Whereas, the City of Minneapolis is dynamic, multi-cultural, vibrant and a beautiful place to live; and
Whereas, the City of Minneapolis strives to be both sustainable and green; and
Whereas, low-income families of color face disproportionate healthy impacts (such as elevated blood lead levels and asthma) in Minneapolis; and
Whereas, the quality of low-income rental housing is inconsistent, oftentimes poor, and when in bad condition contributes to negative children's environmental health impacts; and
Whereas, the City of Minneapolis currently has an inadequate number of rental housing inspectors to enforce existing housing laws; and
Whereas, many rental property owners are unaware of Built Environment linkages between housing and children's health.
Therefore be it resolved that, the City of Minneapolis support and implement the following:
1. Healthy Homes Healthy Kids Workshops for Rental Property Owners in Minneapolis; and
2. Distribution of the Healthy Homes Visual Inspection Checklist to all potential renters by rental property owners; and
3. Implementation of an Inspections Fee to cover rental housing inspections costs and to pay for additional inspectors (to be paid each time a rental housing unit is inspected -particularly Tier 3; and
4. Property owners disclose repair and maintenance history to prospective tenants on the Visual Inspection Checklist; and
5. Any property owner with tenants who receive Emergency Assistance to pay for any portion of a rent or damage deposit must be Tier 1 property owners.
