Building inspector outlines process to condemn unfit rental housing; commissioners weigh adopting maintenance code

Inspector David told the commission tenants (or those acting on their behalf) may file complaints and that an inspector or public health officer has 14 days to inspect, then may require owners to remediate problems over a timeline that can extend up to six months. "This section also gives us time frames and, things like that in which I have to correspond with the property owner, give them time to remedy the situation, all the way up to 6 months," David said.

David described a recent complaint he inspected: exterior holes, exposed electrical, a severed sewer drain with sewage under the crawl space, rodent infestation and tape over outlets. He said inspections and reports are free to tenants and his role is to work with landlords on repair plans: "I try to work with them and help them plan to fix it," he said. David noted the county's local health department had not previously handled such complaints and he relied on state health guidelines and the Tennessee housing code; commissioners discussed whether to adopt the International Property Maintenance Code as local policy, balancing its housing-safety provisions against provisions (such as vehicle and grass-size rules) some commissioners said they did not want to prioritize.

Commissioners asked how appeals would be handled; David said appeals would go to the mayor and acknowledged the county needs a board of appeals. The commission agreed to invite the building inspector back to a quarterly health/education/public welfare meeting (in October) to review a year of data and sample policies from other jurisdictions before deciding on code adoption.