There is likely to be a good amount of discussion ahead for the city council on a proposed ordinance establishing a unified rental registry for both short- and long-term rentals in Revere.
The ordinance was introduced by Ward 4 Councillor Paul Argenzio at Monday night’s council meeting. Council President Anthony Zambuto moved the ordinance for further discussion at a future meeting of the council’s legislative affairs subcommittee.
Zambuto said the city solicitor will have the opportunity to review the ordinance before it moves from subcommittee to a public hearing. The solicitor is also likely to give an opinion on if councilors who rent property in Revere will be able to vote on the ordinance.
During Monday night’s council meeting, several councillors noted that they may have to recuse themselves from voting on the ordinance because the ordinance establishes an annual fee of $25 per unit to register their rental units.
“I spoke to the ethics commission today, as well as the assessor’s office with the concerns, because there is a $25 yearly fee, because it has monetary value and a landlord would have to pay that, do we have to recuse ourselves as councillors if we have a unit that we rent?” Ward 3 Councillor Anthony Cogliandro said.
Cogliandro said he spoke to an attorney at the state ethics commission who advised that councillors who rent apartments should recuse themselves. He added that the one exemption was if 10 percent or more of the residents in a community were landlords, the councillors would have the opportunity to speak and act on the ordinance. However, Cogliandro said Revere does not meet that standard for the exemption.
“If you are a landlord in any capacity, one unit up to 200, you should be recusing yourself due to the advice of the ethics commission,” Cogliandro said.
Councillors Jim Mercurio, Chris Giannino, and Council President Anthony Zambuto also said they would have to recuse themselves under that advice.
Argenzio said he did do some further research into the exemption that was brought up by Cogliandro.
“It isn’t a violation if the matter involves a determination of general policy, and the official’s financial interest is shared with a substantial segment of the municipality’s population,” said Argenzio. “That’s what a registry ordinance of general applicability is.”
Argenzio said he would hate to see the city council paralyzed and minimizing itself by not being able to vote on a housing issue because of a $25 fee.
“The ordinance that I am proposing combines both long-term and short-term rentals,” said Argenzio. “Our current ordinance for long-term rentals is from the 1970s, it is outdated.”
During the time the current ordinance was enacted, smoke detectors were only beginning to be required for new construction and carbon monoxide detectors would not be required for decades, Argenzio said.
“Right now, our ordinance says if someone rents a property, they need a certificate of fitness, and when that person moves out they re-rent, you need to get another certificate of fitness,” said Argenzio. “That is not being enforced. Back then, they realized it is a safety issue, but we can’t enforce it because we don’t know who is renting and who is leaving a building and re-renting; so we don’t have that information and we can’t enforce it.”
Currently, the city only acts on rental housing issues when there are complaints, he said.
“The system fails the people most at risk,” said Argenzio. “The tenants least likely to report unsafe issues are the ones living in the most dangerous conditions. This ordinance change is about making sure rental units are registered, safe, and legal – not only for tenants, but also for the fire department when they go into these buildings.”
Argenzio said a similar ordinance in Lynn has helped tackle hazardous conditions and illegal apartments in that city.
“In the past, illicit apartment setups were only brought to the city’s attention when firefighters discovered them as an emergency call,” said Argenzio. “With mandating rental inspections, the city can preemptively identify and get a handle on illegal apartments along with other fire hazards.”
If during the rental inspections there are found to be missing smoke or carbon monoxide detectors, the homeowners will have to remedy the issue.
“The fee is $25 per unit per year to register,” said Argenzio. “Most apartments in Revere average about $2,000 per month; this fee averages about $2 per month.”
If a unit is flagged for inspection, which Argenzio said would happen once every five years under the ordinance, the inspection is then free.
“As long as I have sat on the council, we have all talked about rooming houses, illegal apartments, overcrowding … and this tool enables us to address it,” said Argenzio.
Argenzio said he has heard some concerns about a tenant’s right to privacy if a unit is flagged for an inspection.
“Tenants have a right to privacy,” he said. “If a unit gets flagged for inspection, the landlord will ask the tenant if it is okay for the city to come in and do a safety inspection. If that tenant refuses, it ends there, the privacy is respected and then the landlord would have to notify the city when that unit becomes vacant for inspection.”
The proposed short-term rental changes would allow short-term rentals in certain apartment buildings in certain business and apartment districts for no more than 10 percent of the units.
“The major complaint from residents is strangers coming into their neighborhoods,” said Argenzio. “This would shift short-term rentals to these apartment buildings and it wouldn’t affect the residential neighborhoods. I propose a commercial rate of $600 per unit per year; we would then get an occupancy tax and three percent community impact fee … this would be a good revenue source for the city and it would promote tourism and help local businesses.”