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Starting in January, the city may inspect fewer rental properties, according to a proposed revision of Greensboro code approved by a city committee.

The new draft of the ordinance also would give landlords more time to repair violations, would allow inspectors to fine tenants for unsanitary conditions and calls for regular education programs for landlords and tenants.

The proposed changes, meant to make the best use of city resources, came after months of debate and revisions from landlord and tenant groups.

“It’s a compromise situation,” said Todd Rotruck, a member of the Rental Unit Certificate of Occupancy board, which unanimously approved the ordinance’s revision Thursday. “We are trying to make everyone happy.”

The revisions must be approved by the City Council. That could come in December, said Butch Simmons, the city’s inspections and engineering director.

The city’s rental inspection program was launched five years ago to clean up substandard housing. City officials argued that they needed to inspect all rentals to identify the problem properties.

By Jan. 1, 2009, all rental properties in the city must have a certificate of occupancy. Property owners can be fined $200 for renting a unit that does not have a rental unit certificate of occupancy.

In the original ordinance, the certificate would have to be renewed every five years, which would prompt another city inspection.
Under the revised draft of the ordinance, the certificate would never expire.

If the draft revisions are adopted, an apartment or rental home would be inspected if it has two confirmed violations within six months or if the rental was chosen as part of a random sample of 2 percent of properties.

The new policy will cut down on the number of rentals city inspectors plan to review inside and out. About 700 units would be inspected next year, instead of the 1,900 properties with certificates that expire in 2009.

But the new policy also would ensure the city inspectors do not merely rely on complaints for tenants to prompt inspections, a system that city staff and housing advocates say was ineffective.

Members of the Greensboro Neighborhood Congress, the Greensboro Housing Coalition and the Human Relations Commission have accepted the compromise.

“It covers a lot of the concerns we had about tenants being protected and being held accountable, as well,” said Jay Ovittore, the fair housing chairman of the Human Relations Commission

The revised ordinance now gives property owners 45 days to fix problems. The original ordinance gave them 30 days.

The draft version of the ordinance also holds tenants responsible for the conditions of a rental.

City ordinance always required homes to be kept clean and safe. The revised rental ordinance would allow the city to fine tenants $25 a day for things untidy conditions, infestations and fire hazards.

“Interior rooms like kitchens and bathrooms need to be clean and orderly,” Rotruck said.
The revised ordinance also would require the city to host annual educational workshops, to make sure landlords and tenants know their rights and responsibilities.

Contact Amanda Lehmert at 373-7075 or amanda.lehmert@news-record.com