City of Cedar Rapids replaces Chapter 29 and mandates Crime Free Lease Agreement/Addendium for all housing tenants

If you own a rental property, big or small, the City of Cedar Rapids requires you use a Crime Free Lease Agreement or Addendum, that you become licenced locally, and you register all rental rooms, houses and apartments.

[DOC] Crime Free Lease Addendum / Agreement - CITY OF CEDAR RAPIDS
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CITY OF CEDAR RAPIDS. Crime Free Lease Addendum / Agreement ... or any breach of the lease agreement that otherwise jeopardizes the health, safety, ...

Here is a link to the new Chapter 29 approved by the City of Cedar Rapids on Tuesday, July 20, 2010. The new ordinance will become official on Monday, July 19, according to a phone call with Housing Services Department.

Ordinance for Chapter 29 regarding Licensed Registration ...
File Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat - View as HTML
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA, as follows: Section 1. Chapter 29 of the Cedar Rapids Municipal Code is hereby ...

Landlords Now on The Hook to Help Clean Up Cedar Rapids Neighborhoods‎ - KCRG
At the Tuesday evening council meeting, Walter Skovronski, president of Landlords of Davenport, told the Cedar Rapids council that tenant background checks ...

Landlords asked, Cedar Rapids Police Department looking for ... - Eastern Iowa News
The Cedar Rapids Police Department on Wednesday said it is working ... The city of Davenport also uses a crime-free lease addendum and most ...

Tommy Tucker Realty Co. has been using a different Crime Free Lease Addendum, on a voluntary basis, over the past 8-9 years for many of our clients.

Tommy Tucker Realty Co. was founded in 1958 and has specialized in property management services for various clients over the years. We would be happy to visit with people who have questions about the new Chapter 29 in Cedar Rapids or other housing and/or real estate questions ...

• Sales


• Purchasing


• Property Management


• Leasing


• Business Opportunity


• Like-Kind Exchange: 1031


• Chapter 22 questions?


• Chapter 29 questions?


• Chapter 69 questions?

Need housing or real estate assistance, contact a Realtor ...

The City of Cedar Rapids just passed the new Chapter 29 on Tuesday night at the City Council meeting. Later this year, we expect new Chapter 22 and Chapter 69 ordinances to be reviewed and enacted as well. As Realtors, we believe...

The Preamble of the Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS ® ...

Preamble

Under all is the land. Upon its wise utilization and widely allocated
ownership depend the survival and growth of free institutions and of our
civilization. REALTORS® should recognize that the interests of the nation and
its citizens require the highest and best use of the land and the widest
distribution of land ownership. They require the creation of adequate
housing,the building of functioning cities, the development of productive
industries and farms, and the preservation of a healthful environment.

Such interests impose obligations beyond those of ordinary commerce.
They impose grave social responsibility and a patriotic duty to which
REALTORS®should dedicate themselves, and for which they should be diligent in
preparing themselves. REALTORS®, therefore, are zealous to maintain and improve the standards of their calling and share with their fellow REALTORS® a common responsibility for its integrity and honor...

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Do you own Rental or owner-occupied real estate in Cedar Rapids, Iowa?

The City of Cedar Rapids is planning to change Chapter 29 of the municipal code on rental real estate. Of course, all property owners will notice an possible impact to individual property rights, due to this change. On June 22, 2010, the City Council is planning to have a first reading on the proposed changes to Chapter 29 of the municipal code.

A fellow Realtor in Cedar Rapids has sent an objection to the City of Cedar Rapids.

OBJECTS TO PROPOSED CH 29 ORDINANCE CHANGES-CRIME - City of Cedear Rapids PDF/Adobe Acrobat - Quick View
May 17, 2010 ... I am against the proposed Chapter 29 changes and the mandatory Crime ... for Cedar Rapids tenants which is a valuable asset to growth and ...

The City of Cedar Rapids is changing its web site, so google searches on the subject typically end with a bad link, such as this example. By adding .info, rather than .org, one can get into the City old web site.

More on the subject curtesy of a google search on Chapter 29:

Chapter 29 – Sheryl Jahnel, Member Landlords of Linn County ... - Landlords of Linn County
I have found that there are many difference that set Cedar Rapids Proposed changes over the top. > I am very much opposed to the proposed Chapter 29 ...
Chapter 29 – Dick Rehman‎ - Jun 15, 2010
Chapter 29 Comments: Dick Rehman‎ - May 26, 2010

Chapter 29 of municipal code is a very important public policy issue for the City of Cedar Rapids. Changes can have impacts on affordable housing, housing stock and economic development for our community in the future. The department has been very inefficient throughout the years, including the department's ability to provide data on the customers it serves.

Cedar Rapids Landlords Protest Proposed Fees - KCRG-TV9
Apr 20, 2010 ... CEDAR RAPIDS – Proposed new rules and regulations for Cedar ... The city council is still debating whether to approve all these changes, ...

