Butler City Council is considering a plan that would establish a Rental Inspection Ordinance and Program within the city.
Councilman Don Shearer shared the results of his 18 months of conversations and research into the pros and cons of this type of program with his fellow council members at Thursday night’s meeting.
“Listen to the idea first, if you think this is punitive to you as a landlord then help me adjust and get it to a point where you’re okay with this,” Shearer said.
The goal of the program would be to catch properties before they are so far gone that they need to be condemned. The city would incur costs administering the program but those would be paid for using the fees from the inspections.
Shearer made sure to note that the program would only trigger a required inspection when a new tenant moves into a property or if the property has been formally identified as a nuisance. A tenant or landlord could also request an inspection.
“The change of tenant catches the one where landlords that are intentionally bringing people in, taking their security deposit and their first and last month rents, and then three months later kicking residents out and keeping the money,” Shearer said. “That’s where the inspection being every so often starts getting a little punitive on people that are turning slum housing into a cottage industry.”
The language of the proposal Shearer is advocating will be posted to the Butler City website with public feedback encouraged and welcome. A vote on the ordinance is anticipated to occur in about six weeks or the second meeting of October.
