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Council hears program update on rental inspections as residents protest $100 fee
Summary
Council received a progress update on the borough's rental-registration and inspection program; inspectors are scheduling hundreds of units and using a broad checklist. During public comment, residents challenged a proposed $100-per-unit fee and debated fairness and privacy implications; council clarified the fee is charged to landlords, not the tenant.
Courtney, the borough's rental-inspection staff member, told council the program has scheduled roughly 40 to 50 inspections so far and that she has begun sending introductory emails to about 200 property owners. She described the inspection checklist items ("labeled electrical panels, blanks in the electrical panels, storage in the water heater if it's gas appliance, screens and holes in the screens, loose railings, smoke detectors and carbon monoxides, fire extinguishers") and said inspectors allow five business days for photo-based corrections before a reinspection fee and a scheduled reinspection within 30 days.
Courtney said she had about 275 unit entries on her spreadsheet from submitted rental registrations and is booking inspections two to three weeks out. She encouraged owners with multiple properties to schedule one representative inspection to understand recurring issues and to apply corrections across units.
In public comment, resident Lisa Page said a $100-per-unit inspection fee is "ludicrous" if renters must take time off work to accommodate inspections and urged either exemptions or a lower charge. Lois Taylor and other speakers defended responsible landlords and called the term "slumlord" insulting; several speakers argued many owner-occupied homes would also fail modern code and urged a fair, nonpunitive approach.
Council clarified at the meeting that the $100 fee is charged to landlords under the proposed program; the council noted it is up to each landlord whether to pass that cost along to tenants. Council members acknowledged public concerns about privacy, cost passthroughs and duplication of inspections for units already subject to HUD or other oversight and said staff will continue outreach and provide the inspection checklist at Borough Hall for public review.
Next steps: staff will continue to schedule inspections, publish the checklist, and follow up on clarification requests and exemption questions (for HUD-covered properties or recently inspected units). Council asked staff to document exemptions or appeals procedures where applicable.
