APARTMENT INSPECTION PLAN ADOPTED GLENDALE'S NEW SYSTEM LIKE PROGRAM IN LOS ANGELES.

Byline: Helen Gao Staff Writer

GLENDALE - Following in the footsteps of Los Angeles and Pasadena officials, the Glendale City Council has approved a systematic rental- housing inspection program aimed at halting and reversing decay in aging apartments throughout the city.

Under the program adopted Tuesday, which closely resembles the one in Los Angeles, rental housing of two or more units, as well as extended-stay hotels, would be inspected once every three years.

To pay the estimated $957,000 annual cost of the program, the city would assess property owners $24 per year.

With 61 percent of the city residents living in more than 41,000 apartments and little land left to build new housing, city officials said the inspection program is long overdue.

``I am so happy we have finally done this as a city. We should have done this years ago, and the multifamily housing would be in much better shape,'' said Councilman Frank Quintero. ``It's something for which the time has come.''

No landlords or tenants attended the meeting to support or oppose the inspection program, even though it's widely expected that landlords will pass the inspection cost on to tenants in the form of higher rent.

Sam Engel, neighborhood services administrator, said the program would help renters who refrain from reporting code violations to city officials out of fear their landlords would take retaliatory actions.

``What happens is the city initiates the inspection, not the tenant,'' he said about the new program.

For many years, inspections were conducted only when a resident filed a complaint.

Then, in January, a pilot housing-inspection program was launched in the Mariposa District, bounded by Brand Boulevard, Chevy Chase Drive and Broadway. Positive results convinced city officials they should expand the program citywide.

So far, Engel said, inspectors have looked at some 500 units in the Mariposa District and have gained 100 percent cooperation from owners.

The citywide program is scheduled to be launched by Dec. 1. Property owners will receive notices of pending inspections starting in October, so they will have time to correct any problems beforehand.

Before visiting an apartment, inspectors will provide the owner with a copy of the checklist they will bring with them.

Owners whose property complies with all the housing standards will receive a certificate of compliance in the mail. Others will be given 30 days to correct code violations, and then an inspector will make another visit.

Property owners who have failed to make all the repairs will get a second notice, urging compliance. Then, names of any who still fail to comply will be referred to the City Attorney's Office for possible civil and criminal prosecutions.

And if a property owner fails to provide access to his or her building after two attempts, the city will obtain inspection warrants.

Engel, however, stressed that his staff of 12 new employees would seek landlords' cooperation.

``Anything we do has to be fair to everyone involved. If the tenant or owner feels the process is not fair, it's not going to work,'' he said.