Rental inspections underway in Herndon
By Gregg MacDonald
The Town of Herndon's rental inspection program has turned up a handful of potential overcrowding cases in the three neighborhoods that town staff are focusing on.The first report on the year-old program was made public last week.
The program designates "rental inspection districts" in certain neighborhoods within Herndon, based on criteria developed by the council and town staff.
Once districts are designated, property owners are notified within those districts, requiring them to contact the town if their property is being rented to tenants. A civil penalty and a fine of $50 is assessed to property owners who willfully fail to do so.
Residences within the designated districts can then be subject to initial inspections for compliance with building codes at a cost of $70 assessed to the property owner. Property owners can also be charged $30 for follow-up inspections and $60 for "periodic inspections."
According to Department of Public Works Director Bob Boxer, three neighborhoods – Branch Drive, Park Avenue Square and Waterford Park – have been designated as rental inspection districts based on tax records and utility bills mailed to out-of-town addresses for properties within those districts.
“That doesn't necessarily mean that [the owners] are not living there, but it gives an indicator that there probably are a higher percentage of rentals in that community,” Boxer said.
There are 223 homes within the three neighborhoods, 51 of which are rentals, according to the report on the inspection program. Seven property owners have not yet responded to town officials' inquiries.
When the ordinance was approved in March of 2007, the council emphasized the "health and safety" aspects of the program, but Boxer said that it is also a useful tool in battling residential overcrowding. He states in his report that DPW staff “observed 9 units with possible overcrowding situations which they initiated overcrowding enforcement efforts.”
“There are a handful that are having safety issues,” Boxer said. “In the case of the rental program, to uncover overcrowding issues was certainly also one of the reasons for the program. When it was first initiated last summer, someone had mentioned that it was just another tool in the toolbox to try and eliminate overcrowding.”
Boxer said that the Department of Public Works is now being utilized along with members of the Department of Community Development's Zoning Enforcement Office in discovering potential overcrowding cases in Herndon. The proposed public works budget for fiscal 2009 increased by $429,608 from last year's adopted budget.
“You now have two agencies uncovering potential overcrowding issues,” Boxer said. According to Boxer, the town will consider designating additional rental inspection districts in “a few months.”