Landlords now required to submit contact information for properties in Fayetteville

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Landlords in Fayetteville who own three or more rentals have about five months to register the contact information of a designated representative for each of their properties.

The City Council in August passed an ordinance aimed at ensuring renters, neighbors and city staff will have a means of reaching landlords who may be difficult to contact if there are problems with the leased property.

At the time, Council Member Teresa Turk said she had received complaints from people who had concerns about neighborhood tenants, but didn’t know how to contact the landlords since some properties are owned by an LLC, corporation or trust that doesn’t advertise its contact information.

The new law requires landlords with three or more long-term rental properties in Fayetteville to provide their representative’s full name, mailing address, email address and telephone number to the online Landlord’s Representative Registry by April 30, 2021. The information will then be made publicly available for anyone to access. Those who fail to register by the deadline will be subject to fines, according to a news release.

Designated representatives should have the power and responsibility to respond to questions, issues and problems with tenants, and to be an additional agent to facilitate communication with the landlord. Representatives must live or work in Washington, Benton, Crawford or Madison County, Arkansas. If the representative changes, the landlord is required to update the registry within seven days.

Owners of short-term rentals like Airbnb properties are not required to participate.

There is no fee to landlords to register their representatives, or to the public to access and search the registry when it becomes accessible on May 1, 2021.

To register, or for additional information, visit www.fayetteville-ar.gov/landlord.

Read the full ordinance below:

120.02 – Landlord’s Representative Registry

(A) Every person, partnership, corporation, L.L.C., or other entity which owns, operates, manages or otherwise controls more than two (2) residential properties that are rented or leased in Fayetteville, Arkansas shall designate a person residing or working in Washington, Benton, Crawford or Madison County, Arkansas to be the Landlord’s Representative (which may be the landlord/owner who lives or works in one (1) of these counties) with the power and responsibility to respond to questions, issues and problems of or with the legal tenants of such residential rental property, and to be an additional agent for service of process for the landlord. The owners of only short term rentals shall not be required to designate and register their Landlord’s Representative into the Registry at this time.

(B) The Landlord’s Representative shall be identified by correct full name, mailing address, email address and telephone number. The landlord shall ensure, at a minimum, that the Landlord’s Representative answers or promptly returns calls or emails made by their tenants or neighbors of their tenants between the hours of 7:30 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. When a Landlord’s Representative leaves employment or otherwise no longer serves as the Landlord’s Representative, the landlord must within seven (7) days replace the departed representative with another qualified and properly identified Landlord’s Representative, notify all relevant tenants of such change including change in contact information, and enter the change into the city Landlord’s Representative Registry.

(C) The city shall supply a free Landlord’s Representative Registry through the Planning Department and offer such registry online for easy access by tenants and the public.

(D) This Landlord’s Representative Registry shall be available for landlords to begin registering their representatives (which can be the landlord themselves if they live or work in Washington, Benton, Crawford, or Madison County) on December 1, 2020. Proper and accurate registration shall be required of all landlords renting or leasing more than two (2) residential properties in Fayetteville to tenants by April 30, 2021.

(E) Any person or entity leasing or renting more than two (2) residential properties located in Fayetteville (as identified in (A)) who fails to properly and timely register a proper and qualified Landlord’s Representative and any needed successor Landlord’s Representative or fails to obey any requirement of this section shall be subject to the penalties permitted pursuant to §10.99 General Penalty of the Fayetteville Code.

( Ord. No. 6349 , §1, 8-18-2020)