“[The] city government has no business regulating landlords, and increased licensing costs would make affordable housing more difficult to find,” said Fellows.

The proposed ordinance would require anyone renting out duplexes, single homes, apartments, or rooms to get a license from the city government.

And from Scotland: LICENSING OF HOUSES IN MULTIPLE OCCUPATION

The Scottish Executive introduced mandatory licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) in October 2000. A licence is required for every house or flat where 3 or more people live who are not all members of one family or of one or other of two families.

But we want to avoid licencing the property - just the person, surely? A person can get themselves to the licencing authority, or use online tools. If the landlord is good, then the properties will be good too.