By JAN McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
As the deadline approached for rental housing inspections to be filed with the city, some landlords appeared to be dragging their feet.
But when the deadline arrived earlier this month, more than 94% of the 7,235 registered rental units in the city had been inspected by their landlords and reported to the city, according to Heather Sayler, the city’s planning director.
That left about 90 owners of 420 housing units missing the deadline.
While there is no monetary fine for failing to turn in self-inspection reports, the landlords who miss the deadline could lose their right to perform their own inspections, Sayler said.
The city ordinance passed in May of 2021 requires rental units to be registered and undergo annual interior inspections, and biennial exterior inspections.
At the insistence of local landlords, the city agreed to let property owners conduct their own inspections. When landlords said the inspection forms were too complicated, the city simplified them. And when landlords said the deadline needed to be extended, it was – twice.
Concerns have been raised about the validity of inspections performed by the landlords themselves rather than an impartial housing expert. And complaints have been lodged with the city about landlords charging tenants for the inspections, even though city officials decided to forego charging fees for the program in hopes that landlords would be more willing to comply.
Also a concern, Sayler said, are the exemptions granted in the city ordinance for rental housing operated by religious organizations, charitable groups, or those that are group home settings.
Though the city’s rental registration and inspection program is not perfect, it has identified some housing issues, Sayler said. About 30 of the approximately 6,800 housing units inspected failed to pass. Missing one criteria in the inspection can warrant a failure, and landlords are given 30 days to fix the item.
In some cases, Sayler said, the inspections reported a faulty smoke alarm or a lack of fire extinguishers.
“Finding that one smoke alarm was a win. You have to say it’s a success if we’re repairing some units,” she said.
In other cases, the fixes will take longer. Some units are in the process of being renovated, and some landlords discovered during the inspections that the tenants were hoarders.
Sayler also explained that the vast majority of the landlords who haven’t submitted their inspections have been in contact with the city. Some units are in the process of being bought by new owners, and a few landlords reported difficulty with the city rental inspection portal.
“They’re not ignoring us. They are communicating with us,” she said, explaining the city can grant extensions of up to 30 days. “As long as they are working on it.”
The city ordinance does not allow the city to check the validity of the landlord self-inspections – unless a complaint is made by a renter, or lodged with the Wood County Health Department or Wood County Building Inspection Office.
“Unless we get a complaint, we don’t know,” Sayler said.
Though not perfect, the rental registration and inspection program has provided the city with valuable data on rental units and landlord contact information, she said.
“This is brand new for us – we built it from the ground up,” Sayler said. “Getting to this point was huge. This is a great foundation we didn’t have before.”
