ST. GEORGE — Owners of St. George rental properties who live outside Washington County will have to have a local agent who can act on their behalf if violations occur, under a new ordinance passed Thursday by the City Council.

"Getting an 'agent' doesn't mean that you have to hire a property management agency or someone like that," said St. George City Attorney Shawn Guzman. "You just have to find an adult who can receive notices of violation for you and notify you as soon as possible."

Out-of-county property owners often aren't aware of a violation for some time because the notices are mailed. That leads to problems when absentee owners find out they're being fined for problems they didn't know existed, he added.

The new ordinance also requires that owners of three or more rental dwelling units have a St. George city business license. It also allows the city to charge a fee to inspect each dwelling unit. A fee schedule was not included with the rental ordinance, although Guzman said he would provide one to the council before the ordinance takes effect on March 1, 2006.

"We need time to assess our fees and see if we need to add more people for inspections," he said.

The rental ordinance specifies a property owner's duties when it comes to maintaining the rental unit inside and out, and the tenant's duties are outlined as well. There are 45 required duties assigned to a property owner while eight duties are assigned to tenants.

An owner's duties range from a long list of repair projects to providing working appliances and keeping insects at bay. Tenants are required to keep a clean and safe home, to promptly inform the owner of any problems, and not add more roommates without permission.

Property owners are required to take reasonable steps within a specified period of time to fix problems like broken toilets, torn screens and leaks. If the owner fails to make repairs, tenants have several options including deducting the cost of the repair from future rent.

"This ordinance will apply to any rental unit, even if the rental is to one person," Guzman noted. There are some exceptions made for nonprofit entities, transient lodges or motels, and temporary rentals because of sabbaticals, voluntary service or temporary job assignments.

Councilwoman Suzanne Allen said she received an e-mail from someone who was concerned the rental ordinance would drive up the cost of rent.

"It shouldn't make any difference, really," she said. "In my mind it is the cost of doing business for the property owners."

The new ordinance is expected to make owners and tenants more accountable to each other and to the city, said Guzman.

"We've had calls to nearly every department in the city from tenants who say they are having a problem with getting things fixed, or there's an infestation," he said. "On the other hand, we've got landlords who are frustrated with tenants not doing things as they should."

Violation of any provision of the ordinance would be a Class B misdemeanor.

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