The city of St. Paul is ripping up its approach to housing inspections, at least on paper. written by Fred Melo
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Rather than demand old homes meet modern property maintenance standards, dozens of technical changes recently adopted by the St. Paul City Council indicate city inspectors must abide by statewide building and fire codes. And those codes for existing homes and rental properties defer to building standards in place at the time of construction — even if that construction is a century old.
For homeowners looking to pass inspection before renting out a house or selling a property, the code changes could add up to hefty savings — in both costs and time. 


“I think it’s good for the public to know that with aging housing stock, the quality doesn’t have to always be brought up to current code, which can be virtually impossible or extremely cost prohibitive,” said Mark Lentsch, a St. Paul-based Realtor.
The council decision represents a bit of a win for the Builders Association of Minnesota, which several years ago took a legal case against the city over egress windows as far as the Minnesota Court of Appeals.
“A home that was built in 1974 must meet the 1974 code,” said Remi Stone, an executive vice president with the association. “A local government cannot force a homeowner to bring it up to a code that didn’t exist at the time the home was built. That’s not the way it works.”
The change is potentially sweet relief for landlords who have long complained that city inspectors are overzealous or inconsistent in imposing inspection standards.
For instance, the code amendments adopted by the city council Wednesday allow pre-existing driveways to be maintained as currently constructed — including gravel — unless they are being expanded

TWO LEGAL CHALLENGES

A Nov. 18 memo from DSI director Ricardo Cervantes to city council members indicated St. Paul’s written property maintenance code needed to be updated. The move was largely in reaction to two legal challenges: a Minnesota Supreme Court ruling from 2008 (City of Morris v. Sax Investments Inc.) and the Minnesota Court of Appeals ruling from 2012 (Builders Association of Minnesota v. City of St. Paul).
“These rulings have determined that municipalities cannot require existing buildings to meet local property maintenance code standards that were not in effect at the time the property was originally constructed,” Travis Bistodeau, a deputy director for the St. Paul Department of Safety and Inspections, told council members on Wednesday.

Russ Stark
Russ Stark



Click here: St. Paul nance standards are adjusting their ordinances and practices, as well.”housing inspections rip up building codes, at least on paper – Twin Cities