In the free enterprise system, the cost of doing business (if equal with your competition) is the cost of doing business period..... As a general contractor, I pass along a permit fee for work I do in Minneapolis, just as I do in the other metro cities. It's an assurance on the customer's part that the work I do is in fact, sound. In short, the City is saving uneducated customers from themselves.
If the fees associated with either inspecting a rental property, or work down by a contractor to a homeowners' property, doesn't adequately cover the costs associated with performing the service, then maybe the City needs to address the issue.
I have never been able to entirely understand, or accept, how it is we allow rental property owners to obtain a "provisional" (no inspection required) rental license that lasts forever, as long as the owner continues to pay the licensing fees and no one else (living in the neighborhood) calls attention to the property for violations. In most instances, it's not a matter of ignorance on the part of the landlord. They're fully aware of the process. It's simply a matter of dollars and cents. Why go to the trouble and cost associated of bringing your property "up to code", when you don't have to? In all honesty, if I chose rental property (in the City) as an investment vehicle, I sure wouldn't.
Dennis Plante Jordan
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