02-19-2019 Rental Inspection ProgramRental Inspection Program
Examples, Estimates, and Expectations
Brian Davis
Community Development Director
Federal Way City Council Meeting
February 19, 2019
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2004 – Residential landlords required to obtain a rental business license.
2012 – City finds 3-5% of rental homes in Tacoma are below minimum adopted standards.
Landlords now required to submit a checklist along with license application indicating the units meet city and state laws, vacant or not.
Units not meeting minimum housing standards are required to obtain a Provisional Rental License and to submit to inspection by City inspection staff or city-approved inspector.
The inspector may conduct an external or internal inspection.
Tenants can contact City Code Compliance Officers or City’s Landlord-Tenant Coordinator for help with complaints.
135 inspections* per the provisional rental licenses were conducted between 2012 – 2017.
Up to 25 city staff can process rental licenses. Though there is no dedicated person to process rentals, one staff person handles the Provisional Rental Licenses.
*Once the provisional rental license is required, the unit must be inspected for three years in a row.
Tacoma (summary):
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Bremerton (summary):
2003 – Residential landlords required to obtain a rental business license.
2012 – Residential landlords required to register rental property and complete a self-certification checklist.
If violations are found via the licensing phase, a Certificate of Inspection may also be required.
Bremerton inspection staff conduct inspections only when there is a complaint as a single code compliance officer was on staff. An additional staff member was hired in 2018 in order
for the program to be more proactive.
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Kent (summary)
2018 – City council passed an ordinance requiring periodic inspections of multi-family housing, in addition to applying for and obtaining an annual General Business License.
2019 – March, 2019 begins the inspection cycle of multi-family rental units, which will be done by pre-selected areas. 20% of the randomly-selected units must be inspected.
Landlords are required to hire a qualified rental housing inspector from an approved list, at their expense. The inspector will use the nine-page Residential Housing Inspection Program
Checklist.
Owners of units not passing their inspection may be monetarily penalized or have their business license revoked.
To receive a Certificate of Compliance, the checklist is submitted to the Dept. of Community & Economic Development after unit passes the inspection.
A new Rental Housing Inspection Program Coordinator was hired and works for the Dept. of Community & Economic Development.
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Tukwila (summary):
All rental properties are required to apply for and obtain an annual Rental Business License.
All multi-family rental units must be inspected once every four years. The city boundaries are divided into four Zones.
Landlords are required to hire a qualified rental housing inspector from an approved list, at their expense. The inspector will use the six-page Residential Housing Licensing Inspection
Checklist.
Owners of units not passing their inspection have 30 days to correct deficiencies and obtain a re-inspection.
To receive a Certificate of Compliance and the business license, unit cannot accrue more than 25 inspection points.
The Dept. of Community Development oversees the inspection of rental units.
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Outreach Example (Renton)
Taken from the City of Renton’s “Safe and Healthy Housing” Issue Paper, February 2018
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Comparison of Local Cities
*Estimates
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Inspection Checklist
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Federal Way Home Repair Program
Owners of manufactured housing/mobile homes, especially units constructed prior to 1976, are contacting the City with more frequency concerning a variety of problems, from electrical,
to heating, to leaking roofs, etc.
Additionally, owners of stick-built homes seeking assistance from the Home Repair Program are often seniors on fixed incomes with deferred maintenance and other needs.
Support for these residents, inside and outside of Federal Way, is often about multiple issues, including aging in place, preservation of affordability, and functionality for disabilities.
Housing conditions often have a direct effect on personal health, mental health, how children perform in school, mortality, etc.
A rental inspection program should be considered a tool toward a larger problem, not a solution to a single issue
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Next Steps
A motion is on the agenda to forward this discussion to the Land Use and Transportation Issue
If the motion is approved, Staff will provide a timeline for the following at the next LUTC meeting:
Research and fact gathering (total units, age of units, rental units, etc.
A stakeholders list and a schedule of public meetings
An analysis of possible fee structures and staffing requirements
A draft ordinance and adoption schedule
If similar to Renton and Tacoma, process is a minimum of 12 months
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