American-Statesman Staff
The Austin City Council approved one of two proposals Thursday night to require apartment complexes and other rental properties to register with the city and be inspected regularly.
Council members said the goal of the proposals is to better track and impose penalties on rental properties with unsafe or unsanitary conditions — and prevent incidents such as the 2012 walkway collapse at Wood Ridge Apartments in Southeast Austin, which displaced more than 160 residents.
The plan crafted by Council Member Bill Spelman will require multi-family and single-family rental properties that are cited for several health-and-safety code violations in one year to register with the city and be inspected periodically.
That plan passed unanimously.
Council Member Kathie Tovo had also proposed an 18-month pilot program to require registration and inspections of all multi-family rental properties and some single-family rental properties in three areas thought to have the most “problem” properties: part of North Austin that includes the troubled Rundberg neighborhood; areas along and near East Riverside Drive and East Oltorf Street; and neighborhoods near the University of Texas.
A few council members were concerned that Tovo’s plan would be too far-reaching, expensive and ineffective. When it became clear from the council’s discussion that the idea didn’t have enough support, Tovo offered to postpone it and suggest a revised plan at a later meeting.
The Austin Apartment Association has backed only Spelman’s plan, saying Tovo’s approach would unfairly penalize well-run properties and create unnecessary costs and hassles for property owners, renters and the city.
Currently, the city requires only short-term rentals, a small segment of rental properties, to register. Inspections and enforcement of safety codes, such as an apartment complex’s structural stability, only are done after residents lodge complaints with the city.
Spelman has said the city of Austin should focus its time and money targeting properties with a history of problems. But Tovo has said registering and inspecting every rental property in specific areas will help the city spot problems early, before properties fall into disrepair.
Property owners will not be charged fees for registration or inspection under Spelman’s plan. Code Compliance does not plan to hire extra staffers to carry out the plan, so the program will not increase the city’s costs, Code Compliance Director Carl Smart said.
Housing
Local
A potential/enacted policy that has been passed and being considered to help a problem or issue that individuals/families face
This is an important issue because it deals with individuals facing safety and health hazards that are out of control within their living quarters. These plans can help to prevent and fix these issues.
I believe that these rental
registration plans are heading in the right direction but definitely need some
work. This is a great thing that Austin is working towards. My brother ran into
some issues first hand moving into a new apartment off of Riverside Drive. The
place was left a wreck and utterly disgusting when it came to the cleanliness
of the rooms. Me and my family spent a full day deep cleaning this place
because it was left with trash everywhere, food in the fridge that had mold,
and a disgusting red type stickiness all over, in and around the refrigerator
that was almost impossible to get out. This happened due to the complex not
doing their job when it comes to the rules and regulations and what they are supposed
to be doing when people move in and move out. I fee l that this plan will help
implement this and will make whoever owns the complex to conform to the laws
requiring to fix these things and replace appliances, etc. The only downfall I
feel that will come out of this is the fact that the cost to do these things is
going to come out of a tenants rent. Property owners are not willing to take responsibility
for these costs of maintenance and cleaning themselves. These costs are going
to be passed down to the renter, which most students or tenants cannot afford. I
know that personally, I would not want to see my rent increase because
management is finally being forced to do what is a part of their job already!
Thoughtful Response:
ReplyDeleteAt a time when you see the newest and best apartment complexes beginning to dot the hills of San Marcos and scatter across the plains of Kyle, Buda, and South Austin, you begin to forget that there are actually lots of old, dilapidated, apartment buildings that large portions of the population live in (put up with). I like that the proposal will require complexes who already have an established history of unsafe or unsanitary conditions to be registered with an oversight authority upon approval of this proposal; in other words, its nice that there has already been a list of properties under fire who should be taking care of the minimum basic needs of their complex and uphold their end of the leasing agreement for their tenants. It is a good thing that the proposal does not require more complaints to come in before effective action can begin to take place and improve the lives of families and individuals who are living in less than adequate environments. In addition to the perk of timely results/benefit of this proposal, I am happy that this program does not increase the city's costs and property owners will not be charged any fees for registration or inspection so that should eliminate any reasons to vote against this proposition! It sounds like the City of Austin has some real tricks up their sleeve, I am all for the aggressive action to make sure landlords and owners of multi-family housing are adhering to general safety and inspection codes. If we did not have legislation passed to enforce just treatment, every man would be for himself, the world would surely be a much more dangerous place.