Fargo's Mayor's Advisory Council on Rental Housing holds its first meeting Wednesday, Nov. 4, from 4 to 6 p.m. in the City Commission Chambers at City Hall, 225 Fourth St. N., the city announced (via City of Fargo). The group is supposed to come up with practical recommendations to make Fargo's rentals more stable, safe and affordable, and its early agenda includes rental inspections and whether the city should have a rental registry.
After the first session, the council will meet monthly on the second Wednesday, for six meetings in all, with more added if needed. Meetings are open to the public and will be streamed on city social media, TVFargo.com and the city's public access channels. When it's done, the council will hand Mayor Josh Boschee and the City Commission a final report with recommendations and a timeline for putting them in place.
The council grew out of a renters listening session Boschee hosted at City Hall on Sept. 21. Deputy Mayor John Strand and Josh Hoper are co-chairs. Renters hold most of the seats, and the roster also includes a landlord, property managers from Personal Touch Property Management and Goldmark Property Management, two attorneys, and representatives of the High Plains Fair Housing Center, Presentation Partners in Housing, Legal Services of North Dakota and ShareHouse.
In the city's announcement, Boschee said the council will work on practical ways to make rental housing "more stable, safe and affordable" while supporting a healthy rental market. Whether people rent or own their homes, he said, "we all have an interest in ensuring that rental properties are well maintained."
The city's council page lists three early topics: tenant-landlord relationships and cutting evictions, rental inspections and housing quality, and whether Fargo should set up a rental registry (City of Fargo). Boschee told KFGO the council gives the city "a venue for us to have those conversations to understand the tenant experience," and the station reported that reducing evictions and possibly creating a registry are among its main goals (KFGO).
Fargo already has a rental inspection program. The city's Inspections Department sends letters to rental owners, using addresses from Cass County property tax records, and inspects under the International Property Maintenance Code and the city's Land Development Code. Owners are asked to record their rentals with the department at no cost, and tenants can file complaints after first contacting the owner or manager in writing. Under the city's fee schedule, the first inspection and first re-inspection are free, and each re-inspection after that costs $150.
Renters are a big share of the city. Boschee has said 54% of Fargo residents rent, according to Valley News Live, and Census Bureau estimates show about 56% of the city's occupied homes are renter-occupied.
Residents can comment in person at any meeting or through the input form at FargoND.gov/RentalHousing, which also posts agendas, minutes and meeting videos. The Mayor's Office can be reached at 701-241-1310.
Why it matters for Contractors
If you own a few rentals, build them, or do turnover and repair work for landlords, this council could change the rules you work under. A rental registry or a tougher inspection schedule would mean more owners needing code fixes on a deadline, which is work for remodelers and trades but also a new compliance cost for small landlords who build or hold units themselves.
Nothing changes yet. These are recommendations, and any new rules would still have to go through the City Commission. But the meetings are public and the input form is open, so if you build or maintain rental housing in Fargo, now is the time to watch the agendas and weigh in on what practical, enforceable standards would look like.