Area city’s rental inspection program helps crack down on code violators

Changes are not expected in West Carrollton’s rental property inspection program, a plan initially criticized by housing groups that now laud it in correcting hundreds of code violations that may lead to fines.

The program started in mid-2017 to boost the city’s housing stock, consisting of a large number of rental units city officials said were responsible for most of the housing code violations.

The program - “a study in best practices,” one member of the real estate community said – has conducted more than 1,000 inspections and found 577 code violations, five of which were “life safety issues,” city records show.

RELATED: Nearly 600 code violators found in city rental inspection program

A program review by city officials last week concluded that “there will be no changes,” including the penalty structure, said West Carrollton Mayor Jeff Sanner.

“It has worked,” Sanner added. “Let’s do it another year and let’s continue on with the success.”

A city report cites a 95 percent compliance rate for registering with the city, a requirement for rental unit owners to avoid a $150 fine. Of the 1,022 inspections, eight cases were referred to court and seven others assessed an $85 re-inspection fee, according to the report.

“It’s brought the majority of multi-family, rental-type properties up to a better standard in the community,” Sanner said.

“We’ve got a few that still haven’t registered with the city. We know who they are,” he added. “So they’ll be getting letters to be told to come on board and get with the program.”

RELATED: West Carrollton landlords may face fine for missing deadline

The city may want to consider “stiffer penalties for noncompliance,” according to the report, but no increase in fines is planned, Sanner said.

“We never meant for this to be an adversarial-type situation with the owners,” he said.

The program was proposed in the summer of 2015 with an annual fee required for rental property owners and language that led to ambiguity about whether indoors inspections would be required.

After more than a year of debate and negotiation with housing industry groups, the annual fee was dropped and language issues cleared up.

RELATED: New West Carrollton rental inspection plan drops annual fee

The city conducts inspections on the exterior of all residential rental units every two years, West Carrollton records show. This includes interior common areas of multi-family buildings.

A key part of the success of West Carrollton’s program is its communication with the industry representatives, said Dan Acton, government affairs director of Ohio Real Estate Investors Association and a member of the Greater Dayton Apartment Association.

Both associations were skeptical of the program at first. But “after initially having reservations, it has proven to be a worthwhile effort to ensure the properties are well-maintained,” Acton said.

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West Carrollton’s program “a study in best practices in public and private partnerships,” he said. “It’s a pleasure to work with them.”

West Carrollton’s report touts “the number and variety of violations discovered is another measure of the program’s effectiveness.”

Most of the violations were found at single-family residences (332) while second on that list were sites with four or more units (167), according to West Carrollton records.

More than 15 types of violations are listed in the report. The majority of them included drainage and roof issues (118); peeling paint (114); and outside storage issues (80), city records show.

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