Rental inspection program morphing: Sterling to include 
all types of properties, not just rentals

STERLING – The city is altering its proposed rental unit inspection program.

The City Council is considering new fees for code violations that would apply to all properties in the city – commercial or residential, owner-occupied or rentals.

Plans to require registration of rental properties and occupancy permits are being abandoned.

“We knew this was the easiest way to get moving forward quickly,” City Manager Scott Shumard said.

Steve Merrill, vice president of the Sauk Valley Landlord Association, was happy that the city decided to include all properties, not just rentals.

“If they want to clean up Sterling, this is the right way to go about it,” Merrill said. “There’s really no type of discrimination, and everyone will be considered either in compliance or not in compliance.”

The city is still researching aspects of its original proposal, such as whether it’s possible to require a property manager to live nearby, in case the property owner lives out of town and an issue arises.

In addition to looking at fines for code violations, the city is considering charging people $150 for the first hour and $75 for each additional hour for inspections of properties not up to code.

Under the proposed plan, if there is a suspected code violation, whether the complaint is initiated by a tenant or neighbor, or spotted by a city employee, there would be one inspection. If the inspector finds a violation, the property owner would be given time to fix the problem, based on the severity of the issue.

The city then would conduct a compliance inspection check. If the problem has not been fixed, the property owner will be charged the inspection fees and possibly a fine.

The property owner would have to pay the inspection fee for all subsequent inspections.

The city does not now have fees for code compliance checks. People can be fined, but if a person decides to fight the ticket in court, “it takes months to get heard,” Shumard said.

“If they come back and it’s fixed, we’re good to go. If they haven’t fixed it on that second visit, there’s no incentive to get it done right away,” Alderman Skip Lee said. “If [I] know on the second visit it hasn’t been fixed, that I’m going to get hammered, I’m more likely to do it.”