'No longer a safe haven for slumlords': Hanover passes long-debated rental ordinance

After countless years of fiery debate, the Hanover Borough Council finally passed a rental inspection and registration ordinance during a council meeting Wednesday night.

The move, found to be supported by a majority of borough tenants, a third of landlords, the borough's police chief, fire chief, and chief code enforcement officer, faced fierce opposition from several of the landlords whose properties it would place under scrutiny.

The ordinance passed six to three, with council members Scott Roland, Ed Lookenbill Jr. and Carol Greenholt voting no.

More: Survey finds widespread support for proposed Hanover rental inspection program

Greenholt said she didn't oppose inspections but did not believe the program would be funded solely by the fees.

According to York County public records, Roland is listed as the owner of 12 properties in the Hanover area, Greenholt is listed as the owner of three properties in the Hanover area, and Lookenbill is listed as the owner of seven properties in the Hanover area.

Councilman Brian Fuentes, who was not present for the vote, owns two properties in the Hanover area, according to public records. The remainder of Hanover Borough councilmembers are listed as owners of only a single property.

Previously reported: Hanover first responders highlight rental property dangers in support of inspections

Lookenbill, who voted against the ordinance, was added to the council's public safety committee that is now tasked with formulating enacting the ordinance during a consent agenda item moments before the ordinance was voted on.

Lookenbill's addition to the public safety committee brings the committee to four members.

Councilwoman Barbara Rupp, who voted in favor of the ordinance, inquired before the vote for Lookenbill's addition on what would happen if those four members would tie during a committee vote.

Council President Reichart told Rupp that in the event of a tie at the committee level, the vote would be brought to the full council.

The borough's public safety committee consisted of Fuentes, Greenholt and councilwoman Darlene Funk, prior to the addition of Lookenbill.

In 2019, a proposal for fire inspections from the borough's fire chief was struck down, followed by another proposal in 2022, which also failed to pass. The approved 2024 ordinance is drawn mostly from the 2022 proposal, with changes from Hanover Borough Chief Code Enforcement Officer Chris Miller.

Two years after the effective date of the passed 2024 ordinance, each rental property must be inspected at least once in every two-year period. Inspections will also be conducted whenever a rental property license is applied for, or when ownership changes.

The ordinance also requires property owners, if they do not live near Hanover, to designate a local property manager that must be within 40 miles of the borough in the event of an emergency.

Among Hanover landlords who spoke during public comment, state Rep. Dan Moul appeared at the meeting to oppose the ordinance, describing himself as a Hanover landlord.

Moul is listed as the owner of eight properties in the Hanover area, according to York County public records.

Previously, during the May meeting of the borough public safety committee, chief codes officer Miller had laid out a roadmap for the next steps of the ordinance.

"The inference made that we're just going to be jumping into the deep end of the pool, so to speak, is not correct," said Miller during the earlier public safety meeting.

"We have a lot more staff working on this than just myself," Miller said.

"That includes the borough manager, that includes our finance department, that includes the other code officers within the division, and all the public safety chiefs as well."

With the passing of the ordinance, the borough will now be developing a business plan for the program, which will determine the cost of fees. Miller noted that this is not unusual, as the borough sets the fees for other existing ordinances in the same resolution process.

A key aspect of the ordinance is to simply get a grasp on the number of rental properties in the borough, Miller said.

"I've heard everything from 3,300 rental units, up to 4,600 rental units," he said. "We don't know the amount of rental units we actually have in the borough, that is part of this ordinance."

In doing so, owners of residential rental units will be required to submit an initial residential rental license application to the borough's codes department.

After successful completion of all administrative and inspection requirements of the license application process, the borough will issue the rental property a residential rental license for each unit, Miller said. The license will be renewed annually, with an annual license fee.

Miller gave an example that, if a building contained 12 units, the licenses would be numbered one through 12 and be displayed in a common area of a building. On the license placard, numbers for a property manager and codes enforcement will be clearly visible for all tenants to report maintenance or codes issues, Miller said.

The borough is already working on the software platforms for the ordinance, Miller said, including an electronic database of rental properties, which seeks to make the process easier for landlords, tenants and codes officers, as many current processes are done on paper.

For Hanover Borough resident Isaac Riston, who has for years championed the need for a rental property inspection program, the vote came as a huge relief.

"Thankfully, we will no longer be a safe haven for slumlords to exist," said Riston following the vote, "but there's still work to be done."

Riston noted that, while he was thankful for the outcome of the vote, he remains concerned about opponents of the ordinance watering it down with amendments and changes.

Despite that, Riston remained hopeful after the successful vote.

"The public has spoken, our public safety employees have spoken, and our council has spoken," said Riston.

Harrison Jones is the Hanover reporter for the Evening Sun. Reach him at hjones@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Hanover Evening Sun: Hanover PA borough passes long-debated rental ordinance