Real estate
BY KEVIN VU
Houston proposes new apartment inspection program fines ranging from $250 to $2,000 per violation a day, and possible revocation of the owner’s certificate of occupancy and civil action if viola- tions persist. 0 100 200
Houston City Council member Letitia Plummer proposed during a May 27 Proposition A commit- tee meeting an ordinance that would strengthen enforcement and inspection of apartments with unsafe environments. The gist The proposed ordinance would create a high- risk apartment inspection program, which would require properties with 10 or more habitability citations within 12 months to register as a “high- risk rental building.” Habitability citations or complaints can include electrical hazards, plumb- ing violations or structural failures, and typically revolve around the living conditions of a property and whether it meets the habitation standards per the city’s code of ordinances. These properties would undergo mandatory inspections from the city’s Apartment Standards Enforcement Committee and face misdemeanor
Houston multifamily habitation violations in 2024
300 400
A 388 B 245 C 220 E 86 D 184 F 189 G 205 H 178 I 180 J 407 181 K
“The purpose of this ordinance is straightfor- ward but profound—it is to protect our residents from substandard and dangerous housing condi- tions,” Plummer said. What else? Plummer also proposed that landlords with high-risk rental buildings should be required to complete an annual training of the Blue Star Train- ing Program, which covers city and state habitabil- ity and best practices for property management. Lastly, the proposed ordinance includes a spe- cial provision for senior living facilities, requiring them to provide a common area with generator power and a refrigerated space for medication storage during extreme weather events, according
SOURCE: CITY OF HOUSTON AT-LARGE POSITION 4 LETITIA PLUMMER’S OFFICE/COMMUNITY IMPACT
to the presentation. As of press time, the ordinance was under legal review and still needed to be approved by City Council.
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