At last night's work session, the Community Services director presented "enhancements" to the Rental Registration Program. Based in part on inspection results for 2012, they realized most violations and complaints were about exterior issues and therefore he proposed an option to do annual exterior inspections instead of interior inspections.
Sounds like they still want to enter back yards of private properties, but they at least won't force interior inspections. This is a great step forward. We thank every one who supported our cause!
I look forward to reading the new wording of the ordinance. Particular as it relates to the Landlords responsibilities. Do we still need to schedule the inspection and provide access to the back yard if it is locked?
From what I've heard they use the language "tenant denies access" and "ask the tenant for permission".
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Admin.
7/31/2013 12:27:08 pm
You know the current ordinance says regarding interior inspections: "with the occupant's permission, may enter any unit"
If they followed the ordinance (i.e. the tenant can say no), they would have been on firm legal ground and no landlord would have been prosecuted.
So who knows if the city staff has learned a lesson and follows the law in the future?!
We aren't sure if the city is going to just send inspection notices to landlords/tenants or require us to schedule an appointment. Based on the presentation, it sounds like the city staff still wants to peek into people's windows, doesn't it?
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