Rules for rentals

Waukegan launches code-enforcement routine that reaches into all 12,000 units

  WAUKEGAN — City officials describe it as an objective process that seeks to identify substandard rental housing units and force owners to clean them up.

  "Basically, we're looking to make sure the building is in a liveable condition," said Building Commissioner Chuck Perkey, describing the Rental Property Inspection Program that began earlier this month.

  But some landlords and apartment dwellers apparently aren't in agreement, as they turned out Wednesday to question Perkey and city attorney Ann Linn about a program they describe as needlessly expensive and an invasion of privacy.

  "They're trying to put a positive spin on a negative program," said Dennis Eash, a Waukegan apartment owner and member of the Lake County Apartment Owners Association, which has publicly condemned the process since it was enacted by the City Council last year.

  Eash added that, with a $25-per-unit inspection fee being charged to landlords, the ordinance amounts to "a revenue-generating program" that "invades the right of us to run the business and the right of our residents to privacy."

  City officials say they are well within their legal rights to run the program, since it encompasses rental properties throughout the city, rather than targeting areas or neighborhoods with certain ethnic backgrounds for inspection.

  "It is a systematic program of inspection," said Linn, noting that court decisions have backed such programs if they are universally enforced and if the building inspectors are checking only for specific code violations.

  By ordinance, the annual inspections check for compliance with the Building Officials and Code Administrators (BOCA) Property Maintenance Code, the National Fire Protection Association Life Safety Code and Waukegan zoning ordinances.

  According to Perkey, there are 12,000 registered rental units in Waukegan on 1,800 different properties. Starting Jan. 6, the units were randomly divided into an even number to be inspected each month by code enforcement officers.

  "They work with a checklist at each unit," Perkey said. "They're looking for vermin, making sure electrical outlets aren't overloaded or hanging out of the walls, making sure the faucets aren't leaking — just ensuring that it's a liveable unit."

  Eash said such a procedure "penalizes people who rent and treats them like second-class citizens."

  Fellow Apartment Owners Association member Mel Metts questioned whether or not the inspections are truly objective, saying he's been told "some are very quick, and some are very lengthy."

  Waukegan resident Ken Roy, who rents a house in the city, echoed both of these sentiments after going through an inspection last week. He described the process as "an absolute joke," saying he took a half day off work only to see an inspector quickly check for the proper number of electrical outlets and then depart.

  "I felt like it was a reason for the city to come into my house to poke around," Roy said.

  Critics have also alleged that the real target of the program is overcrowded housing among the city's Mexican population. Perkey acknowledged the rumors, saying he's read "innuendo" spread on area Web sites about "INS agents going in to check for green cards and looking for contraband."

  But Perkey said, "I don't believe this is a Hispanic issue. It is an issue for all the people of Waukegan.

  "If we find evidence of overcrowding, we'll go back on a density inspection. There are several issues that we check, but, yes, (overcrowding) is an issue that we're looking for," he said.

  To date, Perkey said there have been "several units" that have failed inspection, but no citations have been issued. The city plans to send out certified letters informing landlords of code violations and giving them 30 days to bring their units into compliance.

  "Actually, it's going very well," Perkey said. "We've had some minor problems with some landlords where we had to get a search warrant, but I think the vast majority of the landlords are not opposed once they see what we're doing."

  Perkey added that his office has also fielded complaints from residents, but "my inspectors say they're not doing (what is alleged). They've been told over and over again what to do ... I want this program to work, but I also want to make sure my inspectors are doing what they're supposed to be doing."

  Members of the Apartment Owners Association say they're keeping all options open as the program proceeds. Eash said he's already spent more than $4,700 in fees under the new requirements, and he predicted that the amount will increase if the city keeps the inspections alive.

  "We've been reasonable about this," he said. "But I feel this program penalizes me as a businessman."

01/23/03