Local landlords seem to be satisfied with the latest additions to the controversial landlord-tenant ordinance, which include giving prior notice to tenants before inspections and issues regarding security deposits.

The committee, originally formed by former DeKalb mayor Bessie Chronopoulos, went over each paragraph of the ordinance, debated it and made some additions Friday night.

Mason Properties owner Jim Mason said the committee, which consists of landlords, university officials and tenants, is satisfied with the results.

“There is 100 percent agreement on what we are doing among everyone in that room,” Mason said.

In addition to the current proposal, committee members also added two items, one of which deals with a landlord’s access to the property.

Under the proposed “access clause,” the landlord would have to give the tenant one hour notification if he or she wished to enter an apartment. This clause comes with certain emergency exceptions.

The clause was met with some reservations by the landlords.

“One hour is enough time to get dressed, hide your bong and toss your pet out the window,” landlord Glen Hoffer said.

It initially bothered Mason and Susan McMaster, of Horizon Management, that landlords might have to give one hour notice every time they had to enter an apartment, given that some tenants have no telephone and/or fail to leave a phone number on file.

NIU law student Edwin Trinta presented a comprehensive list of emergencies that would allow an immediate response from the landlord. But rather than get bogged down in such details, the committee concluded that most people understood that events like finding one’s door kicked in would constitute an emergency.

The second new addition to the proposed ordinance dealt with security deposits.

Under the proposal, tenants would not be able to collect their security deposit until all people that originally signed the lease were present at collection time. An exception to this would be if all people named on the lease gave a person on the lease power of attorney.

Handbooks about landlord-tenant rights, based on the Oak Park model, will be available from both landlords and the city government. An ombudsman may be provided for a separate resolution and Bill Brady, of the law firm Gallagher, Klein and Brady, of Sycamore has volunteered to do the job or otherwise provide a referral service for the city, thereby “clearing out the courthouse.”

Mason said the next committee meeting will include proposal finalization.

“What we are going to do is we’re going to finalize it, send it to [DeKalb city attorney Margo Ely],” he said. “She’ll tweak it and then we’ll be ready to present it to the council.”

The next committee meeting before the bill is supposed to be submitted to the DeKalb City Council will be Thursday, Sept. 27.