02-06-19 Health and Public Safety

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CITY OF SOUTH BEND OFFICE OF THE CLERK an inspection, then we are going to seek an inspection warrant on the property. We'll also post it as a No Inspection Certificate and that will be a placard that will go on the outside of the unit or structure. We will then go ahead and obtain an inspection warrant from the court and carry that out. She continued, What happens when we go out there and they fail the inspection? We are going to give them a period to be able to make the repairs. So, they will receive the inspection report from our department. They will also be on the property during the inspection, whether it is the tenant or the property owner, they will be able find out what it is we would like for them to repair. Then in the mail,within ten(10)business days,they will receive the inspection report that will specifically lay out what it is we saw to serve as a reminder of what needs to be addressed. Re-inspections will have to occur every sixty(60)days to make sure some kind of work is being done on the property. The first(1St)inspection is free and the first(1St)re-inspection is free,the third(3rd)inspection and thereafter, each inspection will be one hundred dollars ($100). Weekly penalties may also be ensued if there is something going on and they aren't making any repairs to the property, we do want to motivate people to make those repairs. If nothing happens then,we might post that property for No Inspection Certificate and illegal to occupy for non-owner occupancy. She went on, One (1) of the big and special certification compliance pieces we have is if we go into a structure and actually need to condemn the property, that is like the worst of the worst that nobody should live in. The inspector would go out and verify that is the condition, then the inspector will need to get approval from the Chief Inspector, the Deputy Director or the Director of the Department to go ahead and condemn that property. The person will be told they have twenty-four(24)hours to remedy the situation. They will also be sent a letter that gives them that twenty-four (24) hours to make those repairs or get those tenants out. If they fail to do that, we will try to get the occupants to a safe location. So, we are going to work with St. Vincent DePaul to try and help get them assistance to have a place to go. Hopefully the landlord might also have other properties to move them into. We will post the unit as No Inspection Certificate and illegal to occupy for non-owner occupancy and we are going to issue fines that will double for every week they continue to be in violation going up to $7,500 per week. I believe the fifth(5th)week is when that kicks in. As I mentioned, people that we do have to relocate because of the worst properties, we are going to help them either do a down payment, break their lease or whatever the case may be to give them some financial assistance, up to eight hundred dollars ($800) depending on their household size and what their need is. Jamie Morgan, Project Manager for the Mayor of the City of South Bend with offices located on the 14th floor of the County-City Building, stated, Rental Inspection for us is going to be part of a suite of programs that the City is offering in order to assist with homes and home repair to really make sure we are providing decent, safe and sanitary housing. Moving forward, we are looking at two (2) big programs through the City that allow us to utilize grants in order to help people make repairs on homes that are identified either through this program or self-identification. Our first(1st) one (1) is our lead hazard reduction grant. The City received about $674,000 through the State in which we are doing interim control repairs for lead. This is in addition to winning $2.3 million from HUD which should kick in within the next six (6) to eight (8) months. We are hopeful for that as well. These will be grants distributed directly to homeowners and rental properties so that they can make the repairs needed to live lead-safe here in South Bend. Additionally, we've launched a suite of home repair grants that provide small-scale home repairs of up to five hundred dollars ($500). In addition to our UEA Pilot Program that will help a certain geography of homes EXCELLENCE ACCOUNTABILITY INNOVATION j INCLUSION EMPOWERMENT 455 County-City Building 227 W.Jefferson Bvld South Bend,Indiana 46601 p 574.235.9221 f 574.235.9173 TTD 574.235.5567 www.southbendin.gov 6