An op-ed from Thursday's News & Record:
"The demise of Greensboro’s Rental Unit Certificate of Occupancy (RUCO) ordinance left at risk tenants living in existing single-family rental houses never inspected for safety. More endangered tenants now live in the rental houses placed on the market since March 2011.
Currently, Greensboro does not have proactive inspection of rental housing units. Tenants are reluctant to report dangerous situations, fearing eviction and having no other housing. In addition, Greensboro has less than half the median number of housing inspectors per capita of other North Carolina cities.
Renters living in houses with faulty wiring, leaking plumbing and worse conditions should concern everyone. Unsafe occupied houses, which could cause residents to become ill, have an accident or even die, are a more urgent need than repairing or tearing down rundown empty houses..."
And to date I've seen no one make mention of the fact that in densely packed neighborhoods, faulty wiring and other fire hazards not being proactively managed could lead to hundreds of deaths and entire neighborhoods burned to the ground. Are Mayor Robbie Perkins, Councilwoman Nancy Hoffman and the rest of the Greensboro City Council prepared to accept the blame when tragedy strikes? Have I been gazing into my crystal ball? you'd best hope not.
Can you spell, C-L-A-S-S A-C-T-I-O-N? Because once you have been warned it becomes negligence. Consider yourself warned.