Right now, the city can't provide a list of problem landlords or even tell
you how many landlords rent property in Cedar Rapids. City staff
admit their record-keeping system needs work and they're trying to replace it. -
KCRG-TV9

Currently, the City of Cedar Rapids has no citizen housing boards or commissions. Communities, like Iowa City, have used citizen boards and commissions to help formulate public policy on housing issued. Despite the City Charter makes recommendations for boards and commissions, but, the police department and housing officials are addressing the ordinance work for our community, rather than elected officials and/or the public.

PREAMBLE
We, the people of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, under the constitution and the
laws of the state of Iowa, in
order to secure the benefits of local
self-government and to provide for the peace, prosperity and security of our
citizens, do hereby adopt this charter. By this charter, we achieve the benefits
of home rule and affirm the values of representative democracy, professional
management, strong political leadership, and citizen participation by
recognizing that our quality of life is based on community and regional
cooperation, innovation, and greater opportunities for all our citizens. - City of Cedar Rapids

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What you should know about Iowa: "Iowa's property-tax system has many bizare features"

Joe Kelly from the Landlords of Iowa group sent this article from the Des Moines Register.

The Register’s editorial • May 22, 2010

Iowa’s property-tax system has many bizarre features. For example:

It’s possible for three nearly identical buildings on the same street to have three different legal descriptions: One may be defined as an “apartment” building, one as a “condominium” and one as a “cooperative.” Although all three might operate the same way, with all units rented out to tenants, the owner of the first building will pay more than twice as much in property taxes as the owners of the other two.

Unfair? You bet. Simple to fix? Not a chance.

The difference is due to Iowa’s property classifications. Real estate is divided into separate classes based on its use – commercial, residential, industrial, agricultural, etc. Buildings with three or more rental units are classified as commercial property because they are considered business enterprises. This would not be a problem, except that residential property enjoys a huge tax break not available to commercial property due to what’s known as the “rollback.” The current rollback reduces the assessed value of residential property to less than half the value of commercial property.

This shifts some of the cost of local governments – schools, cities and counties – from residential to commercial property. That is an impediment to economic development in communities struggling to attract and preserve new businesses, including Main Street shops. Elected officials have made numerous runs at fixing this problem, but they inevitably run smack into brick walls.

Meanwhile, the inequities of Iowa’s property-tax system are exacerbated by property owners who exploit loopholes. In the case of apartments, owners discovered they could sneak a new multi-unit development into the residential classification by calling it a “condo,” even if they never sell any of the rental units. This left owners of existing apartment buildings with significantly higher tax bills than their new competitors, so they began converting their buildings into condominiums.

After local governments saw a stampede coming – and a loss of tax revenue – they got the Legislature to discourage such conversions by requiring that older buildings first be brought up to current building code, which requires installation of costly improvements, such as sprinkler systems.

Those who can’t afford upgrades seized on yet another loophole to fit the residential classification: calling their apartments “cooperatives.” Des Moines, West Des Moines and perhaps other cities have retaliated by requiring them to be brought up to code in an effort to stop another stampede.

It’s hard to believe the courts won’t eventually declare the inequitable tax treatment of similar properties unconstitutional.

It’s equally hard to believe a solution exists that everyone will like. A change that treats all multifamily rental housing equally – which is only fair – runs into a wall of opposition from building owners opposed to paying higher taxes, or from local governments that don’t want to lose tax revenue. The potential loss is not small change: Polk County officials calculate converting all commercial real estate would cost local governments nearly $19 million annually (Des Moines alone would lose $9 million).

Long range, the only solution is an overhaul of the tax system, including eliminating inequities created by the rollback. The only politically realistic way to do that, of course, is to lower taxes for all non-residential property, which means providing new sources of revenue to make up for what local governments would forfeit as a result. That would provide much-needed relief for all commercial property owners, and relieve taxpayers from scouring the law for loopholes.

Fairness is missing in Iowa property tax system. As Realtors®, property owners and those concerned about property rights in the State of Iowa, we thought you would appreciate the above article. Have a safe and enjoyable holiday weekend. Another good resource in Iowa is the Iowa Property Owners Alliance.

The group's mission is to “Protect the property rights of private property owners in Iowa and to serve as a resource for those owners to more fully enjoy the privileges of property ownership.”

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Real Estate Today Show and news on Rental Housing in Cedar Rapids

Attended the Cedar Rapids Area Association of Realtor's monthly meeting on Wednesday, which covered the subject: Credit, Financing and Underwriting Process. There is a lot of changes that have happened in the mortgage lending process, since 2008.



The City of Cedar Rapids is exploring a change in Municipal Code 29 (current code), which governs rental housing. Unlike the City of Iowa City, Cedar Rapids is not utilizing a citizen board or commission in the review of our current rental housing ordinance. This is disappointing when you consider the language found in our current Local Home Rule City Charter, which embraces the use of citizen boards and commissions.



Cedar Rapids Landlords Protest Proposed Fees‎ - KCRG - Mark Geary
Cedar Rapids' rental fees are, in some cases, as much as four times lower ... out of the general fund or taxes,” Chief Housing Inspector Al Pansegrau said. ...

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