Lehighton believes it has established better guidelines for its newly-adopted rental inspection program.

Borough Council went into detail on Monday after it once again heard from several landlords on the matter.

George Karas said he had concerns over the rental inspection ordinance, and provided council with paperwork from two court cases he asked them to read.

Borough Manager Dane DeWire said that there is now a new checklist.

“We took everything (from) last month into consideration,” DeWire said. “We really hammered out some details that were (probably) too stringent and made it more transparent.”

Landlord Bob Dages told council that while he appreciates that it listened to the people, he reminded them that they’ve all taken the oath to uphold the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

“If you’re going to do it to us, you should do it to everybody,” Dages said. “How do people who own properties protect themselves against the borough?

Dages and his wife sent a letter to borough council last month stating that the inspection program was unconstitutional, but said that they didn’t get a response.

“According to our solicitor, it is not breaking any law or constitution,” DeWire said. “We’re just following suit with what the other municipalities have with rental properties.”

Councilman Ryan Saunders said that he and DeWire met with the borough’s code enforcement officer to update the checklist to go over the guidelines in the original draft to better align them.

“It’s simpler, and this checklist has items we were looking for,” Saunders said. “It shouldn’t be a guessing game; everybody should be completely transparent.”

DeWire echoed Saunders’ sentiment.

“This is not a building inspection, this is not a resale inspection,” DeWire said. “It’s only about safety.”

DeWire added that the checklist is still based on the International Property Maintenance Code, and assured the borough has a system in place.

Last month several borough landlords peppered council with concerns over the newly-adopted rental inspection program.

The borough hopes to have all of the borough’s rental units inspected between now and 2025.

The fee schedule was set by council last month, allowing it to begin advertising the inspection program, and the application process and applications were sent out with bills to all residents.

Council in April unanimously agreed to amend the rental inspection ordinance and advertise it for adoption.

Before that vote, DeWire noted that the rental inspection fee would remain $75, and that a $50, discounted rate, would be given to high-density housing owners with 10 or more units.

Additionally he said at that time, the program was also changed from a one-year to a two-year inspection program so that inspections are not going to be required every year.

In addition, DeWire said that all of the borough’s rental unit inspections will be guided by the International Property Maintenance Code.