Iowa City Council to vote on rent abatement ordinance Tuesday

IOWA CITY - The Iowa City Council on Tuesday is expected to consider adopting an ordinance that would allow city staff to abate rent in certain cases.

If approved, staff would be allowed to order rent abatement if a unit does not comply with the city's housing code, 'if there is a substantial risk to the health or safety of the tenant, such as no heat in the winter ...” or if a unit does not have a valid rental permit, according to a news release from the city.

A copy of the order would be provided to the tenant and the landlord.

The City Council meets at 7 p.m. in City Hall, 410 E. Washington St.

Council members voted 7-0 on each of the ordinance's first two readings last month.

Iowa Code allows cities the size of Iowa City the authority to order that no rent be collected if a unit doesn't comply with the city's housing code. If rent is abated it means the tenant is not legally obligated to pay rent.

Iowa City's 2016 Affordable Housing Action Plan called for rent abatement in emergency situations. The initiative was triggered, in part, by the residents of Rose Oaks, according to a memo to City Council members from Sue Dulek, assistant city attorney.

Residents of Rose Oaks, a working-class apartment complex with rents between $500 and $710, received letters last year saying their leases wouldn't be renewed thanks to remodeling. The city council voted 5-2 for one-time, $250 payments to the residents to help with moving costs. The total to help 207 Rose Oaks households came to more than $51,000.

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