AMHERST — As college students return for the fall semester, with many living in off-campus apartments, the town’s new, more rigorous rental inspection program is ready to ramp up.
Scheduled inspections by a code enforcement officer are about to get underway under the program that, for the first time, will mean regular, in-depth examinations of the insides of nearly 1,300 rental properties in Amherst, containing well over 5,000 units, Building Commissioner Rob Morra said.
“Units will be randomly selected by type and we will contact them to be scheduled,” Morra said, explaining that most of the rentals that will be inspected are one- and two-family homes. The code enforcement officer will also be at some of the town’s apartment complexes and mixed-use buildings.
“This is the first time we’re looking at the interior of dwelling units,” Morra said.
The rental inspection program formally began on July 1. About 120 inspections are expected to be done per quarter, or every three months.
The town website notes that tenants will be given at least 30 days notice before an inspection takes place. “Units will be randomly selected for inspection at least a month prior to time of inspection to allow ample notice for tenants,” it states.
That work follows what began as 23 inspections at rental units voluntarily put forward by property owners and landlords over the summer. That phase of the program has indicated no concerns with the habitability of those properties, Morra said.
The code enforcement officer, using an iPad, deploys a checklist of what needs to be inspected at each property, from electrical outlets and smoke detectors to ventilation systems and hand rails.
“We came up with a manageable list of items to allow us to deem that it’s safe and healthy,” Morra said.
In addition to looking for true life-safety issues inside these homes, the inspector is also aiming to find compliance with land-use requirements and any special permits. This means determining
if, for instance, the parking area is in agreement with the management plan, and if a fence is shown around the dumpster that that screening is there.
But most of the work will be looking inside the units because inspectors haven’t been able to do so previously, unless complaints are received. The previous system, a self-certification process, had property owners and landlords assure the town’s inspections department that conditions of
residential rental properties were fit for human habitation. That was put in place by a Town Meeting vote in 2013, and since then properties have improved a lot, Morra said, with most fire escapes in good condition and trash no longer a problem.
The fully operational program requires two code enforcement officers and a program assistant, though it’s unclear when a second officer will be hired. Morra estimates that 2,600 units will be inspected over five years, or less than half of all units.
The town has 1,286 permits and 5,372 units in the properties and also 137 owner–occupied units.
Larger buildings with common areas may take slightly longer to inspect.
The existing registration fee, $150 per year plus $100 per additional unit, up to $1,050, and $100 per unit for all owner-occupied rentals, covers the ongoing costs of the program and allows the town inspectors to continue to respond to complaints, as they have since its inception. Another $150 per unit inspection fee covers the new recurring costs.
Morra said his office is about to send out a mailing to all participants.
Assistant Town Manager David Ziomek said working with landlords and constant communication is getting the new program off on the right foot.
“At the end of the day, we want there to be safe and healthy units to rent,” Ziomek said.