By Sara Strong
Recent advertising of city building code rules has gotten lots of attention from home owners and professional contractors.
Luverne Building Inspector Dan Delgehausen and the Luverne City Council reviewed state building laws, which the city adopted as its code.
"My perception is that there’s been some misinformation spread," Delgehausen said at the Tuesday meeting.
He didn’t get a lot of phone calls in response to published information on city permit rules, but contractors and homeowners may have concerns they weren’t taking to the source.
"Once you can explain things to people, they seem to understand, but the communication has been the biggest problem," Delgehausen said.
He has created a brochure that outlines city code to help people understand the city’s permitting process.
Mark Henson, represents the southwest region of the state and helps cities and counties implement the state building code.
All cities with a population more than 2,500 have to follow the state’s minimum code laws. Counties aren’t required to, but 18 of Minnesota’s 87 do, and more are expected to adopt the codes county-wide this year.
Counties may choose to adopt the state codes as insurance companies, mortgage companies and even the Federal Emergency Management Agency encourages them to do so.
Even if a county or small city doesn’t have a code, contractors and workers are still obligated to follow the state code, which includes fire, electrical, plumbing and general contracting. The state Department of Commerce enforces the codes. It also is the agency responsible for issuing licenses to contractors.
In general, building permits are required when a building is constructed, enlarged or structurally repaired.
Plumbing/mechanical permits are required if water lines, sewer lines or gas lines are enlarged, constructed, converted or replaced.
Zoning permits are required when erecting a fence or storage shed less than 120 square feet. More than that size warrants a building permit.
Other things that require zoning permits are exterior concrete work, some decks, demolishing a structure, swimming pools, some tents and altering or erecting a sign.
Electricians are responsible for getting electrical permits and inspections as required by state code.
Clearing stoppages in a plumbing system, replacing a faucet, sink or water closet, air conditioners (if no duct work is remodeled) and water softeners (if the water lines are not altered) are all exempt from permits.
The city suggests calling 449-5031 before doing work to ask if it requires a permit.
Utilities and renters
The City Council also discussed the policy on collecting unpaid utility bills, especially in the case of renters.
The city will no longer act as an intermediary between tenants and landlords and their private agreements if a tenant doesn’t pay the city utility bill.
Actual policy hasn’t changed, but the new procedures more closely follow the policy already in place.
If the renter’s bill is unpaid in three months, the unpaid amount will be sought by a collection agency. After a year, the unpaid charges will be assessed to the landlord’s property taxes to ensure the city gets its payments.
Electric portions of the bill don’t apply to assessments. The water, sewer, storm sewer and refuse will be certified to the landlord’s property taxes.
The city is sending landlords in Luverne a letter explaining the policy and practices.
When the city is contacted by renters who are moving, the city will contact the landlords to let them know of the move-out date. If the landlord says the renter is responsible for utilities through the month as the lease may indicate, that will have to be worked out between the landlord and renter.
The city won’t bill the tenant through the end of the month as a landlord may have been accustomed to in the past. The utility bill for any time remaining in the month will be in the landlord’s name as of the move-out date.
Landlords have the option of working out lease arrangements that call for utilities to be a part of the rental payment or to keep a portion of the deposit money for utilities left unpaid when a lease is broken.
The city is simply not involved in that process anymore.
Financial officer Barb Berghorst said it’s rare that collections efforts get no response, so certifying utilities to taxes will be rare.
Mayor Glen Gust said he was concerned that landlords may get stuck with unpaid utilities and suggested the city could write off the loss of unpaid bills after collection efforts are exhausted.
Assistant City Attorney Jeff Haubrich said it’s typical for city codes to have landowner pay utilities because he or she is the true customer.
He said the citizens would, in effect, subsidize the business of renting to tenants if the city services weren’t paid.
Haubrich also said the city is doing property owners a service by billing renters instead of the actual legal customer, the owner.