City still wrestling with rental inspections

FORT MADISON – The City of Fort Madison’s ongoing dance with its ordinances governing vacant and rental properties took up about an hour of Tuesday night’s City Council meeting.
City staff is trying to find common ground with property owners and tenants when it comes to properly maintaining properties in the city.
The city instituted registries for vacant properties back in 2024 after spending several years cultivating a list of more than 400 properties that were dilapidated. That list was cut by 25% by September of 2024.
The rental inspections have also had a dramatic impact on the number of structure fires in the city. However, the issue of constitutional rights protecting unwarranted search and seizure have gained momentum with the council.
Two city councilors, Matt Emmett and Rick Thele, own rental properties in town and are fighting back against inspections of rentals while under tenant agreements.
Both Emmett and Thele have stipulated inspections are needed, but they should be done outside of ongoing leases and done between tenants.
The city adopted the rental inspection program in 2012. The program requires all rental properties, properties that aren’t occupied by the owner listed on the deed, to be registered by November each year. A $25 fee is attached to the registration with a $5 additional fee per unit within the building. For example, a 3-unit apartment is $35 annually. The city also requires a full inspection every three years.
Emmett is offering an amendment to the ordinance to allow tenants to opt out while under lease.
“If you would give the option to opt out while they are renting, but then require it again before it goes to somebody else, you have not violated their privacy,” Emmett said.
“If they want the inspection, they take it, if they don’t, they don’t have to. The point to me is you should not have your privacy violated because you rent.
“If we’re going to do this to every renter every three years, then we should do it to every homeowner. Right is right and fair is fair.”
He said there is an argument to be made that if he is renting property to someone, he has entered into a business, and business are inspected. In the interest in compromise, he said he could get behind inspections between tenants.

Tenants can initially refuse to allow the inspections, however, with probable cause, the city can pursue a lawful warrant and, if secured, would require the inspection to be allowed. City attorney Pat O’Connell said the city would have to prove probabl cause typically by affidavit that someone observed something dangerous happening inside the rental unit, and not just because an inspection hadn’t been done in three years.
“Courts all over this state and everywhere else in the country have ruled that if somebody refuses an inspection, that is their right. And you may not enter. If we have probable cause to believe there’s a violation of the rental ordinance and we can establish that…you can take that to the judge and get a search warrant and enter.”
But he said refusing at that point would have consequences up to and including revoking rental permits.
The city currently has about 1,200 rental units, according to City Building Director Doug Krogmeier. Councilor Rusty Andrews asked Krogmeier how many people had refused entry on inspection and Krogmeier said three.
“After this conversation, it will be 300,” Krogmeier responded.
“That’s not the way the Constitution works,” Emmett said.
The council also debated on what levels family members would be considered primary residents outside of rental guidelines. Krogmeier has advocated for parents and children of the owner listed on the deed. Thele said he’d like to see that extended to a broader range of grandparents to grandchildren.
The council had originally planned on having a second reading of the ordinance at Tuesday’s meeting, but instead changed it to discussion only. Mayor Melinda Blind asked that staff discuss the issue further and get any legal wording to O’Connell, but she said the city needed to move forward with action and not be bogged down in conversation.
Emmett said there was no need to continue the debate and his opt-out amendment should stand.
"If you don't include this, you are saying that a renter does not have the same rights as an owner in Fort Madison. I welcome someone to challenge that."
Blind said the city could bring back the ordinance with the amendment or without and get a vote up or down on the second reading.
City Manager Laura Liegois said the city adopted International Property Maintenance Codes and that opens up everyone to maintaining their property.
"Sooner or later we have to send out notices for this program. We're either continuing what we have right now going into next year, or we're going to figure this out so we can send out notices in October."