SLO putting more pressure on landlords by boosting fines for housing violations

San Luis Obispo landlords who let problems like faulty wiring and leaky roofs linger will soon face increased code enforcement fines under a City Council effort to empower tenants and urge compliance with building health and safety laws.

At its Nov. 21 meeting, council members took multiple steps to strengthen financial penalties and provide increased tools and education for tenants to know their rights and landlord responsibilities.

“I’ve personally experienced on many occasions in the past, living in San Luis Obispo, circumstances where I’ve tried to contact my landlord and they didn’t act,” said Vice Mayor Dan Rivoire. “... I’m hoping that it will allow us to really empower tenants and the consequences for landlords will be strong enough such that we’ll see things getting fixed and better compliance throughout our community in general.”

The council will still need to formalize the changes with a new ordinance, which could come in early 2018, though a meeting date hasn’t yet been set, said Michael Codron, the city’s community development director. It would also have to allocate money for an education program in the next budget cycle.

If initial courtesy notices for corrections are ignored by property owners, the new fine schedule would increase violators’ base fines from $100, $200 and $500 on first, second and third citations to $100, $500 and $1,000, respectively.

The city’s graduated fine increases occur if owners continually fail to fix a cited violation. Those might include substandard conditions like a lack of water or heat, blocked entry doors, and malfunctioning smoke detectors, among other issues.

Fines also would double if payments aren’t received within 30 days of issuance. Those who violate regulations on multiple properties can face immediate citation upon repeat offenses, without the standard courtesy notice.

They ultimately could face criminal prosecution under the existing policy, though the city rarely takes that step.

The city’s unpopular Rental Housing Inspection Program, requiring mandatory inspections for rental housing, was repealed in March after widespread community criticism that it invaded tenant privacy and would drive up rental costs for tenants in a tight market.

The policy was adopted in 2015 by the previous council to help enforce codes and protect tenants who might be reluctant to complain about unsafe conditions.

The city now inspects homes under a complaint-driven system, responding to violations reported by tenants, neighbors or other community members. City officials who monitor neighborhoods also may discover violations.

City Manager Derek Johnson said the fines can be leverage for the city to use to spur property owners to enter into compliance agreements with the city, which is always the city’s goal over further financial punishment.

“These are just the tools to get us there to motivate addressing what are sometime intractable problems in neighborhoods,” Johnson said.

Anne Schneider, the city’s chief building official, said that “it’s felt that by increasing the penalty amount, we will have greater motivation to resolve the issue before the financial penalties become significant.”

Ignored fines can be applied to property taxes if payment isn’t received.

The City Council also called for an outreach program to educate neighborhood groups, college students, landlords and others about housing health and safety laws and how to address them if problems exist.

The council also set new standards for how quickly staff responds to safety concerns that pose immediate risks, such a damaged building in danger of falling.

For example, complaints about substandard conditions such as no heat or water will be responded to within 24 hours, illegal or unpermitted construction within 48 hours, and noise and odor violations within 72 hours.

This story was originally published November 29, 2017 at 5:33 PM with the headline "SLO putting more pressure on landlords by boosting fines for housing violations."