New Apartment Ordinances for Houston

The Houston City Council Committee on Regulation is working on three new ordinances that will impact the apartment industry. A hearing this morning produced promises to continue working with the apartment industry, especially on a proposed habitability ordinance that still needs some work.

Here is a brief synopsis of the ordinances and links to DRAFT versions of them…

• The first ordinance will change the time limit allowed to complete repairs after a Life Safety Appendix compliance inspection from 2 years to 6 months. HAA supported this concept, since LSA inspections were required to have been completed over a decade ago. The original 2-year time limit was negotiated on behalf of certain high-rise buildings that were required to retroactively add fire sprinklers in basements – an issue that rarely occurs in apartment buildings.
• The second ordinance was actually suggested by HAA on behalf of our friends in the Houston Fire Department, who have wished for many years that apartment properties had directories at all vehicular entrances, rather than just the “principle entrance,” as is currently required. The new ordinance will require that of all properties, and will require new properties (not existing) to have the large numbers on the ends of buildings (not unit numbers) illuminated.
• The third, and most difficult, ordinance creates a new “habitability inspection” that will be required of all Houston apartment buildings – all the way down to three-plexes. Every four years or so, each owner would have to pay $4 per unit to have city inspectors look at a list of basic safety items in common areas. Here is the proposed checklist.  It also removes apartments from the jurisdiction of the Neighborhood Protection Corps, putting apartment issues primarily under the jurisdiction of the Public Works Department. The city has already agreed to start with properties that never received their LSA inspections in the 1990s, and we’re working to resolve other concerns. Most important, we’re pushing hard to have this ordinance presented as part of a package that will include a resolution of our ongoing issue regarding laundry room lint traps.

The ordinances are likely to come to the City Council for consideration in early November.

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