ORDINANCE 6.6

Sponsor: Dept. of Permitting and Inspections, Board of Finance

Public Hearing Dates:

First Reading: 04/13/26

Referred to:

Rules suspended and placed in all stages of passage: 04/13/26

Second reading: 04/27/26

Action: adopted

Date: 04/27/26

Signed by Mayor: 04/28/26

Published: 05/06/26

Effective: 05/26/26

It is hereby Ordained by the City Council of the City of Burlington as follows:

That Chapter 18, Housing, of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Burlington be and is hereby amended by amending Article II, Administration and Enforcement; Section 18-30, Fees; thereof to read as follows:

18-30 Fees.

(a)    Registration fee. Pursuant to Section 18-15, a registration fee shall be charged to the owner of every rental unit in the city that is subject to periodic inspections and to the host of every short term rental. This fee shall be in an amount determined by and dedicated solely to the cost of providing rental housing inspection services, clerical, administrative and mediation support services for the housing board of review and landlord/tenant resource services. Any surplus remaining in this fund at the end of a fiscal year shall remain part of the fund and shall be carried forward to the next fiscal year. This fee shall be reviewed annually by the finance board. The fee shall be in the amount of one hundred ten twenty dollars ($110.00 $120.00) per unit per year except for owner occupied dwellings with two (2) or less units and partial unit short term rentals, in which case the fee shall be eighty dollars ($80.00). For whole unit short term rentals, an additional registration fee shall be charged in the amount of one hundred ten twenty dollars ($110.00 $120.00) per unit per year.

A rental unit for which a registration fee as required in this section has not been paid shall be in violation of the city minimum housing ordinance and subject to the penalties set forth herein. In addition, if the enforcement agency determines that a person has failed to pay the registration fee due under this section or the transfer fee due under Section 18-15(b), the agency shall mail to such person a statement showing the balance due and shall add thereto a twenty-five dollar ($25.00) late payment or interest at a rate of twelve (12) percent per year, whichever is greater. That unpaid balance and penalty total shall be subject to interest at a rate of twelve (12) percent per year from the due date until the date of payment. The charges levied in this chapter shall constitute a lien upon the property on which the rental unit is situated and may be enforced within the time and manner provided for the collection of taxes on property.

A rental unit shall be exempt from the registration fees required herein if:

(1)    That unit is currently maintained as part of a nursing facility or community care home under license from the State; or

(2)    That unit meets all three (3) of the following tests:

a.    The unit is currently maintained as “affordable” housing for “low-income” or “very low-income” households, as these terms are currently defined by Section 8 programs of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development; and

b.    The unit is currently maintained as “affordable” housing for “low-income” or “very low-income” households using public subsidies provided by federal, State or municipal government(s); and

c.    The unit is currently owned by a municipal corporation or a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt, nonprofit corporation whose purpose is creating or preserving affordable housing for low-income households;

(3)    That unit is the owner-occupied portion of a rental unit which is subject to periodic inspections pursuant to Section 18-16.

(b)   – (d) As written.  

* Material stricken out deleted.

** Material underlined added.

ks/Ordinances 2026/Housing Code/BCO Ch. 18, Art. II

Sec. 18-30

4/23/2026