Out of the three companies that bid for the job, NOLA.com reports the city has selected a California firm to run a rental inspection program in New Orleans.
NMA Inspections of El Cajon, California will be running New Orleans’ first rental registry and inspection program. The aim of the program is to root out slumlords by requiring landlords to register their properties and be subject to inspections.
Having run similar programs in other cities, NMA uses software and mobile apps to track rentals and manage enforcement, and would operate a website for landlord registration, payments, and inspection scheduling.
NMA is proposing the following fee structure for the registry:
Under a proposed fee structure, NMA would charge a $50 initial registration fee, $30 for yearly registration and an inspection fee of between $30 and $50 per unit depending on the size of the property, including single-family and multi-family properties. The company would also charge $25 for any repeat inspections, $15 for failing to appear at an inspection and $50 to reinstate a lapsed registration.
Initially, the city might fund the program to encourage property owners to sign up, but eventually it would like the program to be paid for with landlord registry and inspection fees.