Ask Mr. Answer Person: Does the City of Decorah inspect rental housing?

Posted: Sun, Nov 11, 2018 9:09 AM

(Michael e-mails Mr. Answer Person: "I was recently helping a person look for an apartment in Decorah. Some of the places we looked at were downtown. I was shocked at the condition some of these places were in. Absolute dumps and poorly maintained. That leads to my question, Is there some sort of rental inspection office in Decorah government? If so, how often do they inspect apartments?"):

Mr. Answer Person says: "Every rental unit in Decorah is inspected once every three years.

City officials look for safety issues, such as the lack of smoke alarms, the lack of an emergency escape or the lack of handrails. They also check to make sure electrical outlets are properly wired, gas shut off valves work and hallways have adequate lighting.

What they don't inspect are some of the things that might cause you to call a place "an absolute dump," such as whether someone's clothes are on the floor or other appearance-related factors. In other words, apartments can make you say, 'I don't want to live here' and still pass inspection for safety issues.

A copy of the city's apartment inspection list is linked at the bottom of this story, so you can see for yourself what is covered by inspections."

Rental housing checklist