Renters as Second Class Citizens

by Conor Friedersdorf

Ryan writes about something I'd never heard about: rental safety inspections.

In the last two towns where I have lived (Burlington, VT and State College, PA) both had local laws requiring that rental units had to be inspected at regular intervals. In other words, once a year (or so) renters are legally required to allow a government employee to conduct a search for illegal [supposedly just safety-related:] activity.  If they catch a violation either the resident or...