Houghton Updates Rental Code

The City of Houghton has revised its rental housing ordinance.

At last night’s council meeting, City manager Eric Waara said that the new rules will streamline the licensing process by allowing the Zoning Administrator to grant a license to a conforming property, instead of requiring that all licenses be issued by the Rental Housing Board. A Board of Appeals will be established for property owners to use if they disagree with the administrator’s decision. Processing fees for new licenses will be reduced from $750.00 to $350.00.

Licenses will no longer automatically be transferred when a property is sold – the new owner will need to apply for a new license. And – for the first time – the city will have authority to revoke a license…

Waara emphasized that the new ordinance only affects rental licenses. Zoning issues, including grandfathered non-conforming uses, are not affected. The new rules take effect July 20th.

Read the full ordinance here.