MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A Tennessee lawmaker wants to make sure all landlords and property owners for rentals are publicly listed in Shelby County.
State. Rep. Dwayne Thompson (D-Cordova) filed a bill that would create a landlord registry in the County, according to the Tennessee Democratic Caucus. The bill would require all landlords and property owners to list for the public all rental properties they own of manage.
Rep. Thompson said the bill is meant to ensure renters can find and contact their landlord or agent and eliminate absentee landlords who hide their identity and avoid contact with their renters.
“This is a fairly simple consumer protection bill that could streamline renter’s access to their landlords and hopefully give them the means to avoid a long legal battle,” Rep. Thompson said in a news release.
Thompson said currently, Metro Nashville and Davidson County have this type of registry, but Shelby County does not. He said current law only allows a landlord registry if a county has a consolidated, metropolitan government and more than 500,000 residents. He said the bill would eliminate the metropolitan government clause in the current law, which would allow for a registry in Shelby County.
“My hope is that this will offer more peace of mind to the hundreds of thousands of Shelby County residents who rent or lease their home,” he said.
This all comes after the December freeze, in which many Mid-South tenants have complained about trying to get damages repaired and issues corrected, but have been unable to reach their landlords or property owners.