Just in, courtesy of WMFHA:
The Built Environment Committee of the Seattle City Council has adopted a proposal that would authorize a mandatory licensing and inspection program throughout the city. The legislation now goes to the full council and will most likely appear on the council’s agenda for June 1, 2010. The committee acted today because of the impending deadline on June 10, 2010. On that date, a new state law takes effect that puts some restrictions on any rental inspection program a city may choose to implement. If Seattle adopts a rental inspection program before June 10, the program can be amended later and will not be subject to the new state law.
The proposal approved today contains several significant features:
1. Beginning April 1, 2012 all rental housing owners or operators will have to be licensed and to get that license the rental property must be inspected.
2. Some rental properties are exempt including owner-occupied rental units; rental units owned or operated by a government unit of agency; rental units that receive federal funding and that are inspected as part of the funding program.
3. Inspectors will be required to certify that the building and units meet certain standards set for in the Seattle Housing Code and there are no conditions that impair or endanger the health or safety of the tenant.
4. Inspection by sampling will be allowed for larger properties. If the property has more than 20 units, no more than 20% of the units need inspection up to a maximum of 50 units in each building.
Two separate resolutions were also put before and discussed at the meeting. The first resolution asks the Department of Building and Development (DPD) to prepare a report to the council by July 1, 2011 evaluating the effectiveness of the new civil search warrant tool that has been given to the city.
The second resolution is significant because it requests a report from DPD by July 1, 2011 with recommendations “developed after working with stakeholders, for implementing the rental housing inspection program.” The report outlines 10 areas that the report should analyze including – appropriate inspection standards; sampling; whether inspections should be targeted to certain areas or citywide; how often properties should be inspected; how should the program be commenced.
More information to follow!