Editorial: Inspections required at city apartments

Thursday, Aug. 18, 2005 | 9:10 a.m.

In April officials with the city of Las Vegas responded to a complaint from a tenant of the rundown Desert Garden Apartments at 1720 W. Bonanza Road. The city found the complaint valid. This month, the Clark County Health District closed the pool at the apartment complex for health reasons. Also this month a number of other tenants have complained about deplorable conditions at the apartments.

Desert Garden Apartments is symptomatic of a growing problem in Las Vegas. Many apartment complexes are not being properly maintained. This is partly related to the fact that many of the buildings are owned by out-of-state investors. Lack of maintenance forces the tenants, most of them with low incomes, to live in slums that are threatening to their health.

We support a proactive plan being discussed by city staff. It would subject 10 percent of the units at apartment buildings to be regularly inspected by the city. If that preliminary inspection revealed violations of city codes, inspectors would follow up by checking every unit. Owners and managers would then be required to bring their buildings into compliance.

The city has a right to enforce its building codes, and it should do so.