Get tough and inspect rental units in Overland Park

Overland Park should move smartly ahead with a program aimed at making sure landlords take good care of their properties.

The plan is to push landlords to be good neighbors in residential neighborhoods. Rental houses and apartment complexes should not be allowed to create blight that can reduce property values, especially for longtime residents who own their single-family homes.

The City Council recently heard some valid reasons to pursue the program, which would not start in earnest until 2016.

An official in the city’s planning agency pointed out that rental residential properties have had a high number of code violations in recent years. That’s a disturbing fact, which has helped push the city to take the next step: Establish a licensing and inspection plan for the exteriors of all those rental units.

That would be a proper move toward a more aggressive and proactive way to make sure those properties are better cared for, which in turn would prevent future blight.

The inspection idea came from a task force that included rental community representatives, so it should not come as a surprise to landlords.

The plan also will not be approved without appropriate public scrutiny, which includes a public meeting next month, followed by a council vote in early 2016.

As now described, it would take three years to put the plan in place: registering all rental properties in the first year, then licensing and inspecting them over the next two years.

The city should take a look at putting the plan in place more quickly, especially if it can get the assistance of landlords to comply with the registration process.

In addition, as a task force member noted, the city should consider adding interior inspections to the final program. That could more fully protect the safety of renters and promote better upkeep of rental units.

This story was originally published October 27, 2015 at 4:20 PM with the headline "Get tough and inspect rental units in Overland Park."