Rental Property Investor · Salem, NH · Member since 2016 · 460 posts · 276 votes
I had my city inspection today to receive a rental permit and it did NOT go as planned. I spent the last month doing renovations and I got my unit looking GREAT (at least what I thought)...
City inspector comes in to check if everything conforms to "The Sanitary Code, Article II, Minimum Standard of Fitness for Health under Human Habitation," adopted by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health".
There are such small things like:
- Piece of tile in front of tub is slightly loose
- Furnace has rust
- Base of tub needs new caulk
- Window screen has a slight tear in it
- etc. etc. etc.
Can they really force me to fix every single little thing? Are these even relevant to the codes? I feel like my world was turned upside down as I have interested renters and now the timetable is of course being pushed back.
Anyone have similar issues dealing with their city?
@Thomas Hickey No this was just with the city to obtain a rental permit. Although, I would imagine Section 8 is similar if not more harsh.
Yes, yes they are, lol. Or at least of the same difficulty.
They don't have city inspections where I live, though there has been "talk" of starting a program like that where LLs need to pay an annual fee for each unit. AND even occupied units have to be inspected every year. That's NOLA. Always a politician's money grab.
I digress. As it stands now, no city/county inspections. However, I do have two tenants who are on S8. One of them was set to move in right after we had totally rehabbed the place. I thought the same thing. Easy peasy. Everything is new, fresh, and done right.
Nope, huge long list, lol. Though all of it was minor, low cost stuff. The inspector even said the place looked great and not to be too alarmed because nobody ever passes their first time. The S8 inspectors are really stringent, but are generally nice (in my area). And if you are nice back to them, they can be helpful. On the second go-round (same inspector), he pointed out something we had missed. My husband said he would get it fixed that day. The inspector offered to come back later and check, before he turned in his report. He did, passed us, and that extra step he took was very appreciated.