City Considers Licensing Landlords

As a young Keanu Reeves once pointed out in the movie Parenthood, you usually need a license to drive a car, catch a fish or own a dog, but not, in this case, to rent out that spare bedroom over the garage or the other unit in your duplex.

The good people of Oak Ridge, Tenn., are considering changing that:
"The ordinance, which would require residential landlords to have an operating license, could make rental properties subject to inspection. The biennial license could cost property owners $25 each, regardless of the number of rental units they operate."