Residential rental property ordinance

When I prosecuted for the City of Hattiesburg, one of my duties was prosecuting in code enforcement/environmental/animal control court, one day every month. The then-interim director of code enforcement asked me to draft a rental property ordinance to combat what I perceived were the existing ills of residential rentals in Hattiesburg. I drafted this ordinance in 2015. Once I turned it in, I was informed that everyone loved it and it would never even get to the city council, because of residential rental property landlords. It never did.

1. This chapter of the City of Hattiesburg’s ordinances shall be cited as the “Ethical Rental Property Ownership Code,” or ERPOC.
2. In this chapter the 2012 International Property Maintenance Code as adopted by the City shall be referred to as “IPMC.”
3. In this chapter the 2012 International Building Code as adopted by the City shall be referred to as “IBC.”
4. In this chapter the City of Hattiesburg Land Development Code shall be referred to as “LDC.”
5. In this chapter, “residential rental property” shall be defined as a building that has one or more residential units for rent within the city limits of Hattiesburg.
6. In this chapter, “unit” shall mean a portion of a residential rental property that is rentable entire and meets the qualifications of the ERPOC.
7. The City of Hattiesburg has previously adopted the IPMC, and ERPOC is designed to enforce the minimum safety and…