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Practice Tip To prevent evictions and maximize the number of units that can be “saved” and preserved in the rental housing market, PRI programs should strive to exhaust all options for bringing a failing or illegal unit up to code. 18A Guide to Proactive Rental Inspection Programschangelabsolutions.org Enforcement to Address Code Violations One of the most important elements of any rental inspection program – complaint-based or proactive – is enforcement when violations are discovered. Implementing appropriate remedies for identified code violations (and when a property owner fails to make repairs) helps ensure that program goals are met and tenants are protected from substandard housing conditions. Localities use a range of tools to enforce property maintenance, housing, sanitary, and health laws. The methods a locality may use are often dependent on state law and on what powers the state delegates to localities. Generally, the move from a complaint-based system to proactive rental inspection doesn’t require major changes in the types of actions taken in response to violations. However, if a locality’s existing complaint-based rental inspection program is facing enforcement challenges, the locality should take the opportunity to address these challenges in designing and implementing a more comprehensive program. The primary goal of PRI programs is to ensure that housing is properly maintained. When an inspection reveals a substandard condition in a covered dwelling, most localities will issue a notice or order to comply, setting out the owner’s rights and obligations, as well as the consequences of continued non-compliance.132 The order will typically specify a time window for compliance. Los Angeles, for example, allows no more than 30 days for correction of non-serious violations, with the possibility of an extension if significant progress has been completed by the end of 30 days.133 For violations that pose a serious risk to the health or safety of the occupants or the public, Los Angeles requires that the substandard condition must be abated (repaired) in no more than 14 days, with no possibility of extension.134 If a violation poses an imminent danger to the health or safety of tenants, most programs move quickly to remedy the situation. In Los Angeles, the city can order that the landlord fix the violation within 48 hours, and then re-inspect the building within the next 24 hours. If the condition has not been abated, the city is authorized to make the repair and then require the property owner to reimburse the city.135 Fines, which are a common component of program enforcement when an owner fails to make repairs in a timely manner, are discussed further in the Funding PRI Programs section (see page 19). A few interesting enforcement approaches are described below: Rent Escrow Accounts One interesting feature of the Los Angeles Systematic Code Enforcement Program is the city’s Rent Escrow Account Program (REAP), which is activated when a property owner fails to fix code violations within the time allotted. After a hearing on the violations, the property units may be ordered into REAP by the manager of the Housing Department. When a property is in REAP, tenants receive a rent reduction for the cited code violations at the property and are given the option of paying their reduced monthly rent into an escrow account or to the landlord. The city records the Notice of REAP as a property lien,