Landlords within the city limits of Johnstown will soon be paying inspection fees for their rental properties. 

The city passed the controversial ordinance Wednesday despite outcry from landlords and tenants.

The unanimous vote for approval in the meeting met landlords and tenants with a sigh of disappointment, but the city said, this is a way to fight the issue of blight.

"It's going to increase the cost of doing business in the city. It's already a very expensive process to own a home and maintain a property," landlord Bill Kist said.

The ordinance will require landlords to register and pay an inspection fee of $75 for each of its units over a three year period. 

The city said landlords won't have to pay extra costs if all the measures are in place.

"Smoke alarms and fire extinguishers in the house, making sure that they meet the electrical codes, plumbing codes. It's a matter of safety for the house," James White, Director of Community and Economic Development for the city of Johnstown said.

Some landlords and tenants agree that an inspection is an invasion of privacy.

"And we do not have the authority to enter the home without approval of the person who owns that home," Kist explained.

"If they live in a neighborhood or live on a block where you have a slum landlord, [that] now we have the ability to go after that slum landlord to clean up his or her properties," White said.

While the city thinks the cost of the fees are reasonable to avoid blight, landlords think someone will have to pay.

"The landlords are going to have to absorb some of that cost too because tenants do not have the resources to pay higher rents in the city of Johnstown," Kist said.

"We hope that at the end of the day, that the people in the neighborhoods will realize that this rental ordinance is going to help clean the neighborhood up," White said.

The city said other municipalities, like Westmont, have already implemented these ordinances, and if landlords fail to register, they could be the first to get inspected.