LEWISTON — The city’s new rental registration program for multi-unit building owners is up and running, and landlords are now on the clock to register by the March 1 deadline.

The program, approved in October 2019 after a lengthy subcommittee process, requires owners of buildings with three or more units to register so the city has up-to-date contact information and other data on its housing stock.

The system is non-fee-based, meaning landlords will not pay a fee to register each rental unit, but failing to register a building will come with a fine.

City Administrator Ed Barrett said Thursday that letters regarding the registration process had just been mailed to all multi-unit property owners in the city. Landlords can fill out applications online at the city’s website or through regular mail.

The city posted a message to its Facebook page Wednesday stating that the program had been officially rolled out.

It states that the program was created to ensure the city has “accurate, up-to-date, and complete ownership, management, and contact information for every multi-family building; an accurate inventory of dwelling unit quantity and configuration; and an accurate assessment of certain items that impact the health and safety of dwelling units.”

When the city initially brought up the potential for a fee-based rental registration program, which would have funded additional code enforcement positions, it sparked pushback from several landlords.

Instead of a fee-based system, the committee recommended a series of measures, including the non-fee-based registry and a permanent housing committee, which was also recently established by the council.

Earlier this month the City Council approved a minor update to the program intended to simplify the application process. Now, the application asks property owners to report the number of floors, number of units by number of bedrooms, and the number of vacant units.

Fines were also put in place, starting with $50 after the first month of failing to register.

After that, the fine goes to $100 per month through six months, and $200 per month through 12 months. Landlords are required to register annually.

According to the city’s website, there are also other fines associated with ordinance violations such as “failure to provide timely updates to information on the property owner, business operator, property manager, and emergency contact.”

When the program was rolled out, it called for funding a new position in the City Clerk’s office, as well as an additional fire inspector position.

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