Worthington rental housing code requires rental housing owners to schedule an inspection with the housing inspector every two years. Compliance with this ordinance is a criterion for obtaining a rental housing operating license.

Court documents stated that Gutierrez-Morales was due for inspection of units 29 and 62 at Sungold Heights in 2016, but has not responded to the numerous attempts by the city to schedule said inspections.

At the Monday hearing, Fifth Judicial District Judge Gordon Moore explained to Gutierrez-Morales, through an interpreter, the reasons for the legal action against him.

Gutierrez-Morales alleged that although his name is listed as the mobile homes' owner, "the trailers are not really mine." He said that he had allowed the true owners to use his name because they were unable to use their own.

Assistant City Attorney Jeffrey Flynn noted that this technicality is "wholly beside the point," as property tax statements show that Gutierrez-Morales is the owner.

"He has the responsibility as the registered landlord with the city of Worthington to permit inspection," Flynn said.

Gutierrez-Morales also claimed he was under the impression that the city had been inspecting the property annually without any action on his part. Moore explained that the city cannot enter a housing unit without permission from the owner, which is why it's the owner's responsibility to schedule a biannual inspection.

Flynn argued that the process of inspection "isn't a totally foreign concept to (Gutierrez-Morales)," as he completed the required inspection in 2014 and was awarded Certificates of Compliance for both units at that time.

Gutierrez-Morales received "no less than eight requests" to schedule an inspection, Flynn said all of which were printed in both English and Spanish.

"There has been absolutely no response," Flynn noted, which the city sees as a refusal to comply with the requirement to allow inspection.

Gutierrez-Morales admitted that he had received the letters at his home in Rushmore.

"The truth is, I do not read them," he said, telling the court he had believed the letters to be fraudulent. Moore advised Gutierrez-Morales to pay attention to mail that has the city of Worthington's letterhead printed on it.

"The city has both the legal and moral responsibility to inspect these premises," Flynn said, explaining that if a tragedy were to occur onsite as a result of a building code violation, the city could be considered liable if it doesn't enforce the rental housing ordinance.

The city of Worthington is asking Gutierrez-Morales to do exactly the same thing required of every other rental housing owner in the city, Flynn added.

"We want (Gutierrez-Morales) to know that the city is serious about this," he said.

Gutierrez-Morales agreed to allow the city building inspector to inspect units 29 and 62, scheduling appointments immediately following the hearing, before leaving the courthouse.

Although Gutierrez-Morales was amenable to the city's request, Flynn asked that the court order be filed anyway. In the event that Gutierrez-Morales does not keep the inspection appointments, he will be brought before the court again and held in contempt.

Read more here:

City takes landlord to court over rental housing code violation | The Globe - The Globe

Related Posts
December 19, 2019 at 4:50 pm by Mr HomeBuilder
Category: Mobile Homes