Relating to city inspections of rental properties, and providing penalties

This bill relates to city inspections of rental properties. Under current law, a city with a population of 15,000 or more is required to adopt an approved housing code and enforcement procedures, which must include a program for regular rental inspections, rental inspections upon receipt of complaints, and certification of inspected rental housing. Current law authorizes a city that has adopted an approved housing code to issue orders requiring violations to be corrected within a reasonable time and issue citations upon the failure to satisfactorily remedy a violation. The bill requires a city rental inspection program to require that an inspector inspect for the presence of mold. Under the bill, a rental property owner who has been ordered to mitigate mold discovered during a rental inspection who has failed to correct the violation within a reasonable time commits a simple misdemeanor. A simple misdemeanor is punishable by confinement for no more than days and a fine of at least $105 but not more than $855.