Yesterday I attended a meeting with Tom Clark our Public Safety Officer regarding the city's fire departments inspection policies for rental housing. Also attending was Rich D'Ascoli, president of Pacific Southwest Association of Realtors and David Bradstreet of Bradstreet Investments. The reason for the meeting was from a few complaints by area property management firms and their tenants about the protocols of the inspections. I pointed out that many tenants feel intimidated by the arrival of the uniformed inspector and are not sure if they need to let them into their home. Thankfully Tom's staff has softened their entry by offering the option of calling back with a best time appointment. Our ultimate goal is for the department to notify the property management company for an advanced set appointment with the tenants along with the department to provide a safety checklist for the tenants to review with their management firm to correct any potential hazards in their home in advance of the appointment. Why, to eliminate the surprise visit, problems corrected in advance and a safe home enviroment that will not require re-inspections. Our next goal is to meet with Greg Wade and Code Compliance complaints, till then....
