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WHEELING -- Wheeling city officials are reviewing a proposed ordinance that will create a new Rental Inspection Program in an effort to address dangerous or unsightly living conditions.
This week, members of the Public Safety Committee of Wheeling City Council met to discuss the proposed Rental Inspection Program. Another Public Safety Committee meeting is scheduled for 5 p.m. Monday, and that discussion will be open to public comment.
Councilman Ben Seidler, chairman of the Public Safety Committee, said the city currently has about 3,000 residential rental units with "many great landlords who offer a great service to our community by providing clean and safe housing." However, Seidler noted that a number of uninspected and unmonitored rental properties present uninhabitable conditions.
These problem properties contribute to blight, create safety hazards, decrease property values and diminish quality of life, Seidler said.
"Many cities across the country have rental inspection programs, and we have been seeing the negative effects of not having one in place -- for many years," Seidler said.
The draft ordinance for the proposed Rental Inspection Program involves registration and completion of a self-inspection checklist ensuring property is up to code and meets all outlined requirements. City officials said landlords or rental property owners can do the inspection themselves, hire an approved inspection company or have the city inspect each of their rental units once a year, at their own expense.
Copies of the inspection checklist must be provided to the city and to tenants and it will be the tenant's responsibility to immediately notify their landlord of any problem.
If violations are found, landlords must correct the issue in a certain amount of time, depending on the problem's scope. With a serious Level 1 violation, they cannot rent out the property until the issue is corrected. With Level 2 violation, a code enforcement official will determine the time frame for fixing the problem.
"The goal is not to create a financial burden or a resource burden for the landlords," Seidler added, noting that this will not be a mechanism to allow tenants to "punish their landlords" if the program is implemented. "We as a city have a responsibility to protect our citizens, and that includes our most vulnerable citizens who may not realize that they are entitled to safe housing with electricity, permanent heat, running water, toilets that flush, and doors and windows that open and close securely."
If a landlord lies on the inspection checklist, or if city officials become aware of issues or have a habitual offender, this ordinance allows the city to remove that landlord's right to self-inspect. The city then would inspect those properties twice a year until they come off of that problem property designation.
Two successful inspections by the city would open the door for these landlords to return to the self-inspection list.
"We don't want to be a problem for landlords," Seidler noted. "We have a lot of great landlords, and the last thing we want to do is discourage them from (providing housing)."
High rises would be exempt from the program since they already are subject to a number of other required inspections. The program will also exempt a building that has been built within the last five years.
If the program is adopted, all landlords will have to register their rental properties. There is expected to be a $25 registration fee per unit. Rental property owners could be cited for failure to register, officials explained.
Councilman Dave Palmer, vice chairman of the Public Safety Committee, suggested that public hearings take place before the committee and before the full council in order to gather input from anyone affected by the program.
"It's a big issue, and I applaud you for getting this put together," Palmer told Seidler this week. "I know we tried on the previous council, and it was unsuccessful at that time. But I think this is a much better document than what we had, initially from what I've seen."