Palmerton is working on regulating rental units.

Councilwoman Holly-Hausman Sell indicated as much at Thursday’s borough council meeting.

“We’ve been diligently working on our rental ordinance,” Hausman-Sell said. “Our goal is to have that ordinance to put on the table this summer.”

Hausman-Sell added that working on the matter has proved a real bear.

Borough council said in July 2023 it may consider regulating rental units.

Resident Bruce Morrison asked at that time if there was a way to enforce the issue of keeping sidewalks clean in the borough.

Borough Manager Autumn Canfield said at that time anytime the borough gets a complaint, they send it to the code enforcement officer or building code officer depending on the nature of the complaint.

Canfield noted at that time the borough doesn’t have a rental ordinance.

Council President Terry Costenbader acknowledged at that time that council was in the midst of working on something.

Later on in the meeting, Hausman-Sell asked Morrison if he had a specific concern on a rental property.

Morrison said that there’s been a lot of trouble in other municipalities, and that he didn’t want to see that happen in the borough. In October 2021, council discussed joining other local municipalities in an attempt to regulate rental units.

At the time, the borough had 700 units.

Officials said the rental unit registration and inspection program would pertain to property maintenance as dictated by the International Property Maintenance Code.

The goal was to promote safe and sanitary conditions of rental housing, and that the borough believed this would increase property values, as well as encourage landlord and tenant responsibility for the condition of properties.

The borough had been made aware that an increasing number of calls to the police come from rental units, and the revenue from the registrations may be used to fund additional police staffing and training to meet the demand.