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Rental Registry Ordinance - amended 2020
Rental Registry Application(PDF, 149KB)
Rental Registry Inspection Guide(PDF, 334KB)
If you own a one or two family rental property in the City of Syracuse, you are required to register your property with the Division off Code Enforcement. Rental Registry is required every three years, or after a sale of a property. The fee to apply and obtain a certificate is $150.00. An inspection is required prior to issuing the certificate.
Rental Registry ensures tenants are living in rental units that are safe, healthy and up to code. Any questions you may have that aren't answered here, please call us at (315) 448-4700.
I received a letter regarding the Rental Registry, but my property is owner-occupied. Why did I get this letter? What do I do now?
The application form is available for download above. You can also obtain a copy of the application form at the Division of Code Enforcement, 201 East Washington Street, Room 101 or apply online by clicking the link above.
Owners are required to obtain a Rental Registry Certificate for each one-family and/or two-family non-owner occupied dwelling rented or leased within the City of Syracuse.
The City accepts Rental Registry Certificate application forms for all properties citywide. Any property that becomes a one-family and/or two-family non-owner occupied dwelling due to a sale of the property or other change must have an application filed within fifteen days of the change in character of the property and obtain a Rental Registry Certificate at that time.
The property is for sale – do I still need to complete a Rental Registry application form?
If the property is still occupied by tenants, yes – you need to complete a Rental Registry application form, even if you intend to or are currently attempting to sell the property.
Where can I apply?
The application form is available for download above. You can also obtain a copy of the application form at the Division of Code Enforcement, 201 East Washington Street, Room 101, or apply online at the link above. The Rental Registry Certificate application form and the Affidavit of Compliance shall be signed by an owner of the property or a property manager – who is also employed by the owner to manage the registered property.
I own a two-family home, but I live in one portion and rent the other unit. Do I need to complete a Rental Registry Certificate application form?
No. Only one-family and/or two-family non-owner occupied dwellings are required to obtain a Rental Registry Certificate. If you own the property and also live there year-round, the property is considered owner occupied.
Once the application form is on file, what is the deadline to obtain the Rental Registry Certificate? If my application form cannot be processed or my Certificate not issued because I did not meet the requirements, how long do I have to correct the problems to obtain the Rental Registry Certificate?
Rental registration certificates are valid for three years from the date they are issued. Owners must renew the registration of any one-family and/or two-family non-owner occupied dwellings they wish to continue renting or leasing to tenants at least forty-five (45) days prior to the expiration date of the Rental Registry Certificate. Inspections are required with each application. Applications for rental registrations are accepted year-round for all properties throughout the city.
The Rental Registry Certificate application form includes, but is not limited to:
- The owner’s name, domicile address (no PO Boxes), and telephone number
- If the owner is a corporation, general or limited partnership or a limited liability company (LLC), the following information must be provided:
- Corporations must include Articles of Incorporation and Operating Agreement
- Partnerships must include Partnership Agreement and Operating Agreement
- LLCs must include Articles of Organization and Operating Agreement
- The name, position, physical address, phone number, duties and responsibilities of each officer/shareholder/partner/member with respect to the subject rental property
- Property Management Information
• if the owner employs a property manager, the name, domicile address, and telephone number of the property manager, the duties and responsibilities of the property manager, whether the property manager is a licensed real estate broker, and the property manager’s real estate broker license number
No post office box addresses will be accepted in lieu of the domicile and/or the street address for any of the information required in the application.
What are the requirements to obtain a Rental Registry Certificate?
To obtain a Rental Registry Certificate, an owner of a one-family and/or two-family non-owner occupied dwelling must, at the time of registration:
- complete a Rental Registry application form, providing all requested information to the satisfaction of the Division of Code Enforcement
- pay all required fees
- have no open cases with the Division of Code Enforcement on the property being registered
- be current on all taxes and water bills for the property being registered
- have no pending nuisance abatement proceedings or orders of closure for the property being registered
- the property being registered must pass an inspection conducted by employees of the Division of Code Enforcement
How much is the application and processing fee for the Rental Registry application form? Do I need to pay for each property I wish to register?
The application and processing fee for one-family and/or two-family non-owner occupied dwellings is $150.Yes, an application and processing fee must be paid for each one-family and/or two-family non-owner occupied dwelling.
Once I obtain a Rental Registry Certificate under the new law, how long until I need to renew it?
The Rental Registry Certificates will expire three (3) years after they are issued. The expiration date shall be printed on each Rental Registry Certificate. Upon expiration of any Rental Registry Certificate, an owner must renew the registration of any one-family and/or two-family non-owner occupied dwellings they wish to continue renting or leasing to tenants at least forty-five (45) days prior to the expiration date of the Rental Registry Certificate.
What do I do with the Certificate, once I obtain it?
Owners must conspicuously post their Rental Registry Certificate within a common space of their property and must make the Rental Registry Certificate available to present to inspectors and other employees of the Division of Code Enforcement. If there is no common space in a two-family non-owner occupied dwelling, then a copy of the Rental Registry Certificate must be conspicuously posted within the interior of each unit.
The property’s character has changed (new owner, converted to non-owner occupied, etc.) and the property’s designated time period for filing the application form has passed. Can I still submit an application form to obtain a Rental Registry Certificate?
Yes, any property that becomes a one-family and/or two-family non-owner occupied dwelling due to a sale of the property or other change, outside of the property’s designated time period set forth above, must have an application filed within fifteen days of the change in character of the property and obtain a Rental Registry Certificate no later than the next issuance deadline for the quadrant where the property is located. For information related to application and processing fees associated with these properties, please call the Rental Registry in the Division of Code Enforcement at (315) 448-4700.
Are there any exemptions to obtaining a Rental Registry Certificate?
An owner is not required to obtain a Rental Registry Certificate for any one-family and/or two-family non-owner occupied dwelling where at least one dwelling unit occupied by a person related by blood, marriage, or adoption to or under the legal custody of the owner of the dwelling unit, which may include one additional person who is not a minor without regard to the relationship of the person and without regard to the number of minors in the dwelling unit related by blood, marriage or adoption to the additional person or under the legal custody of the person.
In order to qualify for this exemption, there must be no more than two adults in the dwelling, if one is related to the owner by blood, marriage, or adoption, or under the legal custody of the owner. For example, if two adults living together with or without children, at least one of the adults must be related to the owner, by blood, marriage, or adoption, or must be under the legal custody of the owner.
In order to receive this exemption, please select the “Rental Registry Exemption” on the rental registry (available at the top of this page or at the Division of Code Enforcement) and return the form to the Rental Registry Office, Division of Code Enforcement, 201 East Washington Street, Room 101.
What is the penalty for not obtaining the required Rental Registry Certificate?
Failure to obtain a required Rental Registry Certificate is a violation of the Syracuse Property Conservation Code. Violations of the Property Conservation Code are punishable by both criminal and civil penalties. An owner who fails to register their property could be subject to a criminal penalty of a one hundred fifty dollar ($150.00), fifteen (15) days in jail, or both. The City’s Law Department has received permission from the District Attorney’s Office to criminally prosecute violations of the Property Conservation Code.
Civil penalties will be enforced by a special proceeding brought to court by the City’s Law Department. The court then may issue judgments of $100.00 per day, orders to compel or contempt orders for violations of the Property Conservation Code.
Renting a dwelling unit without a Rental Registry Certificate is a separate and distinct violation of the Property Conservation Code, and such violations will be pursued as separate causes of action by the City’s Law Department.