Rental Inspections: Lawsuit Against City In Works

Reece Murphy
Reporter

A group of Dunn landlords and tenants opposed to the rental housing ordinance is preparing to take a legal stand against the city with a lawsuit aimed at stopping the ordinance.

Opposition to the ordinance, which mandates annual fees and mandatory inspections, has been consistent and vocal since the ordinance was passed without opposition in July.

News of the intended lawsuit comes nearly a month after the city council repealed the original ordinance in favor of an amended ordinance intended to address landowner and tenant concerns while maintaining the city's goal of strengthening what it says is a problem with substandard rental housing.

The amended ordinance does not go into effect until July 1 and the city council has agreed to discuss the issue further during budget meetings.

"We tried to do this the right way, filled the city council chambers up three or four times and made our case," Doug Godwin of Godwin & McCullen Real Estate in Dunn said. "It's like the council has refused to listen and people are mad about it.

"We're in the early stages of this thing, but there are only three steps involved in getting started - organize, hire a lawyer and go to court and file the lawsuit," he said. "So we expect this to move along quickly."

From the beginning of the controversy, concerns about the costs associated with the ordinance and Constitutional privacy issues concerning the mandatory inspections have united what at first glance would appear to be disparate parties between landlords and tenants.

Mr. Godwin said the group of approximately 24 landlords and tenants have spoken to the Bain, Buzzard and McRae law firm in Lillington and is currently in the process of raising funds to pay for their services.

Once the process is further along, the group plans to ask for help from the Libertarian Institute for Government law firm in Washington, D.C., which has already expressed interest in helping with the case, Mr. Godwin said.

City Council member Carnell Robinson said though he disagrees with the group, he respects their rights.

"I personally believe the action of the council is designed to benefit all members of our community, both renters and non-renters alike," Mr. Robinson said.

"But, we respect their rights," he said. "A great part of being an American is that our citizens have an option to seek relief through the court if they feel the action of the council has infringed upon their rights."

The newest incarnation of the ordinance was voted in last month.

The changes, city officials said, were based on input from both opponents and city council members over a three-month period after the ordinance was put on hold to hear opponents' concerns.

Among the changes was a five-year, instead of yearly, inspection cycle with a one-time only inspection fee.

Dr. Ken McElynn said the changes were not good enough.

He said it was important to remember a lot of people of modest means showed up in great numbers to protest a law the city council insisted was for them.

"The council says it wants to protect the pubic, but that's nanny government; what the council needs to do is protect the North Carolina Constitution," Dr. McElynn said. "None of the changes address the constitutional problem of going into people's homes without a warrant that states probable cause.

"The one thing I want to say is landlords and tenants are united in this," he said. "It's a shame we've been forced to pursue legal action to get the council's attention."

From the start, opponents have suggested more diligent enforcement of current housing standards, education for renters and a proactive campaign to deal with substandard rental housing using the city's prior complaint-based inspection system.

Mr. Godwin said he believed there was still a chance for compromise should the council accept.

"If they'll drop their ordinance, we'll get together with the mayor and council and we'll sit down and work out whatever problems they have, which is what we should have done in the beginning," Mr. Godwin said.
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