Receive a staff update and hold a discussion regarding the Proactive Rental Inspection Ordinance and provide direction.
Item 02: Proactive Rental Inspection
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JHughson
CoSM Members
Slide 3 Number of Texas State University students living off campus in the community
– 19,000 + estimated (apartment & single family, SMTX only
Do we know how many STRUCTURES this is? Divide by 2 or 3?
Slide 6 states "Residents will be able to use CDBG funds for rentals as long as the tenant meets income qualifications and landlord agrees to keep affordable rate. "
How to enforce affordable rate is continued?
When did we make the change to spend CDBG funds for this purpose? When this was brought to our attention in the past, I suggested CDBG funds for the materials and no one on staff said “yes, let’s do that.”
How many have registered rental properties - houses, not apartments.
Estimate of percent of those who should?
What about SHORT Term Rentals?
Will we require an inspection when someone registers a new structure?
How do we even begin determining which to inspect first?
Who will do all these inspections? Contract it out?
What level of fee is being considered?
Once a determination is made that repairs or needed, what is the process then?
Not much here about how the actual repairs will be funded and accomplished.
This may not be a good time to start charging new fees with the Eviction Delay still in place?
– 19,000 + estimated (apartment & single family, SMTX only
Do we know how many STRUCTURES this is? Divide by 2 or 3?
Slide 6 states "Residents will be able to use CDBG funds for rentals as long as the tenant meets income qualifications and landlord agrees to keep affordable rate. "
How to enforce affordable rate is continued?
When did we make the change to spend CDBG funds for this purpose? When this was brought to our attention in the past, I suggested CDBG funds for the materials and no one on staff said “yes, let’s do that.”
How many have registered rental properties - houses, not apartments.
Estimate of percent of those who should?
What about SHORT Term Rentals?
Will we require an inspection when someone registers a new structure?
How do we even begin determining which to inspect first?
Who will do all these inspections? Contract it out?
What level of fee is being considered?
Once a determination is made that repairs or needed, what is the process then?
Not much here about how the actual repairs will be funded and accomplished.
This may not be a good time to start charging new fees with the Eviction Delay still in place?
Response provided by Greg Carr, Director of Neighborhood Enhancement:
Slide 3 Number of Texas State University students living off campus in the community
– 19,000 + estimated (apartment & single family, SMTX only
Do we know how many STRUCTURES this is? Divide by 2 or 3? There is no tracking system with the University on where the students live. A lot of them still use their parents home address as their address. It is believed that a majority of them live on campus (Freshmen) or in apartments. We have worked with the university and haven’t found a way to estimate.
Slide 6 states "Residents will be able to use CDBG funds for rentals as long as the tenant meets income qualifications and landlord agrees to keep affordable rate. "
How to enforce affordable rate is continued?
When did we make the change to spend CDBG funds for this purpose? When this was brought to our attention in the past, I suggested CDBG funds for the materials and no one on staff said “yes, let’s do that.”
Current CDBG programs are only available to owner occupied properties. A rental rehab program will be proposed for CDBG funds for the 2022-2023 year, to be decided by City Council in early August. The program could either be configured to require the landlord to meet income restrictions (less than 80% of area median income) or to require that the landlord provide the housing at the federally specified affordable housing rate to tenants that meet the income restrictions. Either way, the program will require annual income verification.
How many have registered rental properties - houses, not apartments.
Estimate of percent of those who should? Single family garbage accounts (which include 4 plex and below) are around 11,700. Based on census information, that would put rental housing units at 8,225 of which 660 have registered.
What about SHORT Term Rentals? There are approximately 60 short term rentals that have or have been registered. We are updating our software program to track and manage those better in conjunction with the updated ordinance. The new software (which will allow HOT payments online, better tracking, and ease of enrollment) will be in place by June. The ordinance is waiting for legal review and will be brought back in the near future.
Will we require an inspection when someone registers a new structure? There are three permit classifications based on the age of the structure. Class A – 1 to 10 years old, Class B – 10 to 20 years old, Class C – Over 20 years. We have also conducted a residential condition survey which gives us a number rating for outside items only. So the answer is: Not all structures would require an initial inspection. Class C yes, Class B based on if they are in an area identified as having rating that shows possible concerns.
How do we even begin determining which to inspect first? Oldest and in areas where it shows lack of outside maintenance has been conducted will have priority.
Who will do all these inspections? Contract it out? The base level inspections will require the addition of an inspector. That is yet to be determined based on the number of units in the categories that will require an inspection. We will allow an outside inspector from a list to conduct inspections. We anticipate that it will be cheaper for a unit to have a city inspector do the inspection (more in fee section). We have also included a self-certification program where the landlord can perform their own inspections and staff will spot check for compliance. Self-certification will also be based on age and condition of the property.
What level of fee is being considered? No fee has been set yet. We last came to Council in December of 2020 and said that it would be a 12 to 18 month timeline to the next phase. We are at that phase. If directed to continue moving forward a lot of work is needed to get best estimates of the number of units that will fall into which categories so we can determine what the cost of the program will be. That will determine the fee. It is our goal to keep it to under $50. A lot more work is needed to be done to provide a fee structure.
Once a determination is made that repairs or needed, what is the process then? Our normal process. It’s based on the type of repair needed. Immediate health and safety issues need to be remedied quickly. Other items are based upon a reasonable time frame based on availability of materials and people to do the work. We also determine the financial capabilities of the owner.
