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HomeMy WebLinkAboutcc - Tanner (RHIP) 01-27-17 From: Belin Tanner [ Sent: Thursday, January 26, 2017 8:47 PM To: E-mail Council Website <emailcouncil@slocity.org> Subject: Feb. 16th special meeting and rental inspection program Dear, SLO City council, I am writing to voice my concern for the "Rental Inspection Program." JAN 2 7 2017 2 This program is very invasive for renters and is discriminatory since not ALL rental units are inspected equally. I am confused why some rentals (single family homes, duplexes, and complexes that have certain designations of their property tax) are being held to a high standard than all other rentals and personally owned homes. I do understand that the reasoning stated for larger complexes not being included was because the fire department does a yearly inspection, however those inspections come no where near the same scrutiny. They do not even enter the units. I have both inspected and non -inspected units. When the fire department does the inspection they simply do a quick drive by and verify there are fire extinguishers on site, fire lanes are marked, landscaping/trees are not touching the building. They ask the property owner to verify smoke detectors are installed. That is it! Very simple and non-invasive. I have participated in several units being inspected this summer. The inspector spent 45 minutes inspecting, taking photos and making recommendations they believed would make the unit safer even though the unit passed. The inspector was very polite and easy going, but the process was unnecessary, time consuming and intrusive. If you attended any of the meeting leading up to the program starting you would have heard the people leading the meeting admit their personal homes would not pass ... Why? Would your home pass? Would my personal home pass? I do understand the desire to have safe housing. As a landlord I want safe housing. Not one of our units has ever had a complaint or violation yet we are being penalized due to a few bad units. Why do you automatically assume I am going to maintain a duplex differently than a 4 plex. Why don't tenants have the right to say you are not allowed to invade their personal space. I hope you are still reading ... Here is what I have found, some of my personal believes and what I have personally seen. 1). A single family, 4 bedroom home with a garage being used as an illegal bedroom off of Highland received notice they were going to be inspected. The kids removed the items in the garage that would have indicated it was being used as a bedroom. They made sure there was only bedding for 5 people. The inspection occurred. The owners were required to make a few repairs... breaker box needed every breaker labeled, an exterior vent was torn and needed to be replaced, and electrical plug had been switched out to a 3 prong but was not grounded. The owner made the repairs within a day or two. The unit was signed off for 3 years. The kids moved back into the garage and there are currently 7 kids living there again. Please tell me how the inspection really made this home safer??? 2). There are some units in SLO that might have windows without screens, maybe a burner on a stove is not functioning properly, or there is a cracked tile in the bathroom or kitchen. We are always viewing property that is for sale and see units in a variety of condition. We have found that some tenants have extremely cheap rent compared to the current market value of the unit they are renting/. They do not report the burner that is not working, or the window screen that is missing or torn because they are willing to make due and keep their cheap rent. They do not want attention drawn to themselves or their unit. We recently purchased a unit where one of four burners was not working. I asked why they did not tell their past landlord and they stated "three work ... we can feed our family, keep a roof over their head, provide warm showers and clean beds. They liked that they were only paying $1250 for a unit that currently rents for almost double the amount. Having one burner that did not work was not negatively effecting them, yet that would cause a unit 1 to not pass the inspection. You might be requiring small improvements but you are also running people out of their rentals by causing rents to increase. I cant image that makes you feel good about yourself. I am not saying I agree or disagree, but as a parent I can relate to the small inconvenience they might have experienced in exchange for a safe place to raise their family. I would have done the same to stay under the radar and keep my rent low. While it is not allowed to charge the tenants any of our costs to register our units each year and to have them inspected, the cost is being passed along in higher rents. I would guess that most landlords have increased all of their rents and most of these units are in great shape and do not need to be inspected. You are directly related to higher rents in an area already to expensive. I hope you will consider repealing this ordinance and return to the complaint based inspections and maybe provide education sessions for students/tenants on what they should expect from their landlord in regards to safety. The majority of the properties owned and rented in SLO are personal investments and our retirement plans. We want to keep our property in good repair to be guaranteed a good long term return. Thank you and have a great day. Belin Tanner Kindness, like a boomerang, always returns.