The Constitutionality of Pre-Occupancy Inspections

Building Inspectors have the difficult job of determining whether violations that affect the public health and safety exist, but property owners also have a right to be protected from unlawful searches of their property, pursuant to the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Most of the time, local building officials conduct their inspections because someone has taken out a permit to build or renovate a structure. This presents an easy case, because taking out the permit brings with it the requirement that the new work be inspected. However, over the years there have been attempts by municipalities to require pre-occupancy inspections of rental properties, even when there has been no new construction. Many of these laws have required inspections not only prior to the initial occupancy, but each time there is a new tenant.