To the editor,
I am perplexed since there does not seem to be enforcement of rental property mandates that are designed to protect property renters and enforce community values.
The Ohio Revised Code requires the registration of rental property. See the Chapter 5323 Residential Rental Property mandates in Section 5323.02 : Registration and then Section 5323.99 having a penalty for failure to comply. So in state law mandates exist for Residential Rental.
Found also within the Bowling Green, Ohio Code Of Ordinances is § 121.02 RENTAL REGISTRATION REQUIRED. It ….. “requires owners of residential rental property units located within the city to register each of their individual rental units”.
Within § 121.09 ENFORCEMENT, is found the consequence….. (A) Any person or entity that violates or fails to comply with the registration provisions of this chapter shall be subject to an administrative penalty of $250 for each week the dwelling unit is not registered as provided in this chapter.
However, it is a demonstrated fact in Bowling Green that all those who rent property do not register as required by state and local ordinances. Or, suffer the mandated consequences for failure to follow the law.
The State Fire Law and Bowling Green, Code of Ordinances has the following requirement :
§ 152.51 SMOKE DETECTORS REQUIRED; RENTAL UNITS. No person shall occupy any rental dwelling unit or let the same to another for occupancy, which rental dwelling unit does not have installed and in operating condition, a smoke detector on each level of such dwelling. Such smoke detectors shall be either the photoelectric or ionization type of a design approved by nationally recognized testing laboratories, such as Underwriter’s Laboratories, Inc. Why don’t we utilize mandated fire inspections of rental units to certify enforcement of the state and local requirements for smoke detectors ?
There was a legal opinion (Yoder v. City Of Bowling Green) allowing limiting the number of occupants in a rental dwelling in Bowling Green to the actual number of discrete bedrooms found as originally constructed in the dwelling. As part of the rental registration forms there should be diagrams of each rental property to see that that legal opinion is enforced. Why is that also left unenforced ?
You might ask those wanting a job, seeking your vote in November, if they really want the responsibility of enforcing the laws in Bowling Green
protecting our citizen renters?
Who will see that the laws in Bowling Green are enforced?
David Neuendorff
Bowling Green
