SIKESTON — For the first time in 24 years, there could be changes made to Sikeston’s rental housing inspection program.
At Monday’s Sikeston City Council meeting, Council will vote on proposed changes to the rental housing inspection program. The changes will be the first since the current program went into effect in 1996.
The process began a year ago, when Sikeston city planner/code enforcement manager Lorenzo Ware researched the original ordinance and found it wasn’t feasible.
“We had unrealistic goals on the books,” Ware said.
Under the 1996 ordinance, every two years the city was to inspect all 3.400 rental properties in the city.
“We did that for three months,” Ware said. “We had 723 inspections in three months. It was a lofty goal when they created it back in 1996.”
Seeing that the current plan wasn’t working, Ware proposed a new plan that basically kept the old ordinance and changed the inspections from two years to every five years.
“Now I can spread 3,400 properties out every five years and we can probably manage that,” Ware said.
“All of sudden (rental property owners) started paying attention to what I wrote and said I was putting a bunch of crazy stuff in there and all I did was regurgitate the old ordinance.”
Ware used the opportunity to work with the rental property owners and come up with a new ordinance that benefits most everyone.
“Through months of listening sessions, city council study sessions and a massive amount input and meetings from a couple of the landlord associations as well as speaking with some tenants, we came up with the latest version here,” Ware said.
Under the proposed ordinance changes that Council will vote on Monday, mandatory inspections have been eliminated.
“We won’t inconvenience them unless we are requested to by a landlord, a tenant or by a warrant I issue,” Ware said. “(Rental property owners) were really fearful because we were coming in and mandatorily inspecting their property. That is something that is disconcerting to a lot of people.”
Ware added that the inspections will only be done by certified, trained people from code enforcement.
Those who will be doing the inspections all have received training and are Housing Quality Standard Specialists.
“The city, and I thank the council for this, has made sure I’ve had the funds to make sure we are certified and trained,” Ware said. “We go to the housing inspection school to learn how to inspect by their standards, not by code enforcement standards. We take that very seriously.”
Ware said that the inspections are probably some of the least restrictive measures of inspection in the country right now.
“That’s been in place since 1996 and that has never changed. We didn’t bring a change about; we just started doing our jobs,” Ware said.
Those found with violations will have 30 days to make corrections unless it poses serious threats to life, health and safety. Those violations will require immediate correction.
Another major change is that tenancy applications will no longer be required.
“There is no reason for us to know who moves in and out of every property that you own,” Ware said. “And we had to inspect every time someone moved in and out of your property. So imagine 3,400 multiplied by however many times you switch tenants in a year.”
The City will send out tenant rights letters to all of the rental properties. With this, not only do the landlords know their parameters but tenants will also have a basic idea of their parameters as far as calling the City in for inspections and how the process works.
“A couple of rental associations and rental owners have met with us since the meeting and have been very pleased with the outcome,” Ware said. “I think overall the general public is very pleased with the ordinance.”
City Council will vote on the ordinance at Monday’s City Council meeting at 5 p.m. at City Hall.