Independence, Missouri proposes mandatory rental inspections

[Matt R.]

Hello, all!

The city of Independence, Missouri (a large suburb on the east side of Kansas City) is proposing mandatory inspections for rental properties.  The landlord would be required to hire an inspector, at the landlord's expense, and submit the inspection report to the city before the property can be rented.  The inspection would be good for two years, and then need to be re-done. For four-plex and smaller properties, all units would have to be inspected.  For larger properties, only 10% of the units would have to be inspected.

The cover sheet for the proposed law is here http://agendas.indepmo.org/Coversheet.aspx?itemid=... and the actual text of the proposed law is here http://agendas.indepmo.org/AttachmentViewer.ashx?A... . It is known as the "Rental Ready Program".

The bill had its first reading at the City Council meeting on 15 August 2016.  I think it will have a second reading at the next City Council meeting on 6 September 2016, and then the council will vote on it.  The public can attend City Council meetings in person, and they are also broadcast online at http://www.ci.independence.mo.us/City7/VideoEvents , but I don't think there is a way for people to ask questions remotely.

I found out about this from MAREI, a local real estate investment group that I am a member of. They got the information from another group, the Landlords Association of Eastern Jackson County. I care about it because the SFR I currently own is in Independence.

Matt Roberds

edit: added name of proposal