LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Beginning June 1, Louisville’s Department of Codes and Regulations will begin preemptively inspecting some of the city’s rental properties in search of possible violations.
The city will also require landlords to provide information about their properties and how they can be contacted or face a fine up to $100 per day until they register.
The Louisville Metro Council passed the two programs in Dec. 2022.
“We need to make sure that people who already have housing, who rent, are living in safe, affordable and quality housing across our city,” said Mayor Craig Greenberg, D-Louisville, during a news conference Monday.
Landlords will have to pay a yearly renewal fee each year to the city, though it can be waived if no ordinance violations are reported during the last 12 months.
“Those not previously (registered) have until June 1 to complete their registration,” said Richard Price, director of the city’s codes and regulations department. “Failure to register will result in a notice of validation and inspections of all rental properties owned by the individual property owner.”
The registry replaces a similar one created in 2017. City officials said this iteration will be easily accessible to the public and will look similar to the dashboard showing short-term rentals.
“This helps us to work more cooperatively with good actors who really are trying to keep their properties in good shape like we have here, and it helps us, on the other hand, to hold bad actors accountable,” said Rick Blackwell, Louisville Metro councilperson.
In preparation for this program, the code and regulations department has hired 14 additional staff members to its ranks and plans to hire at least 10 more. Greenberg added this gives concerned citizens another way to report serious issues about their units, who fear retribution from their landlords.