More than 1,000 rental properties were registered with the city before Friday’s deadline, and registration applications are still streaming in.

But city officials say they’re preparing to trace thousands of properties that still don’t comply with the city’s recently enacted rental registration ordinance.

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Barry Walthall, the city’s code enforcement manager, said the 1,011 properties registered were about a third of those required to do so under the new city ordinance that requires rental homes in single-family zoned areas be licensed at a cost of $25 apiece per year. Violators could be fined from $225 to $1,000.

Landlords were still registering their properties Monday, he said.

“At this point there’s no penalty,” Walthall said. “We’ll accept applications as long as anyone wants to submit them. There won’t be a penalty unless they don’t voluntarily comply.”

He said the city will identify violators by examining utility and water records, as well as complaints.

“I really expect us, for a number of reasons, to receive applications steadily for a couple of weeks,” Walthall said. “We’ll take them, no questions asked, but eventually we’ll have to search out the unregistered ones.”

Walthall said the Neighborhood Resources Department will begin inspecting the licensed homes starting today.

“We’ll be working through the spring at least,” he said. “We’ve got inspections scheduled through the middle of March right now.”

Meanwhile, a spokesman for Atty. Gen. Carla Stovall said Monday Stovall will grant a Kansas City legislator’s request and review Lawrence’s new rental ordinances to see whether they conform to state law.

“At this point we do plan on issuing an opinion on it,” spokesman Mark Ohlemeier said. “There is no timetable. It depends on how long it takes to get all the information we need to render the opinion.”

The attorney general’s opinion does not have the force of law. Local landlords have said they’re raising money for a lawsuit about the ordinances.