Does Hemet still require rental registration or a crime-free lease?

Does Hemet still require rental registration?

No, the old Hemet “Crime Free Lease Addendum” you found in a rental file is no longer required. The city discontinued its Residential Rental Registration and Crime-Free Rental Housing Program and withdrew all related forms.

That old document may still turn up in a listing packet, property-management file or seller’s paperwork. If it treats registration, certification or a program inspection as an active requirement, the paperwork is out of date. Ask for current documents instead.

The city’s rental registration notice says the programs were repealed under a voluntary compliance agreement with the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development following a Title VI compliance review.

This resolution applies to Hemet’s former programs. It does not answer separate questions about a property’s financing, disclosures, lease terms or physical condition.

What requirements ended with the program?

Rental owners no longer have to complete the former crime-free certification, city lease-addendum, inspection or training requirements. The city specifically says owners no longer need to:

• Submit a Crime Free Certification
• Use the city’s Crime Free Lease Addendum
• Pass Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design, or CPTED, inspections
• Attend Crime Free Rental Housing Training
• Undergo annual code inspections under the programs

Hemet also withdrew the program forms. The named documents include the Residential Rental Dwelling Unit Crime Free Lease Addendum, CPTED inspection checklist, Interior Rental Registration Inspection Reference Checklist, Property Owner Certification Form and program FAQ.

When one of these documents appears in a file, check its date and purpose. An old checklist may help explain the property’s records, but you should not treat it as a current filing or inspection instruction from the city.

What did the former programs do?

HUD described the former system as three connected programs: Rental Registration, Crime-Free Rental Housing and Abatement of Chronic Nuisance. In its December 10, 2020 announcement, HUD alleged that the programs were enacted for discriminatory reasons and targeted minority residents in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Those statements were HUD’s allegations. The voluntary compliance agreement resolved them without a stated court finding of discrimination.

HUD said the programs imposed penalties on owners if five or more calls in a year went to law enforcement or code enforcement for nuisance activity at a property. It also said the lease addendum called for immediate eviction after a single act of broadly defined criminal activity. Owners faced registration, fees and annual inspections.

According to HUD, Hemet had spent about $1 million in Community Development Block Grant funds enforcing the programs since 2013. The agreement also called for a $200,000 remediation fund to improve housing conditions for low- or moderate-income households. That does not show that a repair program is open today. Ask the city before relying on assistance as part of a purchase or repair plan.

Which Hemet ordinances were involved?

Ordinance Nos. 1870 and 1873 established the rental registration and crime-free program, while Ordinance No. 1850 addressed chronic nuisance abatement. The numbers appear in the agreement associated with HUD’s resolution.

The agreement gave Hemet 90 days from its effective date to repeal Ordinance Nos. 1870 and 1873 or notify residents that they were no longer in effect. It also required the city to publish a website statement saying that the program was discontinued and its forms withdrawn. Hemet’s live notice now provides that statement.

The agreement PDF has a filename that describes the copy as final but not signed. The exact effective date is therefore uncertain from that copy. Its text says the agreement would govern the parties for five years from the effective date, which was tied to the last signature.

What did the City Council do in December 2020?

The Hemet City Council introduced an ordinance repealing the three programs on December 8, 2020, and approved the motion 5-0. The item covered the Residential Rental Registration and Crime-Free Rental Housing Ordinance and the Chronic Nuisance Abatement Ordinance.

The December 8 council minutes record the introduction and vote. For the later adoption date and number of the repealing ordinance, ask the City Clerk.

HUD announced the voluntary compliance agreement two days after the council meeting. If your property file contains Ordinance Nos. 1870, 1873 or 1850, those numbers explain where the old forms and requirements came from. The city’s discontinuation notice tells you that the rental registration and crime-free requirements no longer apply.

Could Hemet create a replacement program?

Under the agreement, Hemet could not spend Community Development Block Grant funds on a replacement rental registration and crime-free housing program unless HUD reviewed it first and the agreement’s criteria were met. The agreement also called for code enforcement to focus on health and safety conditions in occupied buildings.

Neither provision confirms that Hemet later created a replacement registration or repair program. Check directly with the city before relying on a program name found in an old file or search result.

The Code Compliance page still uses a “Rental Property Registration Program” heading, but the text beneath that heading says the program was discontinued. You do not need to read the heading as a new registration requirement.

Rules for mobile home spaces are a separate matter. For that property type, check Hemet’s mobile home space rent rules instead of applying the withdrawn rental-registration forms.

What tenant protections does the city describe?

The city says an owner may not evict or refuse to renew a lease because the tenant or a household member is a victim of specified abuse or violence. Its guidance names domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, stalking, trafficking and elder abuse, and refers to California Code of Civil Procedure section 1161.3.

Hemet also says an owner may not evict or refuse renewal solely because a tenant or household member calls emergency services, including 911. An arrest alone is not evidence that a crime occurred. The city directs housing providers to consider convictions or other substantial evidence and make an individualized assessment.

Use that guidance when reviewing conduct or making a lease decision. Do not carry forward an old Crime Free Lease Addendum as though the city still requires it.

HUD’s announcement says anyone who believes the programs harmed them may file a complaint with the Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity. The listed number is (800) 669-9777, with TTY service at (800) 927-9275.

What should you check in a purchase or sale file?

You should flag old Hemet program paperwork, request current documents and confirm why each remaining form is in the file. Look for references to “rental registration,” “crime-free certificate,” “Crime Free Lease Addendum,” CPTED inspection or annual program inspection.

Compare those references with the city’s discontinuation notice. Ask whether anyone is treating a withdrawn form as active and whether the current lease package uses different documents. This matters when an owner or property manager has copied an older file forward without checking the city’s newer instructions.

Keep other parts of the transaction separate. California sale disclosures have their own requirements, explained in the seller disclosure guide. If you are assembling an investor purchase file, DSCR loans for rental property concern financing rather than Hemet’s former registration program.

Code complaints still go to the city. The Code Compliance Division responds to complaints and proactively identifies violations on public and private property. Its office is at 445 E Florida Avenue, and its listed number is (951) 765-2339.

The short version

Hemet no longer requires rental registration, crime-free certification, its Crime Free Lease Addendum, CPTED inspections, program training or annual code inspections under the discontinued programs. The city withdrew the forms after a voluntary compliance agreement resolved HUD allegations from a Title VI review.

When old program paperwork appears, ask for current lease and transaction documents. Keep ordinary Code Compliance complaints, financing and seller disclosures separate from the repealed program.

For a separate estimate of the property’s potential sale value, use the home value tool.