Rental inspection program to begin in Clarksville

Libby Cunningham, The Evening News and the Tribune, Jeffersonville, Ind.
·3 min read

Apr. 20—CLARKSVILLE — Within the next year Clarksville will start inspecting all rental properties in the town.

All landlords will be required to register with the city by the start of 2023.

Town Council unanimously approved the Residential Rental Inspection Program at Tuesday night's meeting. It's something that's been in the works for years, said Town Manager Kevin Baity.

The city plans to hire two inspectors who will check everything from plumbing to heating, air-conditioning, toilet facilities, hot water, windows and more at these properties.

"We've designed the program such that all properties will be inspected once every three years, a full-blown inspection," Baity said. "Everything from apartments to houses divided into a duplex, triplex, anything of that nature."

Single-family homes owned by a landlord would also be inspected, but short-term rentals like VRBO and Airbnb properties won't be included.

All landlords in Clarksville must register for this program. Residential units already being inspected by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development will keep the same inspectors. However, those inspections will have to meet or exceed program standards.

The ordinance said there is an exemption in which some property owners can use an inspector who isn't from the town, however Clarksville will have the right to go in and inspect a tenant complaint.

All landlords will have to pay an annual registration fee and be responsible for scheduling the inspection that occurs every three years. Right now, Baity said the first notification of this program to landlords will hit about 80% of property owners. The town will then work to inform all landlords.

New properties on the market will get their first inspection along with the issuance of the certificate of occupancy and put into the rotation for inspection.

In a previous job in a different jurisdiction Baity said he implemented this program. The main reason is to protect the health, life and safety of rental property tenants.

"In the next eight months we will be putting together all the inspection reports and all the promotional information and then we will get that information out to landlords, property managers and owners," Baity said.

Registration for landlords starts now and continues through Jan. 13, 2023. Property inspections will begin shortly after that deadline.

"The intent is to protect the health, life and safety of residents and the end result should be you weed out the bad landlords," Baity said.

This program can also help landlords with tenants who still pay their rent, but may be destructive to the property, through a due process.

Baity said there may be some pushback from landlords, however the program will bring up the value of their properties as well.

"(They'll see) in order for me to be competitive I've got to reinvest in the property and make it a better property for the tenant," he said.

Town Council member Mike Mustain said the intent is to protect the residents of Clarksville and the housing standards of where they live.

"I want the public to know this is not an inspection of their housekeeping abilities," he said at the Town Council meeting. "But since I've been on council I've had many people coming to me with pictures they took, letters they sent to their landlords requesting help, ceilings falling in, exposed wiring and such...While we don't want to micromanage anything it's important to the public for us to use this ability."