PORTSMOUTH

Since 2005, law has required landlords in much of the city to have their apartments inspected before renting them.

Many have - city employees did almost 9,200 inspections in the last two and a half years.

But the landlords who didn't get the inspections faced no penalty, because city law included no punishment for failing to comply.

On Tuesday, the City Council moved to close that loophole, making the failure to get a rental inspection a Class U misdemeanor, similar to a code violation.

Now, if landlords don't get a rental inspection, they could face court fines of as much as $2,500. Class U misdemeanors can not end in jail time.

"That gets your attention," Deputy City Manager John Rowe said.

But the change brought out several landlords who complained about the cost of the fines and the possibility of overzealous inspectors.

"The city's not looking out for the landlords," said Matt McPherson, who owns several rental properties around Simonsdale. "The city makes it harder on us to do what we do."

Portsmouth's rental inspection districts stretch from downtown to Cradock, up to Westhaven and Port Norfolk, and include a part of western Churchland.

Rowe said that despite the loophole, most landlords participated in the inspection program, which the city runs to ensure the safety of its housing.

"It's obvious that it works," he said.

Meghan Hoyer, (757) 446-2293, meghan.hoyer@pilotonline.com