Town looks to introduce rental inspection policy

Framingham is adopting a program that would require vacant rental-units to pass inspections before they could be rented.

The program is based on one Malden has had in place since 2009.

“What intrigued us,” said Framingham Town Manager Robert Halpin, “is that it will give us a non-invasive way to do an inspection, because the apartment is vacant at that time.

“It turned out to be attractive to landlords, too, because should problems develop in the future, they would have the seal of approval” that the unit was in satisfactory shape when it was rented, Halpin added.

In Framingham, which has more than 68,000 residents, half of all housing units are apartments, according to Halpin. He said the rental-inspection program will complement the town’s code enforcement task force, which deals with problems that are visible outside of buildings.

In early March, Malden Health Director Christopher Webb met with Framingham selectmen to discuss the housing policy in place in his city. Malden developed the policy amid the worst economic downturn in decades.

“There were a lot of rooming-house units with all types of violations,” Webb said recently. “It was beginning to become an epidemic.”

The Malden policy functions as “a reminder that each landlord has the obligation to meet the minimum standard for human habitation each and every time they let someone occupy their building,” Webb said.

“We look at it as a motivator to do the right thing in a timely fashion, so we can move on to other inspections and keep our workflow going,” Webb added.

The landlords, he said, appreciate the clarity and can often address issues in a matter of days.