines and enforcement: The ordinance would raise fines and penalties in the enforcement section; sponsors said fines have not been raised in many years. The draft also increases enforcement for failure to distribute the New Castle County tenant rights guide; sponsors said the guide will be updated on the county website annually.

- Infestation and mold: The draft places primary responsibility on landlords to exterminate infestations unless there is substantial evidence the tenant caused them. Council members repeatedly warned that pests such as bed bugs are complex to eradicate and may require extensive remediation. Koneko noted the change is meant to address “slumlords who do not take care of their buildings.” The draft also adds language obligating landlords to remediate and remove mold, replacing the prior more-casual guidance.

- Emergency relocation authority: Staff described an existing emergency-power provision in the county code (referenced in the draft around line 313) that would allow code officials to relocate tenants to safe housing (for example, a hotel) in extreme conditions and then seek reimbursement from landlords.

Council debate and concerns

Council members voiced support for modernizing the code but raised several concerns about scope and enforceability. Councilwoman Kilpatrick asked whether there were exceptions when outages were caused by utility failures or severe weather; Koneko and staff said an “act of God” such as a regional outage would be handled differently and not treated as a violation if the issue affected a broad area and remediation requires outside utility work.

Councilman Street questioned whether the substitute had appropriate legal review and whether any provisions could conflict with state law. He said he was “not comfortable” supporting a measure presented primarily by a council member rather than introduced by a department; Koneko replied that he had worked with Land Use and county counsel in drafting the changes.

Several council members, including Hollins and others, cautioned staff and colleagues about the practical challenges of eradicating bed bugs and similar infestations and urged realistic implementation timelines. Councilman Hollins said, “It’s not a simple matter to go and spray something for bed bugs,” and emphasized the science and time required for effective remediation.

Staff response and next steps

David Carver, General Manager of the Department of Land Use, told council that after the initial draft was introduced staff reviewed the ordinance, prepared a fiscal note and recommended the changes now in the substitute. He said Land Use and code enforcement were “generally supportive” of the revisions, while noting further rental-code changes and follow-up work (updated forms, the tenant guide and outreach) would be necessary after adoption.

Councilman Koneko said he planned to lift Substitute 1 to Ordinance 25-107 from the table that night and that he had circulated the substitute to members of council; there was extensive discussion but no final vote on Ordinance 25-107 in the excerpted portion of the transcript. Land Use staff said they would publish the ordinance text on the department website and include notices in the next rental-registration mailing cycle and in email outreach where email addresses exist.

Votes at a glance (other actions recorded in the meeting excerpt)

- Minutes of Sept. 9, 2025: motion approved as submitted (motion seconded; outcome recorded as approved). - Brandywine Hill Civic Association grant: $2,500 approved (motion and second; outcome approved). - Town of Townsend pocket-park grant: $2,000 approved (motion by Councilman Carter; outcome approved). - Donate Delaware grant: motion to approve up to $7,500 approved (sponsor: Councilwoman Sheldon; outcome approved). - Travel for Councilman Carter to NACO data center tour (Oct. 29–30): $549.16 approved (motion seconded; outcome approved). - Revised committee/council schedule (Option 1): adopted (motion to adopt Option 1; outcome approved).

What the committee left on the table

No committee vote on the substitute to Ordinance 25-107 is recorded in the provided transcript excerpt. Sponsors and staff said further implementation steps (finalizing forms, updating the tenant guide, outreach to landlords, and confirming email contact lists) would follow if the ordinance is adopted. Land Use staff also said additional rental-code changes remain under consideration.

Speakers quoted in this article are identified in the meeting transcript. Additional technical and enforcement detail referenced in committee discussion — including how code officers investigate complaints and how emergency relocation would be executed — were described by Land Use staff but may be refined during implementation.