Is Oxford Regularly And Thoroughly Inspecting Rental Properties?

By Sophie Whorf

Miami University journalism student

Miami University senior Chris Bulaw quickly sat up in bed. Running his hand through wet hair, he tilted his head back to discover rainwater cascading down the window sill. He tugged on the wooden frame, unable to halt the accelerating water flow.

Within seconds, both Bulaw and his mattress were soaked.

It was 1 a.m. Feb. 7. Bulaw immediately dialed his landlord to leave an angry voicemail.

Bulaw lives in an off-campus apartment in Oxford with three other men. Each pay $4,000 per semester rent.

Bulaw said that his landlord arrived at his apartment the next day to examine the faulty window. Although he promised to fix it within a week, he has not returned since.

Keep Residences "Habitable"

According to Section 5321.04 of the Ohio Revised Code, landlords must "Make all repairs and do whatever is reasonably necessary to put and keep the premises in a fit and habitable condition." The city of Oxford encourages tenants to contact the Rental Permits and Housing Department directly if an agent fails to comply with this ordinance.

There are 4,556 approved rental units as of March 1, 2017.

Oxford Code Official Lisa Colwell said the list of "approved rentals" posted online is intended to reassure Miami students that rental properties have been recently inspected before they sign a binding lease agreement.

However, some apartments on the approved list have not been inspected in more than two years. According to Community Development Director Jung-han Chen, Oxford rental properties are inspected every 18-24 months on average.

Waiting On Inspection

Currently, Doug Paulick is the sole city inspector. He regularly inspects Oxford rental properties on Tuesdays and Fridays. Colwell and Paulick work for the National Inspection Corporation in Dayton, Ohio.

"The city of Oxford adopted a rental code and housing code -- and at one point in time they had an employee who performed those inspections," Colwell says. "That employee, for whatever reason, wasn’t cost effective, so it was better to outsource [the inspections] and have our company do it."

Bulaw’s apartment is on the March 1 list of approved rental properties, but has not been inspected since August. The apartment’s windows were not marked as a violation during the last inspection.

Individual rental property inspection checklists/reports are not available to the public online, but they are available upon request. Additionally, Chen said that every tenant should possess a copy of their most recent inspection report/checklist -- provided by a landlord.

Neither Bulaw nor his three roommates knew anything about the city inspections. They are only aware of the rental permit tacked on their kitchen wall, which is dated more than a decade ago on Aug. 16, 2006 and valid for one year.

"We were told that we had to have something posted in our unit, and that’s the only permit we could find," Zach Patton, Bulaw’s roommate, says.

Photo: Students and others interested in finding rental housing can find the approved list as well as other information at the Rental Permits & Housing site.