Affordable Housing Inspection Rules

There are a lot of rules that govern affordable housing development. Some are federally mandated and apply to all developments. Others are determined on a state-by-state basis. One of the state-by-state rules determines how, and how often, affordable housing developments are inspected.

The state of Indiana recently incorporated new inspection rules for projects built with Indiana Housing & Community Development Authority (IHCDA) funds. This includes HOME and Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding.

During the course of the award period, projects must be physically inspected twice. The first inspection must take place once the documented scope of work is completed, and is intended to address issues that may arise prior to the IHCDA inspection.

A “third party” is required to conduct the first inspection. If award recipient employees completed the work to be inspected, the inspection must be conducted by someone not affiliated with the recipient. If, however, an outside contractor completed the work, the inspection can be conducted by award recipient staff. Regardless, the third party must be a licensed home inspector.

An IHCDA Community Development Inspector must conduct a second inspection once all award-funded construction is complete. The Inspector will also visit the site prior to the inspection and all owners and/or tenants must be properly notified. The IHCDA Inspector will look specifically for state and local building code violations. At the time of the final inspection, all documentation pertaining to the first inspection must be provided to the IHCDA Inspector, including any issues that were discovered and corrective action that was taken to address them. The IHCDA is currently incorporating these changes into the Award/Compliance manuals for all affected programs.

Because inspection rules vary by state, people interested or involved in affordable housing development are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the rules governing developments for the state in which they’re working.