City schedules rental inspection meetings

Almost four months since Creston City Council tabled a proposal to enact a property rental ordinance, the city of Creston scheduled two public informational meetings on April 12 for property owners about changes to the concept.

According to information from Creston City Hall, “The purpose of these meetings is to inform landlords of a few administrative changes to the program, to discuss common violations identified during the inspections and to clarify any questions about the program.”

All meetings will cover the same material and will be open to the public. Landlords are not required to attend the meetings, but are encouraged. The public meetings will be held at 3 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 12 on the first floor of the city of Creston Restored Depot Meal Site, at 116 West Adams Street.

Those with questions about the meetings or content can contact Creston Inspector, Jason VanAusdall, jvanausdall123@gmail.com, (515) 570-2449

After hearing from multiple property owners in December questioning the proposal city council tabled the issue for further discussion.

In May 2022 council approved Iowa Inspections, LLC to provide services. Council had been meeting with Jason VanAusdall from Iowa Inspections.

The proposal then has all owners of rental property required to comply with city rental code standards. All property owners shall submit an application and registration fee requesting a rental certificate. Upon receipt of an application (informational packet), the landowner contacts the contracted inspector. The contracted inspector conducts an inspection of the premises. When the property passes the requirements outlined in the city ordinance and adopted codes, the contractor saves the information to the shared calendar with the city.

One property owner called the ordinance is a “scam.” He claimed the city of Newton suspended its rental inspection policy until there was clarification about its intent. He said Newton started its ruling in 2018 and only 14 properties were inspected annually but fees were charged to all rental property owners. He said Newton has 723 rental properties.

Another property owner reminded council of legal issues regarding the proposed ordinance. She said Iowa Code can be used in various rental situations.

She referred to Iowa Code about landlords and tenants. She also wondered the Constiutionality as in theory inspections would be inspecting an entire property that may be lived in at the time. The Fourth Amendment about search and seizure could be at stake.

She also questioned compiling all the data related to the inspections and how its recorded.

There were people at the December meeting who were in favor of the inspections. One person claimed she knew of a property owner who charged the same amount for two different locations, but one location was in much better condition than the other.

Another person said she knows of rental properties where property needs were not addressed in appropriate time and put the tenant in a difficult situation.