Inspections of rental property will be required across Baltimore County after lawmakers extended a program targeting unkempt boarding homes and absentee landlords.
The County Council on Monday evening voted 4-3 to require inspections and permits for rental properties containing six or fewer units every three years. The program is an extension of a test version in 13 county communities that lawmakers who voted against the measure criticized as a failure.
“The pilot program was not a success,” said Council Chair Sam Moxley, a Catonsville Democrat. “We should at least see if we?ve got this down in the pilot area before we pass it on to the entire county.”
But supporters said the program was successful where resources were available to enforce it. Inspections now will be performed by private contractors who will focus on health and safety measures like working smoke detectors, safe plumbing and heating, and escapable windows.
Bill sponsor John Olszewski Sr., a Dundalk Democrat, said the program will free county inspectors to return to their primary responsibilities. Landlords who rent without permits will face daily fines of $1,000.
“I look at this as a business issue,” Olszewski said. “When you rent a home, it?s a business, and like any other business, there are health and safety issues in the building that should be addressed.”
In addition to Moxley, Councilmen Bryan McIntire, a north county Republican, and Joe Bartenfelder, a Fullerton Democrat, voted against the bill.
Property owners lobbied against the program expansion, arguing inspections could cost between $200 and $600, driving up the cost of rent. Thomas Germroth, a White Marsh resident who said he strives to maintain his single rental home in Carney, said the program unfairly excludes high-rise apartment.
“I think there are better ways to solve the problem of bad landlords and bad tenants,” Germroth said. “I don?t think they need sweeping legislation that covers every house.”
