Twilight Zoning in Bellingham: Health and Safety. Young Renters Deserve Much Better.

Friday, September 21, 2007

Health and Safety. Young Renters Deserve Much Better.

If you enter the Western Washington University website and drill down to the page entitled Off Campus WWU (click here), you will find advice to the student renter. This site provides information on health and safety issues which may be encountered in renting housing. That the university must mention this to the students, more than suggests that there are problem properties and landlords in the totally uncontrolled rooming houses that have been created in just about every Bellingham neighborhood. I find it aberrant that the this city has no program to license, control or inspect these de facto rooming houses and leaves it to the young, first time renters to sink or swim on their own. Other cities have comprehensive landlord licensing codes. Minneapolis has had a code in effect since 1991. Click here to read about their program. Here is a quote from their site: “Minneapolis requires that every rental dwelling, including single-family rental dwellings and rental units in owner-occupied duplexes, and rooming and shared-bath units (unless they are in a licensed lodging house) must have a rental license.” Bellingham must actively work to ensure the health and safety of those leasing single family homes. Welfare matters such as adequate plumbing, safe electrical circuitry, sufficient number of exits, control of vermin, fire suppression to include smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, and structural integrity must be addressed. Write to the mayor at mayorsoffice@cob.org and the city council at citycouncil@cob.org to let them know you are not satisfied with uncontrolled rooming house growth and the lack of inspection of these rental properties. Ask them the reason for which we license dogs (click here to read the code) but leave the health and safety of our citizens to a wing and a prayer.

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The Rationale for Rental Licensing

There is the definitive experience of cities that have already adopted rental licensing and inspections in the face of exactly the same opposition as we saw in Bellingham over the last decade. Ultimately, each of these cities was proven correct in its resolve to move ahead to protect the safety and health of the renters. We already know that the city of Pasco, WA found that 15% of the units inspected under their program had serious life/safety issues. 10% had mold problems. A full 85% had problems of varying degrees. The city of Gresham, OR performed over 1600 inspections in 2009 and issued, as a result, over 4,000 citations. Lexington, KY performed inspections of units near the University of Kentucky and found that 50% had life/safety issues. Sacramento, CA began an inspection program during which one third of the units inspected had serious safety and health issues. The question why does anyone believe that the condition of rental housing here in Bellingham does not mirror that which is found in cities that have the statistics to show that time and time again the condition of rentals in our cities is problematic? All we have had to date from those who oppose licensing are broad statements by the landlords and their paladins that are completely and utterly unsubstantiated. The Zonemaven has searched in vain for the horror stories that these opponents of licensing and inspections have predicted. On the other hand, The Zonemaven did find over 100 cities that have licensing AND inspections without the catastrophic effect for the rental markets that the landlords would have you believe. (See this blog's sidebar at bottom left for list)

One Reason Illegal Rooming Houses Do Not Work

The limit for unrelated persons at a single family home rental is three residents. Leases are signed by three people who then invite additional renters to join them to lower per capita rental rates. The perverse effect is that rental rates tend to rise under these circumstances making it difficult for single families to rent single family homes. Some local rental agencies facilitate this practice.

"To say that a family is so equivalent to a ragtag collection of college roommates as to require identical treatment in zoning decisions defies the reality of the place of the family in American society, despite any changes that institution has undergone in recent years. Only the most cynical among us would say that the American family has devolved to the point of no greater importance or consideration in governmental decision making than a group of college roommates." (Stegeman v. City of Ann Arbor)

That being said, accommodation ought to be made for protected classes, especially non-traditional unions and group houses for the disabled. These classes are laid out in federal and Washington State law.