The city of Elmira repealed a law that created a public list of rental property owners with code violations. The city is replacing that list with a report on housing in the community.
After five months and only two published lists, the Elmira City Council repealed its law to publicly share details of rental property owners, management companies and landlords who have multiple and sustained code violations.
Instead, the law was replaced with a new report on housing efforts in the community. The city will now publish a monthly report. The report will include programs, partnerships and grants related to housing, as well as code enforcement actions and any court filings.
The law (Resolution No. 2024-298) was passed unanimously by the council last month with a 6-0 vote. One councilmember was absent.
Elmira Mayor Daniel Mandell said expanding the list into a report on the city’s efforts to fight against blight and create affordable housing stock is important.
“It also allows us to let the community know how we've made some gains,” said Mandell. “Maybe a vacant house coming back online that's been renovated or things like that. So it's just not narrowly into the violators that are the persistent violators. It opens it up for other information. I think that's important to the public“
The city said it secured judgements totaling $10,000 in fines for code violations and that two civil cases are pending.
The new monthly report will be released on the 15th of every month beginning next week. The city’s report will remain in effect until December 16, 2027.