At the St. Paul City Council meeting on Feb. 4, Councilmember Jay Benanav announced that he plans to postpone the vote on his proposed legislation requiring a certificate of occupancy for students renting single-family homes and duplexes until November.

The delay will allow Benanav to evaluate effectiveness of the rental registration ordinance passed in Dec. 2003. This ordinance affects all single-family and duplex rentals in the city of St. Paul, not just those rented to students.

The Dec. 2003 legislation requires registration of all rental properties in the city and charges landlords for excessive consumption of city services when multiple code violations are reported.

Benanav is asking students, neighbors and landlords to work together and report all code violations to the city of St. Paul’s office of Neighborhood, Property and Housing Improvement.

Benanav’s original legislation, proposed in February 2003, would have allowed no more than one home per 350 feet to be rented to students. It aimed to reduce the concentration of student housing in St. Paul.

However, in response to protest that this legislation unfairly targeted students, Benanav amended the original legislation to require a certificate of occupancy for students renting single-family homes and duplexes. The certificate is currently only required for triplexes and apartments.

Benanav cited the reason for this change as concern for safety in homes rented to students, which often fall into disrepair because of absentee landlords.

“While I believe there is a unique set of problems related to student housing, including over-occupancy and increased safety risks,” Benanav said in a Feb. 4 news release, “I have listened to students who have asked not to be targeted and, more importantly, to be a part of the solution.”

High Winds Fund Director Tom Welna said Benanav has not yet made a convincing case for targeting students.

“He [Benanav] has yet to make the case for why St. Paul should focus on property rented to students, rather than safety in all rental properties,” Welna said. “The issue started as a way to get rid of party houses, but now the language has shifted to safety. There is no question that we’re all supportive of safety.”

In order to inform his constituents of his plans to test the effectiveness of the new rental registration ordinance, Benanav will mail instructions about how to use the new policy to the more than 400 students, neighbors and landlords who attended Benanav’s student housing forums last fall. Benanav will seek feedback from constituents and monitor progress on bringing problem student rental properties up to code.

In November 2004, based on his review of the new policy, Benanav will re-examine whether his proposed certificate of occupancy for student housing is necessary.

Welna said that the community has been relatively silent toward Benanav’s new proposal. “There has not been much reaction to this latest change,” Welna said.

“I am afraid that students don’t know about the new changes,” Director of Residential Life Sarah Griesse said. “That may be why we have not heard much.”

One can report a code violation by calling 651-266-1900 or by visiting the City of St. Paul’s web site, www.ci.stpaul.mn.us, clicking on “residents” and then “how to make a code violation.”

On this web site residents can also register a complaint and then trace the progress of the enforcement of the violations they have reported.