Landlords renting homes and apartments in North Huntingdon will have to register their buildings and tenants and pay a fee, if township commissioners approve a proposed ordinance.

Commissioners on Wednesday authorized the township solicitor to write an ordinance requiring the registration of residential rental properties, despite concerns by some landlords who questioned whether it is an overreach by government. Commissioners could vote to approve the draft of the ordinance, possibly as early as next month.

Commissioners Eric Gass, Zachary Haigis, Virginia Stump, Lyndsay Wengzryn and Ronald Zona voted for the solicitor to write a residential registry ordinance, while Jason Atwood and Richard Gray opposed it.

As proposed by Harry Faulk, township manager, the ordinance would not take effect until January. The fees for the residential rental registry have not been set, but there was discussion last week by the board of setting a fee between $20 and $30.

The majority of the commissioners did not support including a property inspection in the ordinance, as initially proposed by Faulk.

Stump said she favors inspections for safety purposes, noting North Huntingdon is one of the few townships that does not have occupancy permits for rental properties.

But having the registry of tenants’ names will enable the township to collect wage taxes from residents who are not paying them.

Neighboring municipalities of Irwin and North Irwin have residential rental property registries, as well as Southwest Greensburg and Unity.

Gass said he favors the rental registry as a way of getting all residents to pay their fair share of taxes.

Gray, who owns rental properties he has inherited from relatives, said landlords need to receive an explanation about the proposed ordinance. He characterized the township obtaining contact information for landlords and tenants as “intrusive.”

“Once the government gets their foot in the door, it will expand to inspections and tenants’ names,” Gray said.

Atwood said he would not support implementing anything “that will cause our people to pay more money.”

Some landlords look at the residential registry as “very intrusive,” said Otis DiCerbo of North Huntingdon, owner of DiCerbo Properties, which owns residential rental properties.

The voice of the landlords should be heard on the issue, said DiCerbo, president of the Landlord Association of Westmoreland County.

Another landlord, Adam Painter of North Huntingdon, said he was seeking clarity and an understanding of the “bigger picture” for the initiative.

The tenant registry would “intrude on our tenants’ lives and our lives,” Painter said.

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