The Bismarck City Commission this week mulled new standards for rental housing, including mobile homes, in an effort to protect "vulnerable" tenants who fear a complaint to a landlord might result in eviction.
“This ordinance isn’t going to end homelessness. This ordinance isn’t going to end poverty. This ordinance isn’t going to take care of all the issues that people who are teetering on the edge of homelessness have,” said Commissioner Nancy Guy. “It gives them a tool to make their life a little better.”
Guy, who works with the Missouri Valley Coalition for Homeless People, has shared stories about mobile homes with holes in the floor, allowing gophers and squirrels to come and go. Commissioner Shawn Oban, during Tuesday's Bismarck City Commission meeting, shared the story of a woman and her baby living in a mobile home infested with black mold.
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Others, such as Commissioner Steve Marquardt, maintain the proposed ordinance is not necessary because the state already has pertinent laws in place, as outlined in Chapter 47-16 of the North Dakota Century Code.
“I think what the city needs to do is to be able to be the facilitator … to let those tenants know where they need to go to get that help,” he said. “I don’t think we need to have another ordinance to do what’s already on the books.”
Involvement by the health department is another component key to the proposed ordinance, according to Mayor Steve Bakken.
“For a lot of the at-risk population that might find themselves in that situation, it’s more likely that they’re going to have a relationship with the health department already, versus a building inspector,” he said. “So something keeps spinning around in my head that that needs to be a component of this.”
The process
As it stands today, the issue is a civil matter, according to City Attorney Jannelle Combs. If a health and safety issue isn’t addressed within three days of written notice to the landlord, tenants may pay for repairs and deduct the cost from their rent or take their landlord to small claims court. Tenants also could break out of the lease without penalty.
“Some of these people that we’re talking about, they’re not going to repair it themselves. They’re not going to break their lease because they have no other options. And they certainly don’t have the means to hire an attorney,” Oban said. “If those are their three options, then we are failing the folks that are living in sub-OK places to live.”
By adopting the ordinance, the city would have the ability to get involved and “go after” landlords who are in violation of code. Such a process would be complaint based, forgoing regular inspections.
Complaints would be processed by city building official Brady Blaskowski, who would work with the landlord to correct the problems in violation, such as those relating to lighting and ventilation, plumbing, mechanical, electrical, weatherproofing and security.
If the landlord refuses to make repairs or doesn’t follow through, Blaskowski would present the case to the city attorney, who would decide whether or not to file a complaint, according to Guy.
Filling in the gaps
Bismarck-Burleigh Public Health currently investigates complaints associated with air quality and mold, nuisance odors, nuisance noise, unsanitary living conditions and pests.
“We’re always willing to do an onsite consultation … free of charge,” said Anton Sattler, environmental health administrator with Bismarck-Burleigh Public Health.
After further discussion with the Bismarck-Mandan Apartment Association, the proposed ordinance will come before the commission for final action.
“I think we really need this because the state law isn’t quite enough,” Guy said. “I just think that we have the ability to provide a really good tool for a vulnerable population in our city, and I don’t think it’s going to be over burdensome for our staff to take care of. I can’t see hundreds of these complaints happening. So I think we need to fill in the gaps.”