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A. All rental properties will be inspected once every three years. The department shall periodically select from registered properties containing rental housing units, the properties that shall be inspected by a qualified rental housing inspector and will require a certificate of inspection within a time period established by the director. The property selection process shall be based on a methodology adopted by the director that will further the purpose of this chapter. The rental housing types listed in BMC 6.15.040(B) shall be exempt from the certificate of inspection requirement.

B. All certificates of inspection submitted under this chapter must state that all units subject to inspection have been inspected, that all units inspected comply with the requirements of the building code, fire code, and state law specified in or under the authority granted in this section, and that there are no conditions presented in the units inspected that endanger or impair the health or safety of a tenant. A qualified rental housing inspector or city building code enforcement officer inspecting a rental unit for a certificate of inspection under this chapter shall inspect for and certify compliance with the following requirements of the building code and Chapter 59.18 RCW:

1. The minimum floor area standards for a habitable room as contained in the building code.

2. The minimum sanitation standards as contained in the building code.

3. The minimum structural standards as contained in the building code.

4. The occupancy standards as contained in the building code.

5. The minimum heating standards as contained in the building code.

6. The minimum ventilation standards as contained in the building code.

7. The minimum electrical standards as contained in the building code.

8. The minimum standards for emergency escape window and doors as contained in the building code and fire code.

9. The requirements for garbage and debris removal as contained in the building code.

10. The requirement to provide and test smoke alarms and carbon monoxide alarms as contained in the building code.

11. The requirements regarding fire sprinkler or fire alarm systems (if any) required by the building code.

12. The requirements regarding passive fire resistive construction components contained in the building code.

13. The requirements related to fitness for human habitation as set forth in RCW 59.18.060.

C. The director is authorized to adopt and publish a checklist to be used for declarations of compliance and inspections submitted or conducted under this chapter and is authorized to include additional standards within the building code or fire code so long as the checklist and standards are consistent with the intent and scope of this chapter. No provision in this chapter is intended to impose building or fire code standards for existing structures beyond the standards for existing structures set forth in the building code or fire code. This chapter shall be interpreted in a manner that is consistent with BMC 17.10.020, as may be amended from time to time, regarding existing structures.

D. A certificate of inspection shall be based upon a physical inspection by the qualified rental housing inspector or city building code enforcement officer of the residential housing units conducted not more than 90 days prior to the date of the certificate of inspection.

E. The certificate of inspection shall list and show compliance with the minimum standards for each residential housing unit that was inspected using the checklist provided by the city and shall contain such other information as determined by the director to carry out the intent of this chapter.

F. Limitations and Conditions on Inspection of Units for Certificate of Inspection.

1. The city may only require a certificate of inspection on a rental property once every three years.

2. A rental property that has received a certificate of occupancy within the last four years and has had no code violations reported on the property during that period is exempt from inspection under subsection (A) of this section.

3. A rental property inspected by a government agency or other qualified inspector within the previous 24 months may provide proof of that inspection which the city may accept in lieu of a certificate of inspection. If any additional inspections of the rental property are conducted, a copy of the findings of these inspections may also be required by the city.

4. For properties that qualify for an inspection under subsections (F)(5) and (6) of this section, the owner or landlord must send written notice of the inspection to all units at the rental property. The notice must advise tenants that some of the units at the property will be inspected and that the tenants whose units need repairs or maintenance should send written notification to the landlord as provided in RCW 59.18.070. The notice must also advise tenants that if the landlord fails to adequately respond to the request for repairs or maintenance, the tenants may contact city of Bellingham officials. A copy of the notice must be provided to the inspector upon request on the day of inspection.

5. If a rental property has 20 or fewer rental units, no more than four rental units at the rental property may be selected by the city to provide a certificate of inspection as long as the initial inspection reveals that no conditions exist that endanger or impair the health or safety of a tenant.

6. If a rental property has 21 or more rental units, no more than 20 percent of the units, rounded up to the next whole number, on the rental property, and up to a maximum of 50 units at any one property, may be selected by the city to provide a certificate of inspection as long as the initial inspection reveals that no conditions exist that endanger or impair the health or safety of a tenant.

7. If an owner or landlord is asked to provide a certificate of inspection for a sample of units on the rental property and a selected unit fails the initial inspection, the city may require up to 100 percent of the units on the rental property to provide a certificate of inspection.

8. If a rental property has had conditions that endanger or impair the health or safety of a tenant reported since the last required inspection, the city may require 100 percent of the units on the rental property to provide a certificate of inspection.

9. An inspector conducting an inspection under this chapter may only investigate a rental property as needed to provide a certificate of inspection.

10. If a rental property is part of a rental property complex, the limitations set forth in this subsection (F) shall apply to the rental property complex as a whole.

G. Notice to Tenants.

1. The landlord shall provide written notification of his or her intent to allow an inspector to enter an individual unit for the purposes of providing the city with a declaration of compliance or certificate of inspection in accordance with RCW 59.18.150(6). The written notice must indicate the date and approximate time of the inspection and the company or person performing the inspection, and that the tenant has the right to see the inspector’s identification before the inspector enters the individual unit. A copy of this notice must be provided to the inspector upon request on or before the day of inspection.

2. A tenant who continues to deny access to his or her unit is subject to the penalties in RCW 59.18.150(8).

H. The fee to be assessed for a city building code enforcement officer to conduct an inspection under this chapter shall be set by council ordinance. The director is authorized to develop an incentive in the fee structure to benefit those rental properties that pass the initial inspection leading to a certificate of inspection. [Ord. 2015-03-005 § 1].