Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Rental Inspection topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Council debates rental inspection ordinance, aims to advertise bill next week
Summary
Council reviewed a draft ordinance to require rental registration and inspections for long-term rentals, discussed a proposed fee (staff recommended $40), tenant-access language, reinspection refunds and whether to fix a fee in code or reference the annual fee schedule; council agreed to advertise the bill next week with revisions.
Swarthmore Borough Council spent the largest portion of its meeting debating whether to advertise an ordinance that would create a rental registration and inspection program for residential rental units.
Jared, who summarized the ordinance, said the measure is intended "to establish the rights and obligations of owners and non-owners or landlords and tenants in the borough to promote the public safety and welfare of borough residents who rent," and explained the proposal would require a municipal rental certificate based on a 30-point inspection checklist. The inspection would be required at tenant turnover and before non-owner occupancy; the ordinance applies to long-term rentals defined as leases longer than six months.
Council members discussed the inspection fee and the administrative approach. Staff recommended a $40 fee; some council members suggested $50 or closer to $100 based on fully loaded staff time and overhead. Council debated whether to fix a dollar amount in the ordinance text or reference the borough's annual fee schedule so the charge could be updated administratively. Members also pressed for clearer access language: one councilor said the draft asks that tenants be present unless they waive the right in writing, while another said landlords already have a "reasonable access" standard in the code and the two provisions should be reconciled.
On reinspection policy, councilors discussed refunding a tenant's reinspection fee if a verified violation is found; staff said the program would allow discretion to refuse repeated or frivolous reinspection requests. Jared said the program aims to be nonburdensome but to prevent inspectors or landlords from entering units without the non-owner present unless waived in writing.
Council directed staff to provide a clean revised draft for the packet and to advertise the ordinance for next week's meeting; if substantive issues remain they said they would fix them during the advertising period. No final fee or ordinance text was adopted at this session.
