Rental Registry Ins and Outs

After deciding earlier this month to enact a rental registry in the Town of East Hampton, officials are developing the system through which landlords can file with the town and obtain the registration number required before a property can be rented.

Registration numbers will be issued by the town building inspector after property owners provide information including the number of rooms and square footage of bedrooms, a copy of the latest certificate of occupancy, the number of tenants and length of tenancy, if known, and a notarized rental property inspection checklist, in which the property owner or a licensed architect, engineer, or home inspector must swear to property conditions, such as whether the site meets town and state building codes.

There is a $100 fee for the registration number, which will be good for two years. Should tenants or lease periods change, updates must be filed with the town, at no additional fee.

The town will begin to process applications on Feb. 1, Town Supervisor Larry Cantwell said last week, and will begin to enforce the law requiring registration on May 1.

The town plans to make registration forms available online, though they will have to be delivered in person or mailed to the building inspector.

Penalties for failure to register range from a $150 to $1,500 fine or up to 15 days in jail for advertising a property without a registry number, to fines of from $3,000 to $15,000 or six months’ imprisonment for a first offense of not registering a property. Repeated violations are punishable by fines of from $8,000 to $30,000 or up to six months in jail.

Informational meetings for the general public and for real estate agents and others involved in property rentals are planned for next month, Mr. Cantwell said, and an information sheet will be developed and circulated.