Not much here about how the actual repairs will be funded and accomplished. It is up to the property owner to maintain their properties to a safe standard. We have looked at options for owners that cannot afford work to be done (Possible CDBG funding or Mission Able). One reason stated to have this program is to identify issues early on when they are not as costly.
This may not be a good time to start charging new fees with the Eviction Delay still in place? There is a lot of work to be done before a final ordinance comes back to Council. It will be 12 months before we are even ready to bring back. We have a lot of public input to receive which will make adjustments to the draft ordinance. We need to do a lot of work to determine the numbers in each category and how many inspections that is going to take so that we can come back with a fee structure that pays for itself.
We want to make sure that we have an ordinance that addresses our issues, but has the least amount of impact on good property owners. There is a lot more work to be done which will require a significant amount of investment in staff time. We are checking in with Council to make sure we are on the right path before investing the resources to complete. We also want to create an education program for the owner who isn’t in it as a full time gig and may need assistance that will make the rental business successful for them.
Slide 3 Number of Texas State University students living off campus in the community
– 19,000 + estimated (apartment & single family, SMTX only
Do we know how many STRUCTURES this is? Divide by 2 or 3? There is no tracking system with the University on where the students live. A lot of them still use their parents home address as their address. It is believed that a majority of them live on campus (Freshmen) or in apartments. We have worked with the university and haven’t found a way to estimate.
Slide 6 states "Residents will be able to use CDBG funds for rentals as long as the tenant meets income qualifications and landlord agrees to keep affordable rate. "
How to enforce affordable rate is continued?
When did we make the change to spend CDBG funds for this purpose? When this was brought to our attention in the past, I suggested CDBG funds for the materials and no one on staff said “yes, let’s do that.”
Current CDBG programs are only available to owner occupied properties. A rental rehab program will be proposed for CDBG funds for the 2022-2023 year, to be decided by City Council in early August. The program could either be configured to require the landlord to meet income restrictions (less than 80% of area median income) or to require that the landlord provide the housing at the federally specified affordable housing rate to tenants that meet the income restrictions. Either way, the program will require annual income verification.
How many have registered rental properties - houses, not apartments.
Estimate of percent of those who should? Single family garbage accounts (which include 4 plex and below) are around 11,700. Based on census information, that would put rental housing units at 8,225 of which 660 have registered.
What about SHORT Term Rentals? There are approximately 60 short term rentals that have or have been registered. We are updating our software program to track and manage those better in conjunction with the updated ordinance. The new software (which will allow HOT payments online, better tracking, and ease of enrollment) will be in place by June. The ordinance is waiting for legal review and will be brought back in the near future.
Will we require an inspection when someone registers a new structure? There are three permit classifications based on the age of the structure. Class A – 1 to 10 years old, Class B – 10 to 20 years old, Class C – Over 20 years. We have also conducted a residential condition survey which gives us a number rating for outside items only. So the answer is: Not all structures would require an initial inspection. Class C yes, Class B based on if they are in an area identified as having rating that shows possible concerns.
How do we even begin determining which to inspect first? Oldest and in areas where it shows lack of outside maintenance has been conducted will have priority.
Who will do all these inspections? Contract it out? The base level inspections will require the addition of an inspector. That is yet to be determined based on the number of units in the categories that will require an inspection. We will allow an outside inspector from a list to conduct inspections. We anticipate that it will be cheaper for a unit to have a city inspector do the inspection (more in fee section). We have also included a self-certification program where the landlord can perform their own inspections and staff will spot check for compliance. Self-certification will also be based on age and condition of the property.
What level of fee is being considered? No fee has been set yet. We last came to Council in December of 2020 and said that it would be a 12 to 18 month timeline to the next phase. We are at that phase. If directed to continue moving forward a lot of work is needed to get best estimates of the number of units that will fall into which categories so we can determine what the cost of the program will be. That will determine the fee. It is our goal to keep it to under $50. A lot more work is needed to be done to provide a fee structure.
Once a determination is made that repairs or needed, what is the process then? Our normal process. It’s based on the type of repair needed. Immediate health and safety issues need to be remedied quickly. Other items are based upon a reasonable time frame based on availability of materials and people to do the work. We also determine the financial capabilities of the owner.
Not much here about how the actual repairs will be funded and accomplished. It is up to the property owner to maintain their properties to a safe standard. We have looked at options for owners that cannot afford work to be done (Possible CDBG funding or Mission Able). One reason stated to have this program is to identify issues early on when they are not as costly.
This may not be a good time to start charging new fees with the Eviction Delay still in place? There is a lot of work to be done before a final ordinance comes back to Council. It will be 12 months before we are even ready to bring back. We have a lot of public input to receive which will make adjustments to the draft ordinance. We need to do a lot of work to determine the numbers in each category and how many inspections that is going to take so that we can come back with a fee structure that pays for itself.
We want to make sure that we have an ordinance that addresses our issues, but has the least amount of impact on good property owners. There is a lot more work to be done which will require a significant amount of investment in staff time. We are checking in with Council to make sure we are on the right path before investing the resources to complete. We also want to create an education program for the owner who isn’t in it as a full time gig and may need assistance that will make the rental business successful for them.
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