Title: Housing Inspector
Reports To: Housing Choice Voucher Program (HCVP) Inspections Manager
Office/Department/Division: Operations/Housing Choice Voucher Program (HCVP)
FLSA Status: Non-Exempt
Position Summary
Responsible for conducting required inspections for the Housing Choice Voucher Program (HCVP), rehabilitation grants, new construction, and existing rental dwellings to ensure compliance with HUD's lead-base paint, Housing Quality Standards (HQS), City Code, and ICC Building Code. Performs a variety of inspection and related administrative tasks. The duties listed below are illustrations of the various types of work that may be performed.
Responsibilities
- Performs, documents, records, and uploads into appropriate system initial, interim, move-out, special, or recertification inspections of units for compliance with HQS and City Code.
- Advises owners/landlords and program participants of inspection results, ensures required repairs are completed, and encourages proper maintenance of units.
- Prepares all inspection-related correspondence, documents, and reports in a timely and accurate manner.
- Presents HQS information at applicant, tenant, and moving briefings.
- Assists with landlord meetings to attract new and maintain current landlords. Ensures the program is landlord-friendly without sacrificing duty to participants and to HUD.
- Makes home visits as scheduled or as required.
- Photographs all housekeeping inspections to document conditions at time of inspection.
- Reports to the HCVP Inspections Manager any and all violations that occur that may be life threatening and/or not in compliance with preset standards.
- Informs the HCVP Inspections Manager of situations and/or conditions of participants’ non-compliance with housing assistance contract and housing agency policies.
- Notifies owners and program participants in writing of unit code/HQS violations so that deficiencies can be corrected within specified time; notifies participants of trash or debris that needs their attention; and notifies participants when employees or contractors will need access to their units.
- Recommends code-compliant solutions for rehabilitation/repair problems.
- Assists in mediating disputes between landlords and participants.
- Recommends abatement, detainment, and termination of HCVP housing assistance payment contracts and supports the HCVP Inspections Manager in the preparation of termination of assistance. Sends letter of abatement notice to owner/tenant within specified time period.
- May conduct utility and rent reasonableness comparability analysis on Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) units and may recommend amount of initial contract rent and rent adjustments based on comparable unassisted housing. May maintain Rent Reasonableness comparable information for single-family dwellings, apartments, and duplexes.
- Performs, documents, and logs participant-complaints and owner damage-claim inspections. Advises parties of results and ensures actions are taken to comply with HQS.
- Assists in creating/maintaining landlord/owner and contractor pool.
- Assists in mediation between contractor and client to resolve differences of opinion and provides building code interpretations and applications as required.
- Maintains complete records/files for area of responsibility in an accurate and timely manner.
- Handles documents on a variety of general, personal, and technical topics of a highly confidential nature and maintains the confidentiality of all documents and information received by or in the possession of the employee.
- Participates in job and certification training; attends continuing education classes for certifications and to stay abreast of current codes, regulations, and laws governing area of responsibility.
- May greet the general public and explains the HQS/HUD rules and regulations.
- Accountable for consistent adherence to strong agency standards regarding the ethical, responsible, and appropriate use, care, and safeguarding of agency materials, supplies, resources, and other assets.
- Performs other duties as required including work in other functional areas to cover absences or relief, to equalize peak work periods, or otherwise balance the workload.
- Performs other duties as assigned.
Education and Experience
Associate’s Degree with one (1) to three (3) years experience in residential and multi-family building maintenance and inspections or an equivalent combination of experience and education.
Housing Quality Standards (HQS) and Fair Housing Certifications must be obtained within eighteen (18) months of employment or other allowable period of hire as authorized by the HCVP Inspections Manager.
Knowledge and Skills
- Thorough knowledge of: federal, state and local laws, rules and regulations pertaining to HCVP and agency policies and procedures on leased housing and HUD Housing Quality Standards (HQS) and inspection procedures.
- Thorough knowledge of: general architectural, engineering, construction, real estate and inspections techniques, principles and procedures applicable to all types of residential structures including foundations, framing, plumbing, HVAC, interiors, and insulation; federal, state and local laws, rules and regulations pertaining to housing agency policies and procedures on Housing Quality Standards.
