Community Development:

Building/Rental Housing Services

Purpose and Intent

Municipal Building and Housing Codes help to protect the safety and welfare of residents. They promote property maintenance, which in turn protects the value of property. They protect the tenants and landlords, and ensure that rental property is maintained in a safe and sanitary condition. To that end, the Municipal Building and Housing Codes are enacted for the following purposes:

To establish minimum standards governing supplied utilities and facilities and other physical things and conditions essential to make all buildings safe, sanitary and fit for human habitation.
To fix certain responsibilities of owners and occupants of dwellings.

Building Permits

Building permits are required for any work that involves framing, electrical, plumbing, heating & air conditioning, siding, roofing, and windows.Building permits are issued by the Building Inspectors. It is recommended that you call and make an appointment with the inspectors to obtain a permit. We can not guarantee immediate assistance for walk-ins because inspectors may be out of the office on inspections. To obtain a permit you must complete the appropriate application, submit detail plans of the work being done, engineering specs as needed, and pay the required fees. Fees are determined by the estimated cost of construction.

Rental Housing Licenses

Rental housing licenses are required for any residential property, which produces rental income. Rental income includes housing sitting, baby-sitting, elderly care, housework, lawn care, general maintenance, paying utility bills, etc.Rental housing licenses are issued by the Building Inspectors. Prior to allowing occupancy of a rental property, the following must be completed:

Submit a completed Rental Housing License application.
Pay the rental fee, $80.00 per unit.
Contact an inspector to schedule a rental inspection of the property.
Building inspector completes an inspection of the property, which includes the measuring of the rental unit for occupancy determination and to ensure that the unit complies with the building codes.
An inspection letter is sent with any corrections to be made to the property.
A re-inspection is completed to ensure compliance and then occupancy is granted.

Online Services

Schedule your INSPECTION online.

To ask a building code or rental housing code question, contact the Building Inspector:

Joe Lenzen, (715) 426-3427 or E-mail: jlenzen@rfcity.org

Applications and Forms

Fees Schedule