ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, April 10, 1996 TAG: 9604100025
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-10 EDITION: METRO
THE COST was too high, way too high. But by making a high priority of the push for more regular inspections of rental units in Roanoke's inner-city areas, the deaths in January of Goldie Christine Duncan and her four grandchildren in their rented Southeast home may prevent similar tragedies in the future.
The proposed inspection program seems well on its way to passage. After several changes from the initial version, it now appears to have the support of tenants' advocates, neighborhood leaders and a majority of - though not all - landlords.
This is a welcome reflection of the ability of a citizens' task force to reason together, of the city bureaucracy's responsiveness to suggestions from all sides, and of the enlightened willingness of many landlords to forgo thoughtlessly obstinate opposition in favor of constructive ideas for improvement.
The result is a proposal that both addresses landlords' legitimate concerns and is stronger in some respects than earlier drafts.
A good example is the provision that units be inspected once every two years (three years for new or substantially rehabilitated housing), rather than when they become vacant. The change addresses landlord objections that waiting for an inspection before rerenting an empty unit would pose an unnecessary economic hardship. At the same time, it means inspections would be made more regularly for all units, and not just those whose tenants happen to leave.
Another new provision would give landlords at least 30 days' notice of a scheduled inspection. This is based on the belief, confirmed by Lynchburg's experience with a similar program, that many owners will voluntarily make repairs in advance, thereby streamlining the process for both themselves and the city. It, too, fits the purpose, which is not to trap landlords but to get substandard units brought up to code.
Important details have changed but in broad outline, the plan - made possible by General Assembly enabling legislation a few years ago - is the same as before: Rental houses or apartments must pass inspections at periodic intervals. Compliance is already required by law, but violations cannot be discovered and corrected without inspections - and currently in Roanoke, there is no mechanism for assuring that inspections are made.
Also as before, the program would be confined for now to inner-city neighborhoods, where the bulk of Roanoke's substandard rental housing exists. Unlike earlier versions of the plan, however, the program would not at first be confined to any specific neighborhood.
More than a decade ago, when Roanokers were shocked by the freezing death of an elderly woman in her ill-heated house, the city announced a goal of eliminating substandard housing. It didn't happen; to the contrary, the number of substandard units rose.
This year, the deaths in the Southeast Roanoke blaze - in a house that had been cut up into apartments that lacked code-required firewalls and code-required smoke detectors - brought new energy to efforts begun months earlier to get a code-compliance program in the city. The lesson is a hard one, but apparently it - at last - is being learned.
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