OSHKOSH, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – Despite a legal challenge, renters and landlords in Oshkosh will, for now, face new, wider-ranging inspection rules.
Those against the new inspections say the program is unconstitutional. And to try and prove it, they filed a lawsuit, which is now moving to the federal court.
However, the city says it’s confident the ordinance will survive the legal challenge.
There’s still plenty of objection to the city of Oshkosh’s mandatory rental inspection program, which is set to kick off in two weeks.
Alex Oberthaler, a renter in Oshkosh, spoke to WLUK.
“It’s a disappointment. As a tenant, I don’t want someone coming in my house.”
The Common Council passed the ordinance in September. It allows city inspectors to check for violations in rental homes on a regular basis.
Mark Rohloff, Oshkosh City Manager, said, “Things such as code and safety violations, plumbing, electrical, smoke detectors.”
Landlords will be charged $100 per visit, plus $45 per unit.
Rohloff says these inspections would benefit the health and safety of renters.
But attorneys for a group of landlords and residents argue that inspections done in this manner are unconstitutional.
Eric McLeod, lead attorney representing the Winnebago Apartment Association…
“The government should not have the right to demand entry into an apartment to conduct an inspection, unless there is a warrant based on reasonable suspicion that there’s some legal violation that they’re investigating. That’s a fundamental principle in our law in this country.”
Rohloff disagrees.
“There’s no way we can violate that Fourth Amendment issue, because we’re cooperating with the individual to schedule those inspections”
While the federal lawsuit is still pending, Rohloff says they plan to start the inspection process, beginning in the area around the UW Oshkosh campus.
“We know that’s an area that has a high number of rental units, and where we’ve had the most problems from a complaint standpoint over the years.”
Landlords, on the other hand, say while they do support the concept of city inspections, they do not support the way the city went about it.
Jeff Wicinsky, owner of Ultimate Properties, LLC., says…
“We felt we spent a lot of time and effort to make these changes, so as a community we could support this program. None of the line-items that we suggested were changed to the ordinance.”
A hearing on the lawsuit has been set for March 1st.
