Agenda Item Name:
Title
Residential Rental Unit Permit and Inspection Program
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Presenter:
Missy Daniels
Description:
Presentation for Discussion of a Residential Rental Unit Permit Program
Recommended Action:
Recommended Action
Receive the presentation; provide direction to staff concerning inclusion of other municipalities
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Prior Board Motions:
N/A
Fiscal Consideration:
Fiscal Consideration
At the previous meeting, the Commissioners determined they would likely pursue this in-house. For the unincorporated area, this would potentially involve 4 FTE Codes Officers and 1 FTE Licensing clerk/staff assistant at a first year cost including salary, benefits, vehicles and necessary equipment of $454,000 and an second year cost of $345,000.
This number may be higher if other municipalities are included.
This program is not yet in place in Alachua County, this program is not in the budget, and as such, this program can be discussed during the FY22 budget development process. The permit fees would have to be at a level to cover all costs associated with the program. For 7,000 units, the fee would be between $50 to $65 per permit. This fee would need to be added to the fee schedule and adjusted as necessary to cover the cost of the program.
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Background:
In September of 2020, the City of Gainesville adopted an ordinance creating a Residential Rental Unit Permit and Inspection Program. This program requires property owners to obtain a permit for rental units and requires the rental units to meet certain energy efficiency standards.
Utility bills in residential units with old non-energy efficient or broken appliances can be more than the cost of the rent and can easily push households past the 30% of income limit for what is considered affordable in housing cost. In addition, old or broken appliances and HVAC systems carry an environmental load that could be greatly reduced by upgrading to meet the energy efficiency standards in this program. This discussion is to consider a draft ordinance for the County to implement a similar program. The City’s program will go into effect on October 1, 2021