Jim Thorpe Borough Council is considering a proposal to require safety inspections of all rental units in the borough.

The recommendation came from the borough’s planning commission, which forwarded a list of items that members believe should be included in inspections such as the presence of smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, stairs that are free of defects and safe for use, and exits that are free of obstructions.

Council’s discussion at Thursday night’s workshop focused on how inspections would be conducted, who would perform them, and whether a new ordinance would be required.

“We do not have anything for long-term rentals, so that is another ordinance,” Borough Manager Maureen Sterner said. “There are long-term rental ordinances that exist out there. I don’t know if the planning commission reviewed these and discussed them in conjunction with their inspection review.”

Council members debated who would perform the inspections and who would pay for them.

“That depends on what you’re going to have in the inspection,” Sterner said. “That is maybe a reason why you want to go with the property maintenance code. You have the property maintenance code official as the one who would do the inspections.”

The homeowner, borough officials said, would pay for the code inspector’s time.

If the borough ends up adopting inspection rules, they could extend to bed-and-breakfasts and hotels.

“I suppose that would be an option for council,” Sterner said. “We could verify that with the solicitor. That’s a little different.”

Most municipalities, borough staff acknowledged, use the property maintenance code as the basis for inspections.

Some council members wondered if there was a strong need for such an ordinance. “I just wonder how many problems we have in the borough with rentals that prompted this,” Connor Rodgers said.

Councilman Mike Yeastedt said earlier discussions centered around inspections only as it related to the short-term rental ordinance.

“We talked about a life safety inspection, but then I think it veered off course when we got to decks,” he said. “We were worried about liability if we said a deck passed and then something happened. But we were initially interested in adding some type of life safety inspection.”

Council agreed to place the inspection item on next week’s action agenda.