Welcome back readers. Today we are yet again discussing the rental inspection program that has been the topic of a lot of conversations. Prior, most of the information was gathered from videos of meetings, or vague details posted to the city website. However, city council met with area landlords on August 25, and had a presentation that contained a bit more information as to what they are looking for. This is good and bad for them, because if you've been reading our posts long enough, you know we like to pick things apart and investigate them. Especially when we've heard the landlords state "all of these things are already covered", or "why not look at all properties?". We'll make our way back to those two thoughts, for now, lets look at some safety violations the city has come across.
These are all things they've only found in rental units, right? Wrong, take a listen to the video below.
"throughout the city, it's not strictly limited to rental properties because we just don't have that information". You mean, your code violations that the fire department and code officials found are not only found in rental units, they are found in other dwellings throughout the city?
Now, what items specifically are they proposing to look at during their inspections? Conveniently, that was posted on the city website as well;
Also conveniently, the Meadville Property Maintenance Code, or MPMC, is also readily available on the city website;
What does it have to say about all of this?
The city has their own code, but the bulk of their code was established when they adopted the International Property Maintenance Code, or IPMC. The 2009 edition specifically, and yes, year over year the code items do change. They also chose to add and delete certain items as they saw fit. The have done additions and revisions recently too, but we're not going to get back into that, the blog titled "Oblivious or Duplicitous? You be the judge." dives further into the changes that council has made most recently.
Now, let's look at each of the proposed items and compare it to sections found in the IPMC, 2009 edition, and/or the MPMC. Reminding you that since the city already adopted these items, they are fully enforceable, which we will discuss later.
Proposed item;
IPMC item;
Proposed item;
Carbon Monoxide Alarm Standards act of 2013/Senate Bill 607 cover this item;
Link to the view the letter above in its entirety;
extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.proassoc.org/pdf/hotlinks/Carbon%20Monoxide%20Alarm%20Requirements.pdf
Carbon Monoxide Alarm Act;
Senate Bill 607;
https://www.legis.state.pa.us/CFDOCS/Legis/PN/Public/btCheck.cfm?txtType=HTM&sessYr=2013&sessInd=0&billBody=S&billTyp=B&billNbr=0607&pn=0577
The next couple are covered in the same area.
Proposed items;
IPMC items;
Proposed item;
IPMC item;
Proposed item;
IPMC item;
Proposed item;
IPMC item;
The next couple are found in the same sections.
Proposed items;
IPMC items;
Proposed item;
IPMC item;
Proposed item;
IPMC item;
Proposed item;
IPMC item;
To further prove the fact that the city does currently enforce these codes, we will utilize the Mayor and her property as an example. Specifically, her non-compliance with the code and the resulting citation;
You can see the relation to section 304.6 above, the other sections are as follows;
Continuing on now.
Proposed item;
IPMC item;
Proposed item;
IPMC item;
Proposed item;
IPMC item;
Proposed item;
IPMC item;
Proposed item;
IPMC item;
Proposed item;
IPMC item;
The city inserted the dates below;
The following items are in relation to some of the other items that Joe Tompkins and the Vote for Meadville/Crawford County United groupies have stated are occurring in Meadville. These are items that are covered in the IPMC;
City Council made their own change to the address numbers as follows;
Now, since we've sufficiently established that every last thing that this rental inspection program wants to look at, is actually covered in the IPMC and or a state law, lets see if it's enforceable, shall we? (Even though our own Mayor knows it is definitely enforceable)
Down to the point of obtaining search warrants if necessary to gain access to the property in question. Now, what if someone fails to comply with our code?
As if this wasn't enough, there is also the Implied Warranty of Habitability, which covers a lot of the same items. To view this information more in depth, we invite you to read the blog post titled "Renters have rights!".
If you have a code violation within your apartment, or you come across a home in which you believe has a code violation (or 2), whom do you call to report? Great question!
Now, to touch on alleged retaliation from landlords...
(The following information is derived from "know your rights as a renter")
Last thing we would like to throw out there, is the following;
Not everyone will want someone they don't know coming into their apartment to "inspect" it, and that's the right of the tenant to deny that. After-all, Joe Tompkins, one of the individuals behind the development of this program, definitely doesn't want anyone coming into his apartment, even if it is for safety sake.
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