Richmond committee continues debate on residential rental inspection ordinance; council to consider targeted amendments

The Land Use, Housing and Transportation Standing Committee on Tuesday continued consideration of ordinance 20 20 five-one 161, which would establish a residential rental inspection program in Richmond.

The proposal, presented by Kevin J. Bonk, director of Planning and Development Review, would create a program (shortened in the draft to RRIP) permitting proactive periodic inspections of residential rental dwelling units under the authority and limits defined in the Code of Virginia and the city’s building code. The ordinance as drafted would not automatically enroll units; council would need to adopt a subsequent ordinance to add any properties to the program.

Bonk told the committee the program is limited to building- and habitability-related violations (not sanitation or tall-grass complaints) and that state law prescribes many of the program’s limits. “For properties with 10 or more units, it allows inspection of 10% of those units. And if there is a violation found in one of those units, it allows all of the units in that particular complex to be inspected,” Bonk said.

The nut graf: Tenants and housing advocates urged adoption as a tool to compel repairs and reduce health and safety risks; property owners and…