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FAYETTEVILLE -- City Council decided Tuesday to continue discussing the residential rental fee ordinance following a presentation of additional research conducted by staff.
The ordinance, titled "Disclosure of Residential Rental Fees and Costs," would require the clear and prominent listing of any fees related to a rental property. The detailed list of associated fees would be required to be on web pages run by the landlord as well as on print advertisements.
Landlords would be required to disclose these fees prior to the charging of rental application and background check fees.
The goal for the ordinance is to limit the out-of-pocket fees for potential renters when applying to rental properties, according to Councilwoman Sarah Moore, who first proposed the ordinance to the City Council at its March 4 meeting.
The proposed ordinance was discussed again at the council's March 18 meeting where it was left on second reading in order to provide time for additional input.
The Economic Development Department recently coordinated a discussion on the matter between property owners and renters.
Devin Howland, the city's director of economic development, and Marlee Stark, the city's economic vitality manager, presented the findings to the council at its agenda session Tuesday.
The group focused on three main goals, Howland said.
The first goal was to establish shared goals for improving rental agreements and relationships.
"When fees are not clearly disclosed, renters reported feeling misled or overwhelmed, leading to a general sense of mistrust, dissatisfaction or even departure from a rental unit," the city's report on its findings states. "Accessible, clear, and upfront communication about rental fees and lease terms was seen as essential to improving outcomes for both renters and property owners."
The second goal was to gather feedback on the proposed ordinance.
Howland said they consistently heard concerns from participants about compliance and the challenges of listing the fees on print advertisements.
The final goal was to explore other resources and best practices Fayetteville could use. This goal was focused on asking participants what else could be done to educate the community on the renting process.
"Overall, participants expressed strong support for the goals of the proposed ordinance but requested revisions to clarify the ordinance's applicability and to allow reasonable flexibility," the report states.
The final recommendations from staff, based on findings from the focus group and additional research, included clarifying language, specifying that both fixed and variable fees must be listed, and removing the requirement to include fees on print advertisements.
Stark also recommended some additional best practices that would not be a part of the ordinance itself but would be beneficial for the city to promote. An example was encouraging property owners and managers to include a QR code to a page detailing the fees if print advertisement requirements were removed from the ordinance.
Staff also suggested creating a standardized disclosure form to capture all required fee information. Stark said this was the most common request they received from focus group participants. A draft of the form is posted on the city's website in both English and Spanish.
"This not only makes compliance with the ordinance easier for property owners/managers but also provides renters with a familiar, easy-to-compare format when an individual is reviewing multiple housing options," the report states.
City Council is scheduled to discuss the proposed ordinance at 5:30 p.m. June 17 at City Hall.
For more information, the report can be found at www.fayetteville-ar.gov/4313/Housing-in-Fayetteville.
Focus groupFocus group participants were recommended by City Council and came from different backgrounds, experiences and parts of the city, according to the report.Source: NWA Democrat-Gazette