News Release

Residential Occupancy Inspection Checklist 12/13/2010 (updated)

OLEAN -- Members of the city of Olean's Housing Rehabilitation Committee met Friday to update a proposed amendment to the city's building and fire code in hopes the key change will appease landlords who objected last week.

The Common Council is set to review the updated amendment Tuesday night. Its passage will mandate periodic inspections of rental units by the city's Code Enforcement Office along with a landlord registration requirement. A $25 fee, designed to pay the city's expenses for the inspections, was removed after the Committee discussed the landlords' comments aired last Tuesday.

"We are the elected officials of Olean and it's our responsibility to look out for all of our citizens and we are trying to respond to all complaints," said Mayor Linda Witte as the Committee went over the landlords' statements made during the Council meeting last week.

Mayor Witte told the Committee members Friday that she has received many calls about substandard conditions such as heating and basic safety conditions from elderly tenants who were afraid to state their names or identify well-known landlords.

"This is how this got started," said Mayor Witte. "The bottom line is the code update is the bare minimum of an inspection, and landlord registration gives our officers a way to contact a landlord."

The Housing Rehabilitation Committee has been working on the changes to help improve the city's housing stock. The Committee members responded to recent landlord complaints by agreeing to make some changes in the legislation.

During the discussion, the Committee Members looked over other items suggested by landlords for their protection, such as tenant cleanliness and sanitation. The members agreed these things should be up to the landlords to enforce and are covered by the state code governing building maintenance.

They also took a close look at an inspection checklist that will be used in issuing a residential occupancy permit. Code Enforcement Officer Ed Jennings assured the group that the form is a purely visual survey of the living quarters in rental apartments and homes. He said he will post the form on the city's website for the public to see that it is non-invasive in nature. The purpose is to assure all safety regulations are met, he said. (Readers can view the attached form through the link at the end of this article.)

City Attorney Wendy Peterson, addressing landlords' questions about the constitutionality of the law, assured the Committee members that she "would be all over it" if any official suggested doing something that runs counter to the Constitution.

The updated version will be introduced to aldermen meeting in the Committee of the Whole at 6:30 p.m. Dec. 14.

Click here to download the Residential Occupany Permit (pdf)