The Urbana City Council discussed a proposal Monday night to start a rental registration program for Urbana landlords. The Council voted to study the issue further before taking final action.

The program would require property owners to register their rental property with the city. Landlords would be required to pay a registration fee of around $25, or possibly less, to pay for the administration of the program, said alderwoman Esther Patt, who wrote the proposal. Property owners would be required to sign an affidavit stating the number of people living in the building and that they had informed the tenants about the occupancy limits of the property prior to negotiating the lease.

Owners of a single-family residence would also be required to clearly state the number of people that are legally allowed to live in a property in “any advertisement, sign, other form of written representation, or in any oral statement,” according to the proposal.

Tenants would also have to sign an affidavit that they will not allow more than four unrelated people to live in a property that is zoned as single-family housing, which makes up much of Urbana.

Patt said a number of Urbana residents had requested a system to enforce occupancy violations for the past few years. She said this proposal is similar to programs that are in place in Lafayette, Ind., and Iowa City, Iowa, communities that are home to Purdue University and the University of Iowa.