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Ms. Bennett October 3,2006 Page 5 to the property, the compliance officer may seek an administrative warrarit to conc�ue� the inspection, we are concerned that an owner may argue that the Ordinance is unconstitutional because it states that an owner "shall permit the compliance officer to inspect a11 premises." As explained above, the Camara case provides that a tenant cannot be forced to allow an inspection of his/her rental property for purposes of a municipality's housing code without a warrant. In order to lessen the chance that a property owner will argue that the proposed Ordinance is unconstitutional, we have revised the wording to state that "[p�roperty owners and their agents shall permit, either oursuant to consent or in com�lia�c� with an administrative warrant, during regular business hours, the compliance officer to inspect all premises ��." In connection with the draft Ordinance, you asked whether the City can assign administrative fines to tax rolls. We are not optimistic that the law provides authority for the City to take such action, but we will look into that issue and will get back to you by the end of the week. Minnesota Statute Section 429.101 governs unpaid special charges that may be collected as a special assessment against the property benefited. That section allows a city to collect, as a special assessment, the cost of reinspections which find noncompliance after the due date for compliance with an order to correct a municipal housing maintenance code violation. �ec. Minn. Stat. $429.101, subd. 1(9}. The draft Ordinance does not state that the property owner will be charged for the costs of the original inspection or any subsequent inspections. If, however, the City decided to charge the property owner for the costs of any reinspection, Minnesota Statute � 429.101 would allow the City to assess the cost of the reinspection if the reinspection resulted in a fmding of noncompliance after the due date for compliance with a correction order related to a housing maintenance code violation. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to call. Very truly yours, Jay T. Squires Amy E. Mace Enc. RRM: #46890