Twilight Zoning in Bellingham: Vermin in Rentals

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Vermin in Rentals

We have already seen evidence of rats in Bellingham's rentals. My blog entry on a house on Grant St. covered that topic a while back. (Click here to read that horror story.) Now additional accounts of vermin in rentals are coming to our attention. A recent article in the Western Front spoke to the problems students are encountering in their dorms and rentals not only with bed bugs but also with the mites that cause scabies and bacteria that cause staph infections. (Click here to read the Front's story. You can also read about bed bugs, mites and staph by clicking here, here and here)

These critters; bed bugs, mites, and bacteria that lead to staph infections, are difficult to eradicate so that many landlords and renters unwittingly pass them on to the next iteration of renters. Given the filthy conditions reported by renters in last year's survey of rental conditions in Bellingham (click here to read that report), the story in the Front is not surprising. The comments from those who took the survey contain additional stories of rat and flea infestations.

Rentals offered to the public ought to be spotless before the renter crosses the threshold. Especially important are clean rugs, floors and kitchen/bathroom surfaces. These items should be on the checklist of any decent inspection program for the safety and health of renters. The city of Pasco has sanitation as a category on its inspection form (Click here to see their simple form - right click on image and then enlarge). Bellingham should consider no less.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...: Mr Zonemaven

Obviously you do not share the landlord/agent concept that rats mice etc etc are just other types of pets that should be accepted by their renter/victims as recreational "assets"
May I remind you that City Council have very humane attitudes toward infestation in that they will do absolutely nothing about the subject since they constantly side step any action to control the real estate shambles which adds to Bellingham's blioght and citizens' discomfort.

Maybe you could get responsible action from council if you were to approach them on the need to control house fires so that "resident wildlife" suffers no harm because they seem immune to the cause of the students and other renters in their repeated rejections of any counter measures to the domination of special interests that are always eager to block progress in rental matters.; February 10, 2012 at 10:38 AM
Zonemaven said...: :-); February 10, 2012 at 12:18 PM

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.