Landlords in Logan may be licensed

(The Herald Journal) Logan landlords may soon have to pony up $50 annually for a city license and open up their properties to inspection.

The proposed licensing is aimed at making the city’s rental units safer, said James Geier, Logan’s neighborhood improvement coordinator.

There are about 5,500 rental units and 2,200 landlords in the city, excluding on-campus housing, Geier said. The license fee would be levied per landlord, not per unit.

“The purpose is not to beat up landlords,” said Mayor Randy Watts, citing one case where firefighters discovered a gas meter installed next to a water heater — a potentially explosive set up — in an illegally modified rental. “The purpose is to protect that coed or college student” who trusts the city to know if housing is up to snuff, Watts said.

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