In the latest round in its fight against overcrowding, the Elgin City Council has given tentative approval to a program that will require inspections of all houses for sale, in order to set a maximum legal number of occupants for each property.
The council, meeting as a committee of the whole, backed the occupancy inspections by a vote of 4-0, despite objections from Realtors who view the program as intrusive, unfair and costly. Council members John Walters, Juan Figueroa and Marie Yearman were not present.
The council is expected to give final approval to and hear implementation plans for the proposal when it meets Wednesday.
“It’s hard to imagine losing your home because you had a baby or because you sleep in the basement,” said Jim Bell, spokesman for the Elgin Area Association of Realtors, on possible ramifications of the inspection program.
The inspections are part of a controversial campaign the city has waged to combat cramped quarters, which officials say lead to noise complaints and health and safety risks.
Other new programs include starting a team of code enforcement officers to focus on “problem properties” and inspecting all single-family rental homes.
The city’s efforts have come under fire from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which referred complaints to the Justice Department that the city has discriminated against Hispanics under the guise of fighting overcrowding. The city has denied that allegation.
Bell also brought up the HUD investigation and said that if the city cannot be objective as part of the building inspection process, he fears the occupancy inspections will also be arbitrary and discriminatory.
Mayor Ed Schock responded that the HUD report is an allegation and not a fact.
“HUD favors this program,” he said. “They believe in preventive programs. They support us going forward with it.”
Bell said the Realtors favor a plan that would have buyers and sellers sign a disclosure form that they have received a pamphlet explaining the current occupancy restrictions. By signing, the buyer and seller could be held liable for any violations and could request city inspections if occupancy limits were in question.
City staff members say inspections can be completed in three business days and within 24 hours in emergency cases if a closing may be affected. In addition, the city will establish a database of all inspections so subsequent sales of a house would not require inspection.
Bell doubted that the city could turn around the inspections that quickly. He said that during busy seasons, real estate listings can be eight times more than in slower periods.
“I’m convinced it could be done during slow times and I’m convinced you couldn’t do it during busy times,” Bell told the council.
City officials said many of the complaints filed with HUD involved property owners who did not know about any legal limit to the number of people who could live on the premises. They characterized the proposed inspections at the time of sale as an attempt to stave off overcrowding situations before they materialize.
“Instead of reacting to a problem, we want to be proactive and preventive and allow prospective home buyers to make a better informed decision,” said Mark Biernacki, Elgin’s community development manager.
The council endorsed a system in which residents would call the city before putting houses up for sale and arrange for an inspection. Within three business days, a code enforcement technician would go to the home to determine how many could live there.
The Illinois Association of Realtors lists more than 60 cities that require inspections of single-family homes before they are sold. But Michael Scobey, a government affairs liaison with the organization, estimated that only 5 to 10 might be looking to establish maximum occupancy.
Between 2,000 and 3,000 homes are up for sale in Elgin during a typical year, City Manager Joyce Parker said.
The city would delay the sale of homes that had not been inspected by withholding a transfer stamp, Parker said.
Bernard Kleina, executive director of the HOPE Fair Housing Center in Wheaton, said he was skeptical of the proposal. He said he thought it might expose Elgin to liability if a sale falls through because of the inspection. He also said that given Elgin’s recent past, there would be little reason to trust the city.
“There wouldn’t even be a proposal like this if it were not for the fact that there is a substantial Latino population in Elgin,” he said.
