Houghton Looks To Crack Down On Rental License Violations

The City of Houghton is taking steps to make sure rental units do not have more tenants than they are allowed.

In much of the city’s residential neighborhood, property owners may be issued an R1 Renter’s License with the restriction that no more than two unrelated people live there at any given time.

Tell that to the scores of frustrated residents whose streets have transformed from a collection of family homes to a series of student housing units where there appears to be multiple people living there.

Some units are grandfathered in, allowing as many as six unrelated people to live there.  Others are simply in violation of the law.

The current policy of the city is to investigate when neighbors report suspicious behavior.

But City Manager Eric Waara says they may soon be taking a more proactive approach.

The City of Houghton currently employs a part-time code enforcement officer.