Property inspection program to resume Feb. 1, likely with changes to process

By Feb. 1, the City of Newton will have to resume its commercial property and rental housing inspection program. The city council in mid-December agreed to temporarily suspend inspections in order to vet complaints from landlords and business owners who claimed the program was unreasonable.

In an effort to find a solution, the city council created an ad hoc committee to meet with landlords and address their concerns. Updates were provided by council members Randy Ervin, Evelyn George and Craig Trotter — who serve on the committee — during the Jan. 16 city council meeting.

The ad hoc committee met with landlords. Ervin said it was “a very informative meeting” and “very productive,” despite him wanting more individuals to show up. One of the big issues was following code and what exactly did landlords need to follow to be considered compliant by the city’s contracted inspector.

“We think there needs to be a better description of or a checklist of items to check,” Ervin said. “That could be anywhere from one page to 10 pages … I think that needs to be decided upon and get in the hands of the people who own the real estate. Also it needs to be a conclusive review of the property.”

Ervin explained the inspector does not need to fail a house on the first inspection for five or six items and then fail the property again on the second inspection because of five or six new items. These audits or inspections, he said, need to be conclusive for rental property owners.

Inspections and follow-ups also need to be in writing, Ervin added. Some of the landlords complained the infractions were not specific. From what Ervin understands, there is software already purchased by the city that could be used moving forward to make it a more consistent process.

“With both pictures and explanations, so that a person that owns a house or a rental property will have something in front of them that says, ‘OK, these are the reasons why you did not pass and this is why,’” Ervin said. “Another thing we need to do is be cognizant of (our) building and trades committee.”

Committees like this are there for a reason, Ervin added. For situations like this, he said it is important to have building and trades involved. The city still needs to follow the state law. It is mandatory in Iowa that cities require inspections. Ervin thinks the city is moving forward after the initial meeting with property owners.

Another discussion point was whether to handle inspections in-house or stay with the city’s current contractor or put it back out for bid. Landlords recommended it be handled in-house. Ervin said no matter the choice the city needs consistency. Trotter said before deciding who does what, the process needs to be in place.

George added, “With this and the list of items they identified as concerns, I think we can do them in parallel. I think we can resume the inspections and work on the process and determine how we do them, whether it is inside or outside, as we gather more specific information from inspections.”

Newton Mayor Mike Hansen asked how the committee would like to proceed. Ervin recommended the group meet with the building and trades committee as soon as possible to get some input from them and then bring it back to council for a decision on the process of inspections.

Then council can have another discussion about whether to keep the inspections in-house or to continue to use a contractor. Ervin said he would reach out to building and trades to get the first discussion rolling. In regards to the current suspension, council gave city staff direction to resume inspections.

“The other issue we’ve talked about a little bit that also needs to be talked about is there is approximately 6 to 7 percent of people who just have refused to allow us to do inspections,” Ervin said. “To quote one of the people at the meeting: ‘The majority of our people renting properties in town are following the rules.’”

Council members should applaud those people, Ervin said, but at the same time those people refusing to comply need to be held accountable.

“Most definitely,” George said.