Despite a lawsuit, the city of Oshkosh is continuing with plans to implement a mandatory rental property inspection program in mid-February.
The city cites health and safety concerns as the reason for the program, but those against it say it's unconstitutional.
For landlord Donn Lord, the biggest issue with the program is the fees. Although a renter can refuse to let city inspectors inside their home, the city will still inspect the home from the outside.
"The city intends to charge an inspection fee even if there's no inspection that takes place on the inside of the home," said Lord, who is also the president of the Winnebago Apartment Association.
Those fees are a minimum of $145, and would trickle down to renters, according to Lord. It's one of many reasons he and the Winnebago Apartment Association are fighting against the program.
The city divided Oshkosh into five sections, and will inspect the properties in one section per year, so that properties are inspected once every five years, the city said.
"We feel the program is very important," said City Manager Mark Rohloff.
The program was put in pace partly because housing code violations are leading to lower property values, according to the city.
"We discovered that as we've done inspections on a complaint basis, that we find a problem 85% of the time," said Rohloff.
However, landlords said they're frustrated because the city has not taken any of their input.
"The ordinance was drafted by the city, solely by the city," said Jeff Wicinsky, owner of Ultimate Properties LLC and a member of the Winnebago Apartment Association.
Representatives from the Association met with city officials last year to try and compromise on the program, and the city told them it would hold off on the vote until it added landlord changes, according to Wicinsky. However, that never happened, he said.
Despite his concerns, Wicinsky does want to make one thing clear.
"The Apartment Assocation does support an inspection program, but not the way the city currently has it written," he said.
The Winnebago Apartment Association and several individual landlords and renters have filed a lawsuit against the city, trying to temporarily stop the program. The city moved that case to federal court.
A motion hearing is set for February 8th in Green Bay.
