Coaldale’s code enforcement officer began inspecting rental properties last week.

According to borough Secretary Beth Martinico, Coaldale has 223 rental properties. Of those, 69 have applied for rental licenses.

With the applications filed and fees paid, code enforcement officer Luis Negron from Systems Design Engineering can begin inspections.

“I started with some rental inspections,” Negron told council last week. “Six failed and one passed.”

Those who apply by April of each year pay $100 to renew their licenses. They face a $20 penalty for each month it is past due.

“That goes on until you guys say, ‘Hey, we are going to revoke your license,’ and we start the process of eviction of the people who are in the buildings,” Martinico said.

She said many rentals might already be empty, and others “might not be fit for people to be in anyway.”

Council President Claire Remington said she wouldn’t want to see people evicted during cold weather months.

“I wouldn’t wait too long, we should start sending letters out” to those who didn’t respond, said Councilman Francis Hutta.

“I did send letters. The next letter we are talking about is going to go to the tenant and the landlord, in case the landlords just aren’t getting it,” Martinico said.

Council directed Martinico to send out the next batch of letters on July 1. Rental property owners will have until July 15 to respond.

If they don’t reply, the borough will begin the eviction process.

Council unanimously approved the dates to send the letters.

An attendee asked Negron how long property owners have to bring their properties up to code.

“Usually, two months,” Negron said. “When I do my rental inspections, I basically put a time and a date. If they need a little bit more time, they will have to send an email.”

He noted that he will take into account the types of violations, but the minimum is two months to resolve the issues.