City will require landlords to register, pay fee

NORWICH – Landlords may soon have to pay a fee and register with the city in order to rent apartments in downtown Norwich. At Tuesday night’s Common Council meeting, Oct. 17 was set as the date to hold a public hearing on the city’s plan to create a rental dwelling registration.

Code Enforcement Officer Jason Lawrence has been working with the city on the rental registration for over eight months. The registry should make it easier for public officials to contact landlords when a health, safety or property maintenance issue arises, Lawrence said. The rental registration is the second part of the plan, which began earlier this summer when a new garbage ordinance went into effect.

“The city is in rough shape,” Lawrence said. “We just want to make it a cleaner, safer place to live.”

Building owners in possession of non-owner occupied or vacant rental dwelling units will have to participate in the registration. They will have to provide their name, address, and a telephone number where they can be reached at all times. In addition, absentee rental property owners will be asked to provide a local contact. The local contact will be an agent to act on behalf of the property owner, in the event that the owner cannot be reached.