rental program Overview

Why Does the Program Exist? 

The Borough of Mount Penn strives to keep our community secure, clean, and attractive and maintain property values. To this end, the Borough adopted Ordinances 863, 865, and 866. These Ordinances mandate the registration and licensing of rental units annually and inspections every two years. 

If a rental property is rented for over 30 days, the owner, landlord or agent must complete and provide a Tenant Listing (below) to the Borough Permit Personnel. This lists all tenants and occupants that will occupy the residence, address of residence, and all contact information including email.  Please note: Application must be completely filled out in order to be processed. The ordinance can be viewed and downloaded below.  

What Are the Requirements? 

The ordinances require the following: if a rental property is rented for over 30 days, the owner, landlord, or agent must do the following: 

Complete and provide a Tenant Listing (below) to the Borough Permit Personnel. This lists all tenants and occupants that will occupy the residence, the address, and all contact information, including email. 

All tenants must execute a Crime Free Addendum agreement (below) in addition to the tenant listing.

Properties owned by a family member that are then utilized by a relative and do not host others other than relatives are eligible to be exempted from the program. An owner who meets this criteria must complete an affidavit confirming this status.

Properties that are being renovated or rehabilitated and do not currently have renters may seek an affidavit for renovations for 3 months. These properties must have applied for the required permits and may only be treated as under renovation for 6 months total. Properties exceeding this time period may be subject to Vacancy Designation under Ordinance 867.

Where one or multiple dwelling units are rented on a property, the property owner may file an affidavit attesting to their tenancy in one of the several dwelling units and not be required to have that property registered and inspected. Dwelling units meeting this exception must complete an affidavit.

Inspections will occur on a bi-annual basis The inspection of the property is to determine compliance with minimum standards and requirements as follows:

1. Each dwelling unit must have a smoke detector installed on each floor level and in the bedroom areas.
2. An existing acceptable 60 ampere service, or a minimum 100 ampere three (3) wire electric service must be installed for the dwelling.
3. All sidewalks and curbs must be in good repair free of large cracks and crevices, missing bricks and tripping hazards.
4. All properties must be supplied with numbers outside the property, in clear view of the street, designating the street number of the property.
5. The property and structure must be in compliance with all other aspects of the International Property Maintenance Code adopted by the Borough.

ALL NEW REGISTRATIONS ARE FOR THE FIRST TIME THE UNIT WILL BE USED AS A RENTAL. In these cases, the code enforcement officer will schedule an inspection within 15 days of receipt of a valid application and payment for an operating license. At the initial registration they must also provide a tenant listing, application, and lease with crime free addendum.