Alongi delays rental inspection ordinance

Du Quoin's mayor is putting the brakes on a proposed ordinance requiring inspections of rental units in the city, although he expects another ordinance to make it to the council table sometime this summer.
Mayor Guy Alongi said he doesn't want to hurry and haphazardly pass an ordinance currently on the table that would require a complete inspection of any rental unit before it is rented to a new occupant.
As currently written, the inspection cost would fall on the property owner, who would get to pick a licensed inspector, and electric and water service could not be turned on until the inspection terms have been satisfied and a certificate of occupancy has been issued by the city clerk's office.
Alongi said the ordinance -- largely a reaction to two condemnations in the past six months at the Elkhurst Apartments and the Midwest Inn -- needs to be done correctly and with the involvement of the city's landlords.
"We're not looking to pass anything that would be intrusive on the landlords," Alongi said last week. "This is kind of a pullback to make sure we've got it right."
Alongi said he envisions an ordinance hat would provide for an assessment of life-safety conditions by the fire department at a property if a resident makes a report of potentially unsafe conditions. If that assessment finds evidence of problems, a formal inspection would be mandated by ordinance.
This is largely the situation that unfolded with both the Elkhurst Apartments and the Midwest Inn, begging the question of what exactly any pending ordinance would change. Alongi said the change in law would simply codify such action in the future and provide encouragement for renters to speak up about unsafe conditions.
"It opens the floodgates for people to call and complain," Alongi said. "It puts teeth into what we do."
Alongi anticipated an ordinance possibly coming up for vote in August.