Arcata seeks public input on rental inspection program changes
Arcata is revising its rental inspection program, with tenants able to push for changes before council acts July 15. The plan could affect inspection frequency, fees and how quickly unsafe units are forced into compliance.
The Building Division laid out proposed updates at a public meeting June 24 at the D Street Neighborhood Center. Arcata tenants and landlords still have a chance to weigh in on the city’s rental inspection program before the City Council takes up recommended changes on July 15.
Arcata defines a long-term rental as a unit leased for residential use on a non-transient basis for 30 consecutive days or more. The program applies to one- and two-family rental units that are not exempt, which means it reaches many of the houses and duplexes that house Arcata renters.
Substandard, overcrowded or unsanitary rental buildings can threaten health, safety, welfare, neighborhood stability and public funds spent on code enforcement. The program is meant to identify problem units before conditions worsen, then push repairs or removal of noncompliant housing. It supplements existing code enforcement, not replace it, and works in partnership with owners, tenants and the community.
Current RRIP materials list a $20 annual registration fee per parcel, a $75 inspection fee for properties not enrolled in self-certification, and a $40 one-time self-certification fee. A council presentation listed the inspection fee at $73.29 and phase one inspections would cover all required units during the first three years of the program. Units that qualify for self-certification are inspected annually by the owner or operator, and the city conducts a courtesy inspection every five years. Tenants can also request an inspection outside the regular schedule.
The city has exempted multi-family apartments, mobile home parks, units already inspected by another governmental authority, single rooms in owner-occupied homes, transient-occupancy-tax units and newly constructed residential units within the last five years. Arcata plans to open RRIP registration on July 3 through a dedicated online platform, and it plans to mail an informational flyer with the May utility bill and letters to owners of non-owner-occupied residential properties.
The Arcata City Council unanimously approved it on March 1, and the city later adopted Ordinance No. 1571 amending the RRIP chapter. The latest draft was shaped by five working-group meetings, public input and conversations with the Arcata Fire Department, while complaints from tenants and residents over multiple years helped drive the program in the first place.
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