THE FOLLOWING IS A GUEST POST, WRITTEN BY DONNA NEWTON OF THE GREENSBORO NEIGHBORHOOD CONGRESS. It contains important information about RUCO, and how you can take action in support of RUCO. (Slightly edited for the web from original emails.)
RUCO is under attack by opponents and now is the time that those who support RUCO speak up and let all Council members, not just your district Council person, know how you feel.
The focus of the Greensboro Neighborhood Congress is the preservation and improvements of our neighborhoods in terms of quality of life, property values and safety. As we all know, sub-standard housing undermines surrounding property values — even one substandard property can undermine the property values of an entire neighborhood. Also, we know that sub-standard properties invite crime into our communities.
Other organizations that are partnering in support of the pro-active aspects of RUCO, such as the Greensboro Housing Coalition and the Human Relations Commission, are focused on the human rights issues of improving sub-standard rental properties, in that renters have a right to live in safe housing and that many of them won’t complain about substandard housing out of fear of retaliation from their landlords.
RUCO is a sucessful program
- Since RUCO was implemented, known sub-standard housing in Greensboro has been reduced from 1679 units in 2003 to 705 in 2010;
- Since RUCO was implemented, complaints about sub-standard housing have been decreased 77%;
- Since RUCO was implemented, inspections staff have been reduced by 22%.
- Since RUCO was implemented, inspections staff have been more successful in getting deteriorated housing to the Minimum Housing Commission more quickly and the number to go has steadily increased from 17 in 2003 to 105 in 2010.
RUCO is reasonable
- Once inspected and a certificate is issued, the RUCO is good for the life of the property unless there is a complaint on the property or violations are found during the sampling inspections and not repaired within the prescribed time frame.
- The time frame in which a violation must be repaired is 45 days from the written notice of the violation and can be extended as long as in the judgment of the inspector, progress is being on the repairs.
- The sampling inspection process applies only to a random 2% of rental properties.
- Rental properties that have not yet been inspected that come on the rental market are required to pass inspection and be issued a RUCO before they can be rented.
Opponents of RUCO plan to propose an elimination of the pro-active portions of RUCO, and as they couch it: “target problem properties”. Their proposal will in effect eliminate RUCO. Read more on Guest post: Donna Newton on RUCO and how you can take action…
At the YES! Weekly blog, Jordan Green is keeping up with the latest proposed changes to the City of Greensboro’s RUCO ordinance, governing inspection of rental units. Housing advocates insist on keeping proactive inspections that protect tenants — particularly low-income and poor tenants who often fear retaliation if they report bad landlords. But the task force is discussing eliminating required inspections. The City Council will vote on any proposed changes to the ordinance.
The City of Greensboro began the 
Some demographics about those who stayed in Greensboro’s winter homeless shelters this year:
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