Mandatory Rental Inspections: A New Trend?
More Cities Across U.S. Cracking Down
Several cities around the U.S. are instituting inspection programs for rental housing. Cracking down on code violations is driving the passage of a new ordinance in Eureka, CA. The task force set up to create the ordinance says it’s needed to deter crime and blight caused by substandard housing conditions. But landlords are fighting the new law, concerned that it punishes law-abiding property owners along with those who don’t follow all the rules.
Gresham, OR has had a mandatory rental housing inspection program for two years; its intent is to crack down on code violations and livability issues. Pasco, WA charges property owners $30 per year per apartment building and $3 per unit for a rental housing license. The license is not issued unless the units are certified up to code every two years. Because property owners may hire an architect, engineer, or housing inspector on their own, the law has stood up against legal battles over privacy.
The city of Seattle, WA is considering modifying a current complaint-based program or adopting a system of mandatory rental inspections. A spokesperson for the Rental Housing Association of Puget Sound says neither landlords nor tenants are in favor of inspections, on the basis of privacy.
As city councils from Maine to Hawaii struggle with keeping renters safe, properties occupied, and property values from declining, the possibility increases that mandatory property inspections will become more prevalent.