City Council Defers Vote on Minimum Housing Code Amendments
A City Council Committee has deferred a scheduled vote on proposed amendments to Charlotte’s Minimum Housing Code to allow REBIC, the Greater Charlotte Apartment Association (GCAA) and other stakeholder groups to meet with staff and try and find ways to improve the draft language.
REBIC and GCAA have expressed concern that the proposed changes Ordinance could negatively impact housing affordability by raising the cost of property management and code compliance for landlords. We have also described how the costly and ambiguously worded amendments could reduce the City’s already dwindling supply of Naturally Occurring Affordable Housing.
A full list of the proposed changes is available here, along with the presentation made last month to City Council’s Neighborhood Development Committee. They include:
Requiring roof drains, gutters and downspouts be maintained in good repair and free from obstructions and designed to discharge rainwater away fromthe structure.Requiring any existing air conditioning systems to be ‘in good working condition.’Requiring that cabinet doors and drawers be ‘operating as intended and have functional hardware.’Requiring that exhaust ducts for clothes dryers be equipped with a back-draftdamper.New fines of $500 per day for failure to correct any dangerous violations within 48 hours.Enhanced penalties for Environmental Court convictions that include probation or up to 30 days in jail.
REBIC and GCAA will be convening a stakeholder meeting with City staff later this month to begin working through our concerns, which were outlined in a joint letter issued last week. You can read the full list of our concerns here.
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