For the past two years, there has been discussion and debate about changes to several issues in Chapter 13 of the city of Ames municipal code, which deals with rental housing.

The Ames Rental Association, the Property Maintenance Appeals Board and the City Council had a roundtable meeting Oct. 19 to discuss the final items the groups continue to have major disagreements on.

There were 28 issues that needed to be discussed and finalized before the final amendments are to be presented to the council for approval Nov. 9. After more than three hours of conversation, many rental-related topics were resolved while some issues remained.

“Most of what’s being changed is related to property owners and physical structures of the house,” said Matt England, senior in aerospace engineering and the ex-officio student representative on the council. “It’s not causing the [residents] thousands of dollars to fix; it’s causing the property owners the money.”

One of the most controversial subjects was plumbing. The Ames Rental Association wanted the code to state that existing plumbing already operating safely should not have to be changed. There was also a disagreement about whether the S-trap drains should have to be replaced by P-trap drains.

The issue was not resolved and is being developed into a clearer option by the city staff and Ames Rental Association before the next City Council meeting.

Another issue the parties disagreed on is the conditions that allow an older rental property to be approved under the new code regulations. The Ames Rental Association said that even though a property is not built recently enough to comply with the new standards, it does not mean that the house is unsafe and should not be rented out.

The association said the costs of making changes to these properties in order to pass the new code are too expensive, and this causes the landlords to raise the rent for the customer or discontinue renting out the home.

“It’s about health and safety, not affordability, not aesthetics,” said Pat Brown, a member of the Property Maintenance Appeals Board.

Another issue mentioned was cleanliness. The Ames Rental Association had requested that the word “clean” be removed from the code, because they said that landlords do not have control over a tenant’s actions that are not considered to be breaking the law and/or ordinances. The group said there is no law that requires a tenant to be clean.

The association also said a home that is clean or unclean is not a permanent condition. However, the city and the Property Maintenance Appeals Board decided to leave the wording without change.

The Ames Rental Association did succeed in removing a requirement that all driveway approaches adjoining paved streets must be paved with cement concrete. Neighborhood groups had expressed concern with the safety from rock and gravel pushed onto sidewalks, but the association said the requirement would have been costly without any real safety or health benefit.

The groups also talked about the topic of whether or not carpet should be allowed in bathrooms. The code had stated that “Every toilet room floor shall be a hard, nonabsorbent surface to permit such floor to be easily kept in a clean and sanitary condition.”

The Rental Ames Association wanted carpet to be allowed in bathrooms, saying there is no proof that children get sick from bathroom carpeting, or that tenants would be more likely to misuse carpet than hardwood floors.

Mayor Ann Campbell said the comments the city had received from residents was that because a bathroom is a smaller space, the cost of maintenance and cleaning should not be expensive, and therefore carpet should be allowed.

The Property Maintenance Appeals Board suggested that carpet be allowed until the end of its useful life, and then have it replaced by hardwood floors. It was decided that the carpet would have to be replaced by “non-absorbent” flooring before the next inspection cycle would occur.

The Property Maintenance Appeals Board and City Council also denied requests by the Ames Rental Association for changes in wording regarding issues such as fire alarm systems, above ground egress windows and occupancy limitations.

In terms of how these changes will impact student tenants, England said, “Most of that is going to fall on the property owners’ responsibility, but if they’ve got to fix something it’s going to affect the students if they’re living in the house because it’ll get changed.”

“I think [the students] will be positive because all of the changes that are having to be made are for their own safety,” England said. “I think students are going to be in favor of anything that makes them safer that’s not going to be an inconvenience for them.”