The Ann Arbor City Council approved a motion last night to have a committee review the ordinance that prohibits landlords from showing or signing properties to prospective renters until 90 days after the current lease begins.

The ordinance - passed last April - stipulates that the council must review the ordinance and recommend changes to it before its first meeting in April 2007.

Council members Leigh Greden (D-Ward 3) and Christopher Easthope (D-Ward 5) have partnered with Michigan Student Assembly representatives on the City Council's student relations committee to review the ordinance.

City Council will co-sponsor a public hearing with MSA on March 28 at 7 p.m. in the Michigan Union to gather feedback about the ordinance from landlords and students.

Greden said the committee has been reviewing the measure. On April 2, it will make recommendations to the full council from information gathered from MSA and from the public hearing.

The ordinance, which was fiercely opposed by landlords but supported by MSA, effectively delayed lease signing until Dec. 1 for September-to-September leases.

Before its passage, supporters of the ordinance argued that students interested in off-campus housing for the following year would return to campus in the fall and immediately hunt for properties.

There is a loophole in the ordinance, though, that allows landlords to show and sign properties if the current tenants sign a waiver saying they don't want to resign the lease.

Supporters said the immediate housing rush put a strain on freshmen who wanted to move off campus their sophomore year.

The ordinance aimed to allow more time for students to research housing options, investigate properties and settle into the new semester.

The City Council originally passed the ordinance unanimously.