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State House bill to limit required apt. inspections

Votes for current legislation in Lansing may threaten, rather than protect the lives of students in Ann Arbor, representatives of the Michigan Student Assembly and Ann Arbor Tenants Union testified at a state Senate hearing this week.

"We believe that if this bill passes, tenants will ultimately die as a result," said Pattrice Maurer, AATU's coordinator.

The bill, which has passed the state House, would amend Michigan's Housing Code to require inspections of rental housing only every six years, rather than every two. The city inspector would also have to secure the written consent of the tenant before inspection.

Opponents of the bill argue that the time and effort spent obtaining tenants' consent may make the process more costly, and they fear that less frequent inspections would mean more dangerous housing.

"A great deal can happen to a rental property in six years," said City Councilmember Jean Carlberg (D-3rd Ward). Carlberg supported a City Council resolution opposing the bill last November.

Although those involved in the debate may identify it as a conflict between landlords and tenants, Ann Arbor's Apartment Association, a landlord group, also objects to the current legislation.

"(The reform) was originally designed to provide a complaint-driven inspection process," said Marvin Carlson, Ann Arbor Apartment Association legislative committee chair. "That bill has been watered down extensively."

Carlberg said making inspectors get a tenant's written permission may wind up costing the tenant more money.

The city charges landlords a fee to cover the inspection. However, if more time and energy is exerted to obtain a written statement from a tenant, the charge might go up, she said.

"Whatever it costs the city ... would have to be charged to the landlord and the landlord would have to charge the tenant," Carlberg said.

Tenants could request an inspection at any time, but opponents say that a written request for inspection could become ammunition for a spiteful landlord. "You couldn't be more overt about facilitating landlord retaliation," Maurer said.

Carlson, an Ann Arbor landlord, noted that although the state inspection intervals may change, Ann Arbor would still require inspections every 2 1/2 years.

In the written testimony offered by MSA state liaison Karie Morgan and three other representatives, the assembly asserted that because few student tenants will remain in a unit for the full six years between mandatory inspections, necessary repairs and violations may go uncorrected.

"Students don't know what their rights are," Morgan said. "They don't have the time to go through bills and find out what their rights are ... it's not reasonable to expect that."

"We have a situation in Ann Arbor where many people are living on their own for the first time and are naive in what to expect from their landlord," said Mayor Ingrid Sheldon.

High turnover, vulnerability and reluctance to challenge a landlords' authority already put student tenants in danger, Maurer asserted.

"Students will be moving in, through no fault of their own, to units that haven't been inspected because the previous tenant didn't sign the consent form," she said.

The committee postponed further action on the bill until both sides could negotiate a compromise.