With some rental properties looking shabby, officials are considering random inspections as a way to combat the blight.

Carol Stream staff and village board held a workshop meeting Monday to discuss the creation of a rental property licensing program they hope to get off the ground by the end of this year.

The village’s goal in establishing a licensing program is to clearly define minimum housing standards. Bob Glees, community development director, said property maintenance is the main problem the village is facing with rental complexes.

“Not to say all rentals — some are worse than others,” Glees said.

Security ranks as the second largest problem, which branches from property maintenance.

Broken locks on doors and dark areas which are not fixed or maintained threaten the safety of tenants, Glees said.

 Mayor Frank Saverino said village officials are looking to take the best practices from 14 other towns that already have licensing programs in place.

“We have 10 apartment rental communities,” Glees said. “A lot of those buildings are in fairly good shape, some are in terrible shape.”

The new licensing program would combine the current complaint-based code enforcement with scheduling random checks on apartment units on a rotating basis, said village manager Joe Breinig.

“We still handle complaints,” Breinig said. “Under this program your unit could come up by lottery and you don’t know that and have a pound of marijuana in the house — you have a problem. The point is not for police action, this is basically a property maintenance inspection.”

Under the new policy, the village would hire a consultant to perform the majority of the program tasks. Glees said the village will bring people in on a contract basis who are trained in code enforcement.

Fees from licensing would cover the cost of consultant services. Staff officials and trustees did not discuss how the program would be funded if fees fell short of the operating cost.

Fee amounts have yet to be set.

Inspections will be done on an annual basis and in response to complaints. According to Glees, 20 percent of units in an apartment building will be inspected each year.

Property owners will have incentives such as deferment of the annual license renewal and inspection for one year if the complex passes the annual inspection, Glees said.

Single-room rentals will not be included in the licensing agreement because it would be too difficult to police, Breinig said. The village still will receive complaint-based calls and respond accordingly.

Property owners also are encouraged to add a crime-free housing addendum to lease agreements. A crime-free housing addendum is a contract between property owners and the tenant which states the tenant will not engage in criminal activity in the apartment. An informative meeting may be scheduled in October to inform owners of the reasoning behind the addendum, according to Glees.

Village officials hope to get the licensing program started by the end of 2009. Breinig said the goal is to get everyone licensed by Dec. 31, 2009 and begin inspections in January 2010.

“I can’t see this as anything but a plus,” Saverino said. “It’s nice to know someone is watching and cares. The quality of life here has to be better and that is up to us to make sure that happens.”