[Durham INC] Opposition to a bill to limit how housing inspections can be done

[Pat Carstensen]

I am resending to correct a typo. Moral of story -- not to try to do something like this past the bedtime (-:
 


From: pats1717 at hotmail.com
To: inc-list at durhaminc.org
Date: Wed, 25 May 2011 23:04:45 -0400
Subject: [Durham INC] Opposition to a bill to limit how housing inspections can be done




At the delegate meeting last night, we heard about another bad bill in the NC General Assembly.  This is my version of an INC resolution against it.  I'm not sure I've read correctly what the bill will do, so that may need to be updated.  Regards, pat


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WHEREAS, rental units in the City of Durham should be maintained in a safe and habitable condition and comply with city codes and standards applicable to rental housing in Durham; and
 
WHEREAS, establishing a cycle of inspections of rental housing units in Greensboro and Asheville resulted in a significant decrease in the number of complaints and substandard units (while requiring less staff); and
 
WHEREAS, Durham’s Neighborhood Improvement Services has begun a promising Periodic Rental Inspection Program; and
 
WHEREAS, Senate Bill 554, which is currently in the General Assembly, would significantly limit the ability of Inspections to do their job by, for example, requiring equal treatment of rental and owner-occupied units, forbidding licensing of rental properties, allowing routine inspections only if there is “reasonable cause” to think there may be issues, and even banning a requirement for landlord training; and
 
WHEREAS, this is part of a worrisome tendency in the General Assembly to take away local rights,
 
THEREFORE, the InterNeighborhood Council of Durham (INC) resolves that SB 554 should be opposed, and to carry out this opposition, appropriate representatives of INC should (1) ask members of the Durham Delegation to oppose this bill, (2) ask Durham City Council to pass a resolution opposing this bill, and (3) ask other neighborhood organizations in the state-wide network to add their voices to the opposition to the bill.
 		 	   		  
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