Landlords won’t be fined yet for missing the deadline to register their rental properties in a new state registry. (Alexander Castro/Rhode Island Current)
Rhode Island’s rental registry is back to normal after being temporarily plagued by technical issues on Tuesday, Oct. 1, the deadline for landlords to submit information to comply with a new law.
Health department rental registry website crashes as landlords try to meet deadline
The Rhode Island Department of Health isn’t yet imposing fines for landlords who missed the filing deadline either, said spokesperson Annemarie Beardsworth. That would first require the health department to “identify the universe of all rental units and landlords in the state,” Beardsworth said.
But Beardsworth couldn’t say when the department will be ready to start issuing fines for noncompliance with a state law enacted in 2023 to create the online registry. The health department oversees the registry, which went live on Sept. 3, because landlords of older properties are required to submit proof of lead paint mitigation work.