'Absolutely chaotic': Worcester City Council rips rollout of Rental Registry Program

WORCESTER — Saying that constituents have been reaching out to them to share their confusion over a letter launching the city’s new Rental Property Registration Program, city councilors Tuesday criticized the rollout of the registry as well as its $300-a-day noncompliance fine.

"Absolutely chaotic with people asking me questions about this," Councilor-at-Large Donna Colorio said. "People don't understand it."

Some councilors said they were unable to answer constituent questions about several details related to the Rental Property Registration Program, which they unanimously approved in 2022.

The program requires owners of residential rental property to register each unit with the city.

Councilor-at-Large Khrystian King, the sole vote against the rental registry in committee, was absent for the vote when City Council formally advertised the program, according to meeting minutes.

A March 20 letter was when several residents said they first heard of the program.

Along with the noncompliance fine, the program has a nominal fee system in which first-time or new registration fees for residential, commercial or industrial units are $15 per unit. Annual renewals are $5 per unit. First-time or new registration of a lot is $25.

The fees are to help fund the program, including hiring new inspectors.

The rental registry program had quietly made its way through City Council two years ago and was listed in several busy agendas. It appeared before the City Council at a May 23, 2022, meeting. After being approved by the Standing Committee on Economic Development in a 2-1 vote in July 2022, the City Council voted to formally advertise it Aug. 9, 2022.

A July 2022 communication from the city administration, includes a Q&A that explains why the city believes it should adopt a registry, writing that it would provide a greater overview of the rental housing stock and provide contact info for property owners in the case of an emergency, complaint or violation.

Inspectional Services Commissioner Christopher Spencer said Tuesday that the department spends a great deal of time trying to get in contact with property owners when they need to reach them about a matter.

While the City Council had previously supported such a program in 2019, the rental registry was formally advertised just months after the May 2022 fatal fire at 2 Gage St., where four were killed.

District 3 City Councilor George Russell, a real estate agent, had orders asking for a report detailing frequently asked questions and answers relative to the new program and asking for an amendment that reduces the fine for not filing from $300 per day to $10 per day.

Councilor-at-Large Morris Bergman also submitted an order requesting the Department of Inspectional Services consider offering and publicizing a non-computer registration and payment option.

Russell recalled going to a coffee shop and meeting a group of people, three of whom brought the letter because they did not understand parts of it.

"There's some unclear information here and we need to get more details so people can understand this," Russell said.

Russell particularly targeted the $300 daily fine, which he said could lead to property owners paying thousands of dollars over a misunderstanding.

"$300 a day in a month, that's $9,000," Russell said. "If it goes a year, if we find out that it was not registered and a year goes by and the commissioner and his team says, 'Oh no, you should have registered that last year,' it's $108,000."

Russell said he had the city clerk's office check the recording of the meeting where the program was voted on, and there was not any debate when the council approved the program, but there had been discussion in committee that was not followed up on when the full council reconvened.

Along with his initial orders, Russell made several requests for reports on the matter, including a comparison to Boston's rental registry and a legal analysis on whether there were Fourth Amendment issues with the registry.

Bergman said he did not remember City Council agreeing to the $300 daily fine.

The agenda for the Aug. 9, 2022, City Council meeting includes a communication where Spencer lists the $300 daily fine.

Colorio requested there actually be no noncompliance fine for the program's first five years and the time be used to educate about the program.

Bergman said many of the recipients of the English-only letter are seniors who are not regular internet users or who may not speak English. Bergman said he tried to register himself and he needed to open an account with a password to do it.

"I've got a million passwords, I don't want another password," Bergman said. "And I'm at that age where I'm ... probably at the extreme edge of where people are comfortable using internet service."

Bergman said he did contact Spencer, and Inspectional Services would register residents over the phone and through hard copies. However, Bergman said that service needs to be more widely known.

Bergman said he did know why commercial units were being charged for registering.

While Spencer said Inspectional Services has an instructional booklet in print and digital form, District 2 City Councilor Candy Mero-Carlson said she was unable to find a guide when she registered her empty lot.

King asked for the city to provide a report on possible ways to incentivize property owners into registering.

The program was launched at the March 9 city landlord summit at the DCU Center.

City Manager Eric D. Batista said he would work with Spencer to have a communication for the council about the $300 fine.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Worcester City Council rips rollout of Rental Registry Program