Cities should have the ability to inspect rental properties, if they choose. Unfortunately, the state of Kansas removed the ability for cities to perform such inspections in a 2016 law that should be revisited.
Many cities have enacted some form of inspections for rental properties, a reasonable level of oversight for a business operating within the city limits. The vast majority of landlords are responsible property owners who maintain their dwellings and have nothing to fear from a reasonable inspection. There are some bad apples, however, who can do extraordinary harm to the tenants, including children, who live in their properties.
Like restaurants, which are regularly inspected, the condition of rental properties can impact public health.
Matthew Desmond won a Pulitzer-Prize for his 2016 book Evicted, an immersive study of rental housing and poverty in Milwaukee. He notes of the local renting population more than 1 in 5 lived with a broken window; a busted appliance; or mice, cockroaches, or rats for more than three days. One-third experienced clogged plumbing that lasted more than a day. And 1 in 10 spent at least a day without heat. African-American households were the most likely to have these problems as were those where children slept.
The city of Hutchinson enacted a law in 2015 that allowed city inspectors to inspect the inside of rental properties. The inspections were paid for by a $20 per unit fee charged to landlords. City inspectors say they found examples of unsafe living conditions and tenants afraid to report for fear of repercussions. Landlords claimed the inspections were unfair and an infringement of their private property rights.
The state sided with the landlords but should reconsider its stance. Since the passage of the law, Hutchinson is inspecting only the exteriors of homes unless they receive written consent from the tenant. The requirement for tenant consent puts residents in a difficult position they are unlikely to consent to an inspection for the same reason they dont report code violations in the process: fear of eviction or other retribution.
The state law is also an overreach into the autonomy of cities, which should have the right to regulate businesses operating within their jurisdiction. Our Legislature claims strong support for small government, until, it seems, they dont like what those governments do.
Just across the state line, voters have expressed support for inspections. Rental inspections in Kansas City, Mo., started in late 2018, following a petition drive and ballot measure passed by voters. Health department inspectors conduct random, unannounced visits to look for potential lead hazards, mold, pests and other conditions that could endanger the health of residents. St. Joseph, Mo., is in the final stages of passing legislation to allow rental inspections, although critics are concerned that an amendment allowing landlords to conduct inspections themselves waters down the law too much.
Kansas cities should have the right to decide for themselves whether rental inspections are appropriate.
For many communities, a close look at rental inspections would show them to be a good idea.
