City Says New Rental Inspection Program to Aid Tenants, Landlords and Property Values
By Jeff Toquinto on March 30, 2013
For the last decade, new homes in Bridgeport aren’t the only type of housing that has grown significantly. City officials also say rental units have also grown substantially. Because of that, this upcoming fiscal year that starts July 1 will also see the start of a new rental inspection program.
“We had actually looked at a rental inspection program about 10 years ago. We have probably 150 rental units in the city at that time,” said Bridgeport Community Development Director Randy Spellman. “Now, we have 450-plus rental units on top of regular housing that has entered the rental mark.”
With the large numbers, Spellman said the past consideration became present consideration. Now, it’s going to become an official program.
“When you look at building code enforcement and inspection of structures in the city, in the rental world the only real inspection is time period between new construction and condemnation. With rentals, you almost never went back to the units for any type of inspection,” Spellman said.
Now, that’s going to change. Spellman said every rental unit in the city will now be inspected every two years. He said it will help to make sure everything is up to code – as well as help the renter and the landlord.
“It’s just another piece of the puzzle that protects the property values in the community and protects the citizen. When the average person moves into an apartment they don’t look at things like penetration in a fire wall, vented appliances, smoke detectors and things of that nature,” he said. “Those things, like appliances, get changed out without a building permit. This gives us the opportunity to make sure everything is in compliance.”
So how does this help the landlord? Spellman said from a few conversations he’s already had with landlords, it could save money on insurance.
“A couple of landlords have told me that this program will probably save them money,” Spellman said. “When you have an inspection program in place, it can give them a break on their insurance.”
The landlords will be charged for the inspection. Spellman said it will likely be $15 to $20 per unit. He also said that if one location has multiple units there will be a tiered price breakdown.
Although Spellman said rental complaints aren’t frequent, the city and, in particular, his office receives them every year. He said this program will help make sure for the few issues that come up that are problematic can be monitored.
“The problem we hear at times is that the renter doesn’t want to turn the landlord in. They believe that if they do they could be tossed out,” Spellman said. “Once we’re inside of the units, we can help address any concern. These units will all be up to code and it will be done without anyone having to make a request for assistance.”
The program won’t be too expensive to the city to maintain. Spellman said if the program starts in the summer months, the thought is to perhaps use a college student as an intern. The student, he said, would need to be in a program such as architecture or project management. Spellman said there is also consideration to use a retired contractor that is interested in a three-month temporary job.
“Either of those types of individuals would have the basic knowledge to review a checklist of items we would create. From that list, they could do the inspection,” Spellman said. “If there is an issue on that checklist that requires repair, we’ll make sure it’s repaired.”
Spellman said it’s also possible that the program could take place in the winter months. The Community Development and Code Enforcement Departments are a little slower during those months, Spellman said. A decision on the time to start the program has yet to be made.
The city has budgeted $4,000 for the new program. The money will primarily be used to cover the costs for the person doing the inspections and to cover the costs of mileage. A vehicle will not be purchased for the program.
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