City tightens apartment inspections

By Matt Sutkoski
Free Press Staff Writer
Thursday, April 10, 2003

WINOOSKI -- City Councilors adopted a tight new apartment-inspection ordinance with little fanfare Wednesday evening.

The ordinance ensures that every apartment in the city is inspected at least once every four years. When the city building inspector or fire marshal find problems, follow-up inspections would occur at the discretion of the city until the violation is corrected.

Winooski already inspects apartments, but the inspections are sporadic and leave many city apartments with no oversight. That raises the possibility that some residents are living in unsafe buildings.

Under the ordinance, property owners who rent apartments must register with the city and pay a $50 annual fee for every building that contains a rental unit.

Once every four years, the city will inspect each apartment, making sure the rooms have such items as adequate fire alarms, emergency exits, pest control and enough space for the tenants. The fee for the inspections is $100 per unit.

The roughly one dozen landlords who attended the Wednesday hearing that preceded the ordinance adoption mostly focused on the fees.

"I guess I'm opposed to it, but I understand it," said Ruth Bachinski, who owns a Mansion Street duplex.

She said the ordinance was adopted because a few bad landlords were doing a poor job maintaining their properties. The solution is to inspect all apartments, meaning good landlords must now pay annual fees to keep the bad landlords in line, she said.

City Manager Gerry Myers said the registration is important because contact information would be on file and the city would be able to find an owner or property manager quickly if problems arise. The city sometimes spends hours or even days trying to track down landlords who live out of state, he said.

A few absentee landlords have also been guilty of neglecting apartments, and the ordinance would help solve that problem, Myers said.

The ordinance also protects landlords, Myers added, because property owners can refer to city records if tenants break or dismantle safety devices like fire alarms.

Landlord Adam Norton said after the meeting he supports the ordinance. "Now I know for a fact they're going to inspect everybody and they'll be fair to everybody," he said.
Contact Matt Sutkoski at 660-1846 or msutkosk@bfp.burlingtonfreepress.com