Mayor Prussing answered the following questions by email as indicated
#1 How much in rental registration fees are collected annually? How many rental units are there in Urbana?
Approximately $170,000 is billed out in rental registration annually.
Our registration rolls show 8,355 units in Urbana, including 6579 units in apartment buildings, 416 duplexes, and 1360 single family rentals.
#2 Wasn't the idea that fees collected from owners would go to increase the inspection staff? Has the inspection staff been increased?
Yes. We added a second Housing Inspector as a result of this program and also increased clerical and legal support.
#3 Prior to the rental registration program, official city policy was to periodically inspect rentals, but this seemed to occur one every 10-15 years. Under the new rental registration program, how often do you expect rentals will be inspected?
Our prior cycle (with one inspector and systematic inspections only of apartment buildings) was once every 7 years, but had lengthened to every 9 to 10 years due the increase in the City's housing stock. Now with two inspectors, our goal cycle is once every 3 to 5 years. This is a good minimum cycle to ensure ongoing safety of buildings.
#4 How many rental units have been inspected in the past 12 months?
We inspected 1289 multi-family units in 125 buildings, 118 single family and duplex units, and 25 University certified housing buildings containing 1345 student residents. Since our second inspector was hired mid-year and required training, we anticipate a higher inspection total in the next 12 months.
