[TGE-mail] Does anyone know City ordinance/laws regarding Building Inspectors?

[Mitch Smith]

The St. Louis City Ordinances are available online. 

See http://www.slpl.lib.mo.us/cco/ords/data/ord6615.htm for the plumbing
ordinance, which includes the inspection and right of entry provisions.
Section 105.8 concerns right of entry. 

I'm not a lawyer so offer no comment as to whether the inspection of
your property was permissible. It would be nice to get a straight answer
as to why your property was selected, but then bureaucrats do tend to
act like bureaucrats so I wouldn't be terribly surprised if you never
get a clear explanation on that point. 

- Mitch Smith

On Thu, 2006-11-23 at 12:51 -0600, Jason Lukasek wrote:
> Hello neighbors, 
>  
> First off, happy Thanksgiving to everyone!
>  
> I'm trying to obtain information regarding St. Louis City law and/or
> ordinances regarding how City Building Inspectors conduct their
> inspections. Those of you who own rental and/or commercial property
> may likely know the answer.
>  
> A City plumbing inspector recently made an unauthorized inspection of
> one of my rental properties. He told the 1st floor tenant that he was
> responding to an "emergency" call from the 2nd floor resident. He did
> not know the name of the tenant who supposedly called, nor did he
> disclose what the "emergency" was. Most importantly, I was never
> contacted, even though the same inspector made several attempts to
> gain entry to the building over several weeks. Moreover, my tenants
> never called the City; both the 2nd and 1st floor tenants have signed
> statements for me indicating that they never made any calls to the
> City, nor have they ever experienced any plumbing related emergency. 
>  
> What he then cited had nothing to do with his alleged reasons for
> entering the building. He cited improper waste stack connections and
> venting in the basement, which have nothing to do with "emergency"
> plumbing on the 2nd floor. It seems to me that the Inspector used
> false information about an alleged emergency call to gain access to a
> building and then cite several random, outdated plumbing code issues.
> I maintain that this person had absolutely no right to enter my
> building without just reason, and this is paramount to trespassing.
>  
> I am desperately trying to find out my rights as a property owner.
> Surely, there must be some due process on the City books that
> delineate how Inspectors are required to respond to such things. Let's
> assume that there IS an emergency - shouldn't the property owner be
> notified? Do I have recourse as an owner to petition the City to drop
> these citations? 
>  
> So, if anyone has ANY feedback regarding this, I would very much
> appreciate to hear it. Also, if any lawyers are reading this and wish
> to offer their help, I will be happy to discuss compensation for their
> involvement.
>  
> Sincerely,
> Jason Lukasek
> 35xx Crittenden
>  
>  
>  
> 
> Jason Lukasek
> 314.657.8390
> 
> 
> 
> 
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-- 
Mitch Smith <mls at chefdiana.com>