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From YouTube: Community Development 5/2013 Update
Description
Rental Code and Inspection Process
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A
Hi
im
sue
anne
donovan
I'm,
the
neighborhood
inspection
Zoning
Administrator
for
the
City
of
Des
Moines.
Our
staff
consists
of
15
inspectors,
3
zoning
inspectors
for
clerical
staff,
members
and
three
supervisors:
the
division
oversees
a
variety
of
programs
and
inspection
duties.
Today,
I
will
cover
the
rental
inspections
City
of
Des
Moines
has
a
rental
code
and
inspection
process.
These
with
population
of
over
15,000
are
mandated
by
state
law,
have
a
rental
inspection
program.
The
city
has
developed
maintenance
standards
and
forcement
procedures
that
include
regular
rental
inspections,
taking
complaints
and
certification
of
rental
properties.
A
These
rental
inspection
codes
can
be
found
on
the
City
of
Des
Moines
website
under
chapter
60
in
city
of
des
moines.
We
have
around
10,000
rental
properties
with
around
thirty
one
thousand
three
hundred
units
to
be
inspected
on
an
annual
basis.
We
expect
single-family
dwellings,
duplexes
condominiums
town
houses
and
apartment
buildings
by
definition
of
Reynolds,
basically
any
property
that
has
lived
in
by
anyone
other
than
the
title
holder.
The
code
says
you
can't
let
lease
or
otherwise
allow
the
occupancy
of
any
dwelling
dwelling
in
a
rooming
unit
unless
the
owner
holds
of
valid
Reynolds
certificate.
A
We
do
allow
parents
or
children
of
title
holder,
live
in
houses
without
an
inspection
if
they
are
registered
with
us.
That
would
include
no
inspection
fees
or
repairs
or
require
to
these
nuclear
family
homes,
but
they
should
be
registered
with
us.
The
basic
responsibility
of
the
inspection
division
regarding
rental
code
is
to
ensure
that
rental
housing
in
the
city
is
safe.
For
people
to
live
in,
we
expect
to
make
sure
basic
standards
are
met
regarding
electrical
systems,
plumbing
systems,
mechanical
systems
and
building
codes.
A
We're
also
going
to
look
at
light
and
ventilation
to
make
sure
that's
adequate
for
the
area
adequate
heat
in
the
winter,
safety
from
fire
and
accidents,
the
amount
of
space
for
occupancy
and
then
general
maintenance.
Basically,
we
put
violations
into
two
categories
vs.
life-threatening
and
the
second
is
a
maintenance
issue.
Life
threatening
violations
could
be
inadequate.
Fire
protection,
hazardous,
electrical,
wiring,
improper
installation
of
fern
or
water
heaters,
structural
deterioration
or
collapse
of
the
building
itself.
Maintenance
violations
could
be
like
peeling
paint,
cracked
windows,
dirty
carpet
or
walls,
cracked,
driveways
or
sidewalks
leaking
roof
structure.
A
The
maintenance
piece
is
to
protect
the
structure
of
the
neighborhood
from
continued
deterioration
of
rental
properties.
We
do
three
types
of
inspections.
First
is
an
initial
inspection
done
on
a
property.
First
becomes
a
rental.
We
set
up
the
inspections
when
a
property,
our
contacts
us
requesting
your
rental
inspection.
We
also
do
initial
if
we
find
an
illegal
rental.
After
the
initial
inspection,
we
have
an
ongoing
inspection
process.
The
railings
are
inspected
on
a
step
schedule.
After
an
initial
or
a
renewal
inspection,
the
owner
is
given
a
list
of
violations.
A
We
conduct
re
inspections
than
to
see
if
the
required
work
is
completed.
Property
owners
are
given
time
to
correct
the
violations
and
can
seek
extensions
of
non-life-threatening
violations.
When
the
violations
are
corrected,
the
property
has
issued
a
rental
certificate.
We
also
do
complaint
inspections.
We
do
ask
in
most
cases
that
the
tenant
work
with
the
landlord
to
get
the
repairs
done
before
we
do
an
inspection.
The
tenant
is
unable
to
get
the
violations
repaired.
We
will
go
in.
Do
the
inspection
we
find
violations?
A
We
send
a
notice
to
the
landlord
you're
the
landlord
time
to
make
repairs
and
then
we
read
inspect
some
issues
are
the
responsibility
of
the
tenant
and
we
will
address
those
issues
as
we
find
them
now.
If
we
get
to
the
point
where
the
property
owner
does
not
do
the
repairs
will
send
the
housing
Appeals
Board,
we
certainly
hope
we
do
not
have
to
penalize
a
property
are
but
remember.
Our
goal
is
safe
and
maintained
structures
in
the
City
of
Des
Moines.
A
The
housing
appeals
court
can
decide
to
give
a
property
owner
more
time
to
do
the
repairs.
The
board
grants
additional
time
of
the
extension
will
not
endanger
the
life,
health
or
safety
of
the
occupant.
The
board
can
decide
to
send
the
property
owner
to
court.
The
city
is
then
seeking
an
order
from
the
judge.
The
course
is,
a
property
owner
to
fix
the
property,
remove
the
tenants
out.
We
certainly
hope
the
landlord
will
agree
to
make
the
repairs
at
that
point.
A
The
other
thing
the
hav
can
do
is
find
the
owner
for
not
doing
the
repair.
The
zoning
regulations
sometimes
affect
rental
properties
and
use
of
property.
If
a
building
is
vacant
for
a
year,
property
may
not
be
able
to
be
used
in
the
same
way.
It
was
before.
Mostly
this
comes
about
when
apartment
building
is
vacant
and
the
number
of
units
need
to
be
reduced
to
meet
the
zoning
code.
Anyone
thinking
about
renting
in
a
purpose
or
apartment
you
can
call
us
to
see
if
there's
a
valid
rental
certificate.