A program designed to help ensure safe and decent housing for rental residents in Sioux Center will begin in January.

The Sioux Center City Council approved the Rental Housing Program on Tuesday and decided to offer a discounted first-time registration fee for those who sign up for the program in the first three months of the year.

Starting in January 2018, anyone who rents out a portion or all of a property will register with the City of Sioux Center. Each rental property will be inspected once every three years to ensure basic safety and sanitary conditions are met.

“This is about things like having smoke alarms, proper electric wiring, egress windows for basement apartments, and basic health, sanitation and life safety requirements,” Sioux Center Code Enforcement Director Josh Dorhout said. “We are not creating burdensome or unreasonable standards; we just want to make sure everybody has a safe place to live.”

The initial fee to register a rental property was set at $50 plus $7.50 for each additional rental unit in that property. The renewal fee is $25 per year plus $5 for each additional unit.

However, after hearing from members of the public, the council decided to decrease the first-year registration fee to $25 for rental property owners who sign up by March 31, 2018.

There will be a penalty for failing to register. More information about the program is available at www.siouxcenter.org/rentalprogram or by contacting Dorhout at the City Office at (712) 722-0761.

“We’ve heard and discussed public comments and questions about this program, and we believe once this program is rolled out, it will have a positive impact on housing in Sioux Center, for rental residents and the broader community,” Dorhout said.