RALEIGH - Many of the city's landlords are steaming because the City Council may require them to pay an annual registration fee even though lots of other taxes, fees and daily expenses are rising.

In fact, some landlords say they will raise rents if the council approves the registration fee at its meeting today.

"I don't see the necessity of doing this," said John Wardlaw, who owns one rental property. "How many fees has the council raised in the last five or six years?"

The proposal would charge residential rental property owners $30 a year to register. Owners with more than one rental unit in the same building would pay $10 annually for each additional unit.

Gary Rooth said the property management company he uses has already informed him it would charge higher management fees to comply with such a registration requirement.

"I'll send a letter to tenants explaining that they will pay this fee," said Rooth, who owns 45 rental properties across the city. "I don't do this as a charity."

The city estimates there are more than 75,000 residential units in Raleigh, which means the new fees would generate more than $775,000 in annual revenue. The money would be used to create a database of rental properties and to hire a four-person team to deal with landlords who run afoul of the city's PROP ordinance, which stands for Probationary Rental Occupancy Permit.

The PROP team would include a police officer, an employee from the city's Inspections Department and two support staffers. Jim Sughrue, a Raleigh police spokesman, said the money is meant to cover only the cost of the program.

"It's not designed to be a revenue generator," he said.

The registration fee is one of several changes the City Council is considering in Raleigh's PROP ordinance, which is designed to punish landlords who fail to maintain their rental properties, or who have tenants who repeatedly hold loud parties.

Last week, four council members recommended approving all the proposed PROP ordinance changes at the Budget and Economic Development Committee meeting.

Councilman Russ Stephenson also supports the changes, though he said the council may need to take a closer look at the fee structure to make sure it is fair to both small and large rental property owners.

Under the current PROP ordinance, if a landlord accumulates a certain number of housing-code violations at a property, he or she is required to get a permit, pay $500 a year for two years and attend rental management classes.

Since the ordinance was adopted in 2005, 20 properties have received enough violations to be issued a permit.

Wardlaw said he doesn't understand why all landlords are being asked to pay each year for the misdeeds of a few bad apples.

Supporters of the fee say the entire city will benefit from the information collected and the additional resources for enforcing the PROP ordinance.

"I think registration is actually crucial to the program," said Elizabeth Byrd, vice chairwoman of the city's West Citizens Advisory Council. "Police know who to contact if there's a problem at a property."