Amherst hires inspector as it ramps up rental oversight program

Amherst Town Hall.

Amherst Town Hall. STAFF FILE PHOTO

By SCOTT MERZBACH

Staff Writer

Published: 02-04-2025 3:57 PM

AMHERST — After more than a decade of rental housing oversight in Amherst being complaint-driven, with no regular evaluations of the habitability of rental properties, a more rigorous process that will lead to all apartments being inspected every five years starts July 1.

With the recent hiring of one of two full-time inspectors to examine all rental properties, which number well over 1,200 across town, Building Commissioner Rob Morra told the Community Resources Committee at a mid-January meeting that his office continues to plan for the mid-summer launch.

“We’re still working hard to be prepared,” Morra said.

Following several months of looking to hire a first inspector, Robbin Jones was brought on board in late 2024, and though he’s a veteran inspector, Jones is in the midst of training to get his state certification. Now, advertising and recruiting has begun for a second code enforcement officer and an assistant to support the program, Morra said, as well as finalizing an inspection checklist for each property and doing outreach to landlords.

A final step will be sending out notices to property owners so inspections can be scheduled.

Morra said having the two inspectors, fully trained, is critical.

“For this to work as planned on the five-year cycle, we really need both inspectors ready to go,” Morra said, observing that the inspectors will handle all aspects of checking properties for adherence to town code. “The goal is to have the inspector that’s viewing the property handle it from start to finish.”

When fully implemented, the program is expected to cost $477,580 annually and will have a lead inspector, two inspectors and a program assistant. In addition to rental permits, plans for trash removal, parking and maintenance of grounds will be required, along with a tenant information sheet, with contact information, and a requirement of local management.

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The fees assessed on rental landlords are $100 per year for all owner-occupied rentals; $150 per year, plus $100 per additional unit, and up to $1,050, for all other rentals; and a $150 per unit inspection fee.

A study of revising the rental permitting bylaw began in 2022, with Amherst officials opting to move forward with the overhauled system as a way to ensure that properties being rented are both safe and habitable, with mandated periodic inspections, rather than relying on the say-so of property owners and landlords.

Since the new bylaw was adopted by the Town Council last April, Morra’s office has developed the permit application system. This was created in-house beginning in June and provided a 90-day application window to landlords and others on the town’s contact lists. That yielded 1,262 applications, with 1,140 permits issued so far, in line with last spring’s estimates of 1,258 rental properties containing 5,134 residential units.

Through the fall, Morra’s office reviewed each application, making sure that these had all the data requested, including a bedroom count, a bathroom count and occupancy information.

“It’s very detailed, down to the identification of each unit in each building, so that’s very different, and a whole lot more time on the application process for the applicant,” Morra said.

To flesh the applications out, Morra said his office compared information to assessors’ data and land-use permits. Staff then brought in management plans and parking plans to create a profile of each property as they are readied for inspections.

Morra said one reason the process has been so time-consuming is because staff is trying to figure out what’s included and whether all information was provided. Most important is the accuracy of the unit and bedroom count, which will ease the renewal of permits, using an online portal, in the second year.

Making sure no rentals are slipping through the cracks, Morra is monitoring monthly real estate transfers and stays current on properties that turn over to LLCs, and work with assessors to see tax bills that are not mailed to the addresses of the properties in question, possibly indicating that the properties are rentals. A cross reference is done with past permitted properties, as well as constantly looking at property records and advertisements, and where complaints about neighborhood quality of life issues are happening.

“That’s about the extent of what we can do at this point,” Morra said.

While a landlord group had objected to the new inspection program, no litigation was filed, but some tenants still may object to having their homes inspected while they are living there. Morra said arrangements have been made to do these inspections when a property is vacant or between tenants.

There were a number of late applications, which resulted in late fees.

“I think overall it’s gone as well as it could be for something that’s new,” Morra said.

Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.