Title
AN ACT CONCERNING RENTAL HOUSING - EXPEDITED HEALTH AND SAFETY ENFORCEMENT for the purpose of providing for landlord obligations regarding a unit that is unsafe for occupancy; providing a clear and accelerated process for addressing serious housing conditions; providing for the landlord to provide notification and information in response to health safety issues; providing that relevant County agencies shall prioritize the most urgent cases, and unsafe conditions; providing that relevant County agencies shall provide certain enforcement procedures and certain reports [and in certain circumstances be subject to Council oversight hearings and budget review]; and generally regarding rental housing expedited health and safety enforcement.
Background
This bill is the Rental Housing - Expedited Health and Safety Enforcement Bill and it provides for landlord obligations regarding a unit that is unsafe for occupancy. It establishes a clear and accelerated process for investigating serious housing conditions that is transparent in response and escalation standards for verified health-and-safety complaints, including when a landlord does not timely correct serious violations within a set period. It provides that tenants are to be notified at every part of the process. It ensures that tenants understand what to expect, agencies can prioritize the most urgent cases, and unsafe conditions receive consistent and accountable enforcement. It requires relevant County agencies to establish enforcement procedures and submit periodic implementation reports to the Council which include complaint volume, inspections, notices, determinations, enforcement actions, and response-time metrics to measure compliance and identify gaps in tenant protection. It provides that County agencies that do not meet requirements will be required to submit a corrective-action plan and may be subject to Council oversight hearings and budget review.