Hey folks,
I wanted to vent here because I have been dealing with what I perceive as the Town of North Beach insisting on violating the US Constitutional rights of of a large segment of their citizens. Sounds crazy, right? Well when I first learned of it 4 years ago, I thought I had to have been mistaken, but nope! So what the heck am I ranting about???
North Beach Town Code Chapter 69 (Licensing), Article II (Rental House Licenses), Paragraph 69-16 (Inspections), which states:
A. Upon applications for said license and prior to the issuance and/or renewal and/or upon registered complaint received by the Town of substandard livability conditions, there shall be an inspection conducted by an authorized agent of the Town of said rental housing units for compliance with the Building Code Administrator (BOCA) National Property Maintenance Code, as amended from time to time.
B. The owner(s) of title or a legally designated agent (designation must be in writing) of said rental units shall, upon application for license or for license renewal and scheduling of inspection with North Beach Code Enforcement Officer, accompany the North Beach Code Enforcement Officer into the premises for the purpose of conducting the required and/or mandated inspections. Inspection for a rental housing license shall be scheduled once every three years or as required by the North Beach Code Enforcement Officer as a result of a complaint for substandard conditions. Scheduling for inspections is made by the North Beach Town Hall personnel.
C. If upon presentation of proper credentials and if after giving reasonable notice of the scheduling of an inspection, the Code Enforcement Officer or his or her agent is denied entrance to a rental property, said officer will give to the denier official notice of a subsequent inspection not longer than 10 days hence and at a designated hour. If within 10 days upon a second request to inspect the same premises the Code Enforcement Officer or his or her agent is again denied entrance, said Code Enforcement Officer shall petition the appropriate legal body and shall seek to acquire a warrant permitting legal entrance into said premises.
So if reading that doesn't strike you as odd, allow me to explain. I am the owner of a townhouse in North Beach, which I market almost exclusively to those in the military, or associated with the military. The property is relatively new, so good shape. The add to that, one of the many reasons I work exclusively with military and DOD civilian families, is they take care of the property like it's their own. So when we were first looking for a house in North Beach, we were shown some properties that were at the time being rented, and were in absolutely TERRIBLE shape! I'm talking holes in the roof kind of stuff. So I get the spirit of that code, I understand that the Town council wants to crack down on slumlords who allow their properties to deteriorate beyond what most would accept as livable conditions.
Here's where I have the problem. Nowhere in the verbiage of that code is any provision allowing the tenant to decline the property inspection. That, ladies and gentlemen, is what is commonly called "Illegal Search and Seizure" and violates a resident's reasonable expectation of privacy. Here's what the Constitution says about the matter in the 4th Ammendment (and I'm pretty sure it overrules those well intentioned North Beach County board members):
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
So explain to me how a law abiding citizen declining a towns "safety inspection" in anyway exceeds the threshold of probably cause that could compel any reasonable bench judge to issue a warrant! My current tenant is a sworn Federal Law Enforcement officer who knows a thing or two about civil rights and what constitutes a violation of them. He absolutely rejects the validity of this requirements and will be joining me when I deliver my letter of protest to the Calvert County Attorney's Office, The Calvert County Board of County Commissioners, the Calvert County States Attorney's Office, and the Maryland States Attorney's Office.
When I became aware of this 4 years ago, I went before the Town Board and presented my case. How did these "servants of the people" respond? They decided that they needed to tighten up the rule to ensure warrants could be issued. I asked one of them during my testimony "Shouldn't the town inspect your house on an annual basis to ensure your safe?" He answered "Ahh, no I own my house". I retorted with "Oh, I see, so your view is that one needs to earn their Constitutionally guaranteed rights. If you're not wealthy enough to own a house in North Beach, you are a second class citizen..." No response, didn't surprise me. After that meeting I had multiple people approach me telling me that they were renters, didn't know about this code, and felt marginalized by it.
Here's the deal, I pay property tax in this town, and it's MY tax dollars being spent to execute these misguided policies. It'll be interesting to see how this all pans out, but I have a tendency to be a tenacious bastard with such things, and look forward to having the opportunity to force the authoritative council members who voted this in.
I want to make sure it's understood, these town codes in no way violate my rights. That said, I perceive my tenants more as customers that pay a large amount of money every month, and should have an expectation of privacy.
Alright, I wanna hear opinions! Tear it up!
