MG Writes:
Well, there's well over 100,000 rental units in the city, and there are about 25 licensing inspectors. There's more involved than just the inspection, especially if problems are found. And rental licensing is only one piece of the housing inspections program. So, it's going to take a while to get to every building, duplex, single home, etc.
Plus, as I recall, the rental licensing program was on hold for a while due to a challenge to the program.
In the meantime, the department responds daily to complaints about unsafe conditions, so it's not like Hell House is ignored.
Dennis Responds:
With a total city-wide population of under 400,000, I question your observation that there's well over 100,000 rental units in the city of Minneapolis. However, if your numbers are accurate, and each rental unit paid a platry $25/year licensing fee that means you generate $2,500,000 annually with which to operate the rental inspection prgram.
That being said, stating that there's only about 25 licensing inspectors to handle that workload somehow doesn't make me feel any better, or less justified in feeling that we're both not looking after the best interests of our communities housing stock, or the renters on the lower-end of the rental market. As a matter of fact, I'd kind of liken it to telling everyone during their monday morning commute after a winter snowstorm that we only have enough plow trucks for half the roads. It doesn't make sense either.
Dennis Plante Jordan
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