A few days ago, I got notice of yet another type of inspection to which apartment buildings in LA are apparently subject. It turns out that the county Health Department makes it their business to inspect every building every year. Of course, despite owning and managing more than 20 buildings at various points over the past five years, this is the first I’ve heard of it.
I found out about this new kind of inspection because the inspector left a fairly annoying little form letter explaining that he had inspected a few units at a property I manage and that he was requesting that I make a few ridiculous repairs. Fortunately, the repairs he requested are cheap to do, so there’s no real reason not to do them.
I’m not opposed to the idea of inspections. There are plenty of jerky landlords who ought not to be allowed to own apartment buildings. But every building in the city is already subject to regular Systematic Code Enforcement Program inspections, so its pretty absurd to have yet another inspector coming through and asking for repairs. I kind of felt like telling him to get in line.
Anyway, just another example of the Kafka-esque world of Los Angeles real estate bureaucracy…