Why are rental housing inspections required?
State of Iowa law mandates inspections of rental housing in cities over 15,000 in population. The Marion City Council has adopted the HUD Housing Code guidelines for all rental property in Marion and has mandated that inspections by the Marion Fire Department Housing Division take place. The Housing Code that has been adopted is available on this website.How often do rental inspections take place?
Rental housing inspections take place on a three-year rotation. If a rental property has two consecutive housing inspections where no violations are noted and has had no valid complaints issued against it, the property will go to a five- year rotation. It will stay on the five-year rotation as long a inspections continue to find no violation and no valid complaints are issued against the property.
How much do housing inspections cost?
The basic fees for a housing inspection are $50 for the structure and $13 for each unit within the structure. This fee includes the original inspection and one follow-up visit. For a single-family rental, a routine inspection with corrected violations on the next visit, the bill would be $50. For a four-unit apartment, the fee would be $89, and so on. If additional trips are required to complete the inspection process, they may be billed on an escalating scale.
Do rental properties have to be inspected?
Yes. In order to lawfully rent a rental unit, the owner must posses a Certificate of Inspected Housing. This Certificate is issued following the successful completion of the housing inspection process.
Can you describe the inspection process?
The Marion Fire Department Housing Division will contact you by letter when it is time for you to have your property inspected. The letter will assign an inspection.