Buffalo Grove may start inspecting rented homes

Buffalo Grove would keep a closer eye on its rental properties under a new program proposed this week that officials say could prevent neighborhood nuisances while also earning a little revenue for the village.

The effort would involve registering and inspecting all rental residential property in town. All single-family attached or detached rental units would be inspected annually, while the village would examine about a third of the units in its multifamily complexes each year.

“We don't have the staff to go into 100 percent of those every year,” said Deputy Building Commissioner Carol Berman. “So what we are going to do is register them, but inspect about a third of the units in those buildings the first year and then another third in the second and then the final third in the third year.”

Village Manager Dane Bragg said the program would involve some synergy between the building and zoning and fire prevention functions of the village.

“I think it will also help fire prevention with the ability to pick up on other issues that may be specific to units in a building,” he said.

Registration would require an annual fee of $75 per single-family dwelling and $150 per multifamily building, plus $30 per multifamily dwelling unit. The program is expected to generate about $60,000 in revenue during the first year, growing to $90,000 when fully implemented.

Building and Zoning Department inspectors would examine the properties after they are registered, checking to see whether they conform to maintenance and life safety standards. Inspections would include checking for smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, proper sanitation and possible electrical and plumbing code violations.

The program would impact as many as 1,420 rental apartment units in Buffalo Grove and approximately 2,000 rented single family homes, condos and townhouses, officials said.

Berman said the village has considered a rental inspection program for some time, but a new urgency emerged with an increase of foreclosed homes being converted to rental properties. The village gets many calls from tenants who have issues that do not fall under the village's present jurisdiction, she said.

Suburban communities with similar programs include Lakemoor, Mount Prospect and Mundelein, officials said.

Trustee Jeffrey Berman wondered where the village would draw the line and

what would happen in the event issues surfaced “that otherwise would be uncovered only with the issuance of a warrant.”

Village President Jeffrey Braiman raised concerns as well, asking whether the village should create separate standards for owned and rented property.

Trustee Steve Trilling said that while the village has to be careful that it doesn't get pulled into a lawsuit between tenant and landlord, “I believe there is a greater good being served, not necessarily on behalf of the tenant, but, I believe on behalf of the neighborhood.”

Trustee Beverly Sussman agreed.

“I think it's an excellent idea,” she said. “I'm not doing it for the sake of the renter. I'm doing it for the sake of the neighborhood. I have had a house next to me for over five years that was rented and not maintained and it was falling apart from the outside to the inside. When the bank bought it, they actually had to take out walls (because of mold).”