I wanted to vent here because I have been dealing with what I perceive as the Town of North Beach insisting on violating the US Constitutional rights of of a large segment of their citizens. Sounds crazy, right? Well when I first learned of it 4 years ago, I thought I had to have been mistaken, but nope! So what the heck am I ranting about???
North Beach Town Code Chapter 69 (Licensing), Article II (Rental House Licenses), Paragraph 69-16 (Inspections), which states:
A. Upon applications for said license and prior to the issuance and/or renewal and/or upon registered complaint received by the Town of substandard livability conditions, there shall be an inspection conducted by an authorized agent of the Town of said rental housing units for compliance with the Building Code Administrator (BOCA) National Property Maintenance Code, as amended from time to time.
B. The owner(s) of title or a legally designated agent (designation must be in writing) of said rental units shall, upon application for license or for license renewal and scheduling of inspection with North Beach Code Enforcement Officer, accompany the North Beach Code Enforcement Officer into the premises for the purpose of conducting the required and/or mandated inspections. Inspection for a rental housing license shall be scheduled once every three years or as required by the North Beach Code Enforcement Officer as a result of a complaint for substandard conditions. Scheduling for inspections is made by the North Beach Town Hall personnel.
C. If upon presentation of proper credentials and if after giving reasonable notice of the scheduling of an inspection, the Code Enforcement Officer or his or her agent is denied entrance to a rental property, said officer will give to the denier official notice of a subsequent inspection not longer than 10 days hence and at a designated hour. If within 10 days upon a second request to inspect the same premises the Code Enforcement Officer or his or her agent is again denied entrance, said Code Enforcement Officer shall petition the appropriate legal body and shall seek to acquire a warrant permitting legal entrance into said premises.
So if reading that doesn't strike you as odd, allow me to explain. I am the owner of a townhouse in North Beach, which I market almost exclusively to those in the military, or associated with the military. The property is relatively new, so good shape. The add to that, one of the many reasons I work exclusively with military and DOD civilian families, is they take care of the property like it's their own. So when we were first looking for a house in North Beach, we were shown some properties that were at the time being rented, and were in absolutely TERRIBLE shape! I'm talking holes in the roof kind of stuff. So I get the spirit of that code, I understand that the Town council wants to crack down on slumlords who allow their properties to deteriorate beyond what most would accept as livable conditions.
Here's where I have the problem. Nowhere in the verbiage of that code is any provision allowing the tenant to decline the property inspection. That, ladies and gentlemen, is what is commonly called "Illegal Search and Seizure" and violates a resident's reasonable expectation of privacy. Here's what the Constitution says about the matter in the 4th Ammendment (and I'm pretty sure it overrules those well intentioned North Beach County board members):
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
So explain to me how a law abiding citizen declining a towns "safety inspection" in anyway exceeds the threshold of probably cause that could compel any reasonable bench judge to issue a warrant! My current tenant is a sworn Federal Law Enforcement officer who knows a thing or two about civil rights and what constitutes a violation of them. He absolutely rejects the validity of this requirements and will be joining me when I deliver my letter of protest to the Calvert County Attorney's Office, The Calvert County Board of County Commissioners, the Calvert County States Attorney's Office, and the Maryland States Attorney's Office.
When I became aware of this 4 years ago, I went before the Town Board and presented my case. How did these "servants of the people" respond? They decided that they needed to tighten up the rule to ensure warrants could be issued. I asked one of them during my testimony "Shouldn't the town inspect your house on an annual basis to ensure your safe?" He answered "Ahh, no I own my house". I retorted with "Oh, I see, so your view is that one needs to earn their Constitutionally guaranteed rights. If you're not wealthy enough to own a house in North Beach, you are a second class citizen..." No response, didn't surprise me. After that meeting I had multiple people approach me telling me that they were renters, didn't know about this code, and felt marginalized by it.
Here's the deal, I pay property tax in this town, and it's MY tax dollars being spent to execute these misguided policies. It'll be interesting to see how this all pans out, but I have a tendency to be a tenacious bastard with such things, and look forward to having the opportunity to force the authoritative council members who voted this in.
I want to make sure it's understood, these town codes in no way violate my rights. That said, I perceive my tenants more as customers that pay a large amount of money every month, and should have an expectation of privacy.
Alright, I wanna hear opinions! Tear it up!
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