- Working knowledge of: the principles, practices, and techniques of HCVP housing management; private rental market, client rights and city code standards.
- Thorough knowledge of business English, and general office practices and procedures; building maintenance and construction methods, and materials and the operation of appropriate peripherals, hardware, and software packages.
- Must be able to express oneself clearly and concisely, both orally and in writing.
- Must be able to establish and maintain effective working relationships with other employees, owners/landlords, participant, and other business contacts; and deal effectively with situations requiring tact and diplomacy, yet firmness.
- Ability to use math with speed and accuracy and prepare clear and concise narrative and statistical reports and maintain accurate records.
- Must maintain the confidentiality of the agency’s operations.
- Ability to inspect and determine necessary repair for units to meet City Code and HQS.
- Ability to detect defects and faults in construction and to assess compliance with established standards.
- Ability to work effectively with all types of people and to maintain composure under pressure.
Supervision Controls
The Housing Inspector receives assignments and instructions from the HCVP Inspections Manager. Work to be done is usually determined by existing procedures or may be specified by the supervisor. The employee performs routine tasks with minimal or no supervision and must have excellent problem-solving abilities. Unusual situations not covered by instructions or procedures are referred to the supervisor for resolution. The employee's finished work is reviewed regularly for thoroughness, accuracy, completeness, and compliance with inspection requirements through housing quality control inspection samplings and periodic rental market samplings.
The employee has no supervisory responsibilities.
Guidelines
The employee performs routine duties by following housing inspection manuals and inspection checklists and leased housing manuals. These guidelines cover most job-related decisions. However, independent judgment is frequently required. The employee consults the supervisor if guidelines do not cover a specific situation.
Complexity
Various aspects of work performed by the employee may be repetitive and routine in nature. Work to be performed is often straightforward, but above average technical and communication skills are required to accomplish tasks. The employee routinely plans, coordinates, and performs the work. The employee must be sensitive and objective in dealing with owner/landlord and participant interactions and resolving problems. Difficulty may be experienced while working in inclement weather or unsanitary conditions.
Scope and Effect
The employee's work affects a significant portion of the units in the agency's housing programs and the participants and owners. Thorough, effective, accurate, and timely inspections, ensures that participants are provided housing that is decent, safe, and sanitary, and that owners are adequately compensated.
Personal Contacts
The employee's contacts are primarily with housing owners, landlords, and tenants. Such contacts require the ability to establish and maintain good working relationships on a long-term basis. The purpose of such contacts is to provide information, guidance, and assistance in maintaining dwellings that are decent, safe, sanitary, and affordable. At times, new landlords and tenants may be skeptical and willing to express different viewpoints.
Physical Requirements
- Work is performed both in-office and on-site and involves physical exertion during the inspection of units and sites, including climbing stairs and ladders, walking across roofs, crawling into attics or basements, and examining plumbing, electrical, heating and air conditioning systems, facilities, and equipment.
- Must be able to establish and maintain effective working relationships with co-workers and persons outside the agency and perform essential job functions in an environment that will sometimes include increased levels of work-related stress.
- Must be able to sit and/or stand for up to eight hours at a time while preforming work duties.
- Must be able to bend, stoop, push, and pull in the performance of job-related duties.
- Must be able to work around various fumes, odors, chemical agents, and solvents.
- Must be able to use fingers bilaterally and unilaterally to operate testing and office equipment.
- Must have vision and hearing corrected to perform essential job functions.
- Must maintain punctuality and attendance as scheduled.
- An employee may request a reasonable accommodation to mitigate any of the physical requirements listed above.
Work Environment
Work involves the normal risks or discomfort associated with an office environment and visits to outdoor developments, sites, dwellings, or facilities, confrontations with clients, and negotiations with housing owners, landlords, managers, and agents. Required site visits may involve exposure to adverse weather and road conditions.
Work requires travel throughout the area, performing fieldwork in inclement weather. Position is often required to inspect unsanitary dwellings.
Other Requirements
Must possess a valid State of North Carolina or South Carolina driver’s license and regularly participate in continuous improvement and education. Must work with the highest degree of confidentiality.