Renting a Home

Homeowner / Property Management Responsibilities

• Make sure the yearly rental license of $55 is up to date and paid for
• A rental inspection must be passed before each tenant's move in date
• If applicable, all previous tenants' water and sewer balances have to be paid
• This is homeowner or property management responsibility only, and must be done before any inspection is completed and the new tenant(s) moved in
• A Rental Unit Lease should be filled out and then signed
• If a water form is required, fill this out as well
  • These forms are to be given to the tenant(s) so that they can upload the documents with their application

Renter Responsibilities

• Complete the appropriate Utility Application
• Renter must attach the required documents to the application:
  • Customer's I.D.
  • Signed lease
  • Water form (if applicable)
• A deposit of $200 and a $25 nonrefundable application fee will need to be paid online with the application or at Town hall by cash, check, or money order in the office, or dropped off in our brown box in front of Town hall, after hours, via check or money order only
• Renter must not have any outstanding balances with the Town at prior addresses
  • It is the Renter's responsibility to pay all past due accounts in full in order to establish a new account

Rental Inspections

• 24-hour notice is required when scheduling inspections
• A $55 inspection fee must be paid for prior to scheduling the inspection
• Minimum of one-hour notice is required for cancelling scheduled inspections in order to avoid a $80 reinspect fee
• If the inspection fails, a re-inspection of $80 has to be paid for and scheduled
  • This process will continue until the inspection passes
• Rental addendum must be received, rental licenses must be paid, and rental inspection must be performed before a tenant may move into the unit. A rental unit is not to be re-occupied after a vacancy of any length of time until it has been inspected by the Town of Smyrna and approved for occupancy
• If a tenant wishes to have utilities in their name, they must apply for services online or at Town Hall. The landlord will also be required to fill out a form online or in-person.
• Rental inspections are not required for immediate family members, but a form must be obtained and filed with Customer Service for an exemption. Customer Service can be reached at (302) 653-9231 or at boffice@smyrna.delaware.gov