Landlords in Orono are reminded that it’s once again time to do their annual rental registrations.

For years, the town has required that all rental properties in town be registered, with a fee of $25 per unit. Rental registration forms and payment are due by Sept. 4.

The forms may take longer this year to fill out for some landlords.In the past landlords who had a completed form from previous years on file were allowed to complete an abbreviated form if their were no changes; the town, however, ran into what Community Development Director Dave Milan termed “a very large percentage of abbreviated forms submitted” where changes were not noted, resulting in staff having to spend a considerable amount of time trying to track down information when needed. As a result, the entire application now needs to be completed in order to be considered in legal compliance; any incomplete applications will be returned for completion.

The form has been mailed to landlords; ot also can can also be found online at http://codeenforcement.orono.org/overview. If you have questions or need help filling out the application, please contact Katlyn Howlett at the Community Development Office at 207-889-6909 or khowlett@orono.org.

The fee for registrations received after September 1st date doubles to $50 per dwelling unit. The town will begin formal enforcement action for rental units not registered by October 15, 2017 which subjects property owners to a penalty of $100- $2,500 per day per violation. Those receiving letters who no longer own rental property should contact Howett so town records can be updated.

In the letter to landlords, Milan added that an attempt is underway to ensure that all tenants are living in safe living quarters, and different ways are being explored to allow for physical inspections of every residential rental property to ensure they are in compliance with the Life Safety Code.

‘I am reaching out to all of you in hopes that you will be willing to work with the Town by providing suggestions, advice and support for our ultimate goal of creating a safe place for our renting tenants to live,” wrote Milan.

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