Landlords, watchdog group oppose ordinance

The Milwaukee Common Council is considering a proposed city ordinance that would require Department of Neighborhood Services inspections of apartment buildings in two neighborhoods. The council voted to hold the ordinance on Tuesday by a 9-5 vote.

The ordinance would mandate each rental unit have a residential renter certificate issued by DNS before the apartment could be occupied by tenants.

The Lindsay Heights neighborhood, located just north of Marquette, and the area around the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee are the two areas that would be affected by the ordinance.

The program would be authorized to run for five years — at which point it could be expanded to other neighborhoods.

Similar ordinances are in effect in La Crosse, Wis., Minneapolis, Los Angeles County and the Commonwealth of Virginia, Dahlberg said.

“We want to evaluate how this tool works in Milwaukee,” said DNS Commissioner Art Dahlberg, who would report to aldermen on the program’s effectiveness after four-and-a-half years

The inspection would cost landlords $85 to inspect each unit. If no major violations are found, owners would receive a four-year certification.

Additionally, failure by owners to apply for certification would be fined $100 the first time and $150 for subsequent times. Money generated by the fees would go to paying program staff, Dahlberg said.

In Lindsay Heights, the city wants to investigate housing quality because it seems to be detracting from commercial development, Dahlberg said. Around UW-Milwaukee, he said there are safety concerns because of illegal apartment units in basements and attics.

But the ordinance is not without opposition.

“It’s a thinly-veiled attempt by the city of Milwaukee to harass renters, pass backdoor taxes, and violate constitutional rights,” said Chris Kliesmet, executive administrator for Citizens for Responsible Government, a government watchdog group.

The ordinance would allow government officials to search private property without a warrant or probable cause, which Kliesmet said is a violation of the Fourth Amendment, which prohibits unreasonable search and seizure of private property. He also said the fee paid by landlords will eventually make its way back to the renter in the form of higher rent.

CRG is also worried that new inspectors will be hired during a time when there are proposed cuts in the public safety budget.

“That doesn’t strike us as responsible government,” Kliesmet said.

Many landlords are also opposed to the ordinance.

“I feel it’s going to increase my costs at a time when they’re already at an all-time high,” said Dave Gottfried, a landlord who operates six units near UWM.

It wouldn’t just be the addition of the $85 inspection fee, either, Gottfried said. Inspectors would be able to find violations due to the age of buildings, and there would be inevitable costs associated with improving the buildings and bringing them up to code, he said.

Dahlberg said the ordinance would allow city officials to identify trends in housing quality, something they can’t do with the occasional complaints they get now.

“We want property owners to take care of their property,” he said.