Rental Housing Inspection Programs: Improving Health and Safety

in our Homes

Mutual Housing Californiaand the

Sacramento Housing Alliance

California and local laws set forth standards for renters’ rights, requiring landlords to keep housing sufficiently safe and healthy for their tenants.

However, there is no consistent process for enforcing these standards across all the various jurisdictions in the state.

In many locales, it is up to the tenant to complain if they believe there are unsafe or unhealthy conditions in their home. This is called a reactive enforcement system.

Home Health and Safety

Problems with reactive enforcement:◦ Fear of retaliation/eviction◦ Lack of familiarity with or fear of public agencies◦ Language barriers

To address these issues, some jurisdictions have taken the lead by creating proactive enforcement programs, through which inspectors check on all local rental units over a specified period of time.

Proactive Inspection

During its 2008-2009 fiscal year, the City of Sacramento conducted inspections at 2,943 rental housing units.

◦ Inspectors found one or more violations in 69 percent of the units they inspected.

◦ There were a total of 9,892 individual violations; often multiple violations in a unit.

◦ What are the most common things they find? Let’s take a look.

Scope of issue: City of Sacramento

Missing smoke detectors

Faulty electrical service

Top Ten Violations in the City

Lack of GFCI protection

Lack of weather protection

Top Ten continued

Lack of door viewer at front entry

Faulty water heater installations

Top Ten continued

Improper venting systems

Faulty plumbing

Top ten continued

Hazardous wiring Inadequate heating

Top ten continued

Health◦ Asthma◦ Infection

Safety◦ Fires◦ Shocks

Community Character and Property Values

Individual/Family/Community impact

The earlier-cited numbers from the City of Sacramento were for the first year of its proactive rental housing inspection policy.

For the 2011-12 fiscal year, the City inspected 6,847 rental units.◦ Only 30 percent had health and/or safety

violations, down from 69 in 2008-09.◦ There were 9,223 violations found, less than in

2008-09 in over twice as many units inspected.

Proactive policies are working

City adopted the program thanks in part to a strong advocacy effort among groups that represent diverse low-income renters

Key policy/program points:◦ All rentals inspected once every five years◦ Mandatory registration, $28/unit annual fee◦ 30 days to correct violations◦ Re-inspection fees if non-compliant◦ Self-certification for landlords who pass, with

some audits even for those units

City RHIP overview

In the unincorporated areas of Sacrament County, there are approximately 41,000 parcels with rental units.

13,754 of these 41,000 parcels have been entered into the county’s RHIP database.

There are approximately 92,000 total rental units in the unincorporated County.

The County receives approximately 1,000 rental housing complaint calls each year and responds to all.

Approximately 12,000 rental units have been proactively inspected for the RHIP program over the last three years.

 

County of Sacramento overview

Approximately 6,600 multi-family rental unit inspections conducted.◦ 90% of inspected units had at least 1 violation◦ 2,600 were initial inspections◦ 2,500 units required re-inspections for compliance◦ 1,500 were still in violation after the first re-

inspection

Approximately 500 single family rental inspections conducted.◦ 90 percent of units had at least 1 violation◦ Upon re-inspection, 80% were in compliance

County of Sacramento - 2012

Self-certification system by owners $12 per unit annual fee Still basically a reactive system, with

burden on renters Some indication that the county may follow

the city’s example and overhaul their program

Communities must be vigilant to make sure the County adopts a proactive policy

County of Sacramento policy

Full list of best policy/program practices available on request.

To report unsafe or unhealthy living conditions, call:◦ City of Sacramento: 311◦ County of Sacramento: 916-876-9020

Call or write your elected officials

To get involved with promoting best policy/program practice, contact Rachel Iskow of Mutual Housing California at rachel@mutualhousing.com

Next Steps: What Can You Do?