Flint landlord sues city over ‘unconstitutional’ rental inspection

Flint’s rules for approving rental properties violate the Constitution, according to a 62-page lawsuit filed in July by a local property owner.

Karter Landon owns eight rental properties in Flint that he has not rented out for a year. He blames an ongoing dispute with the city of Flint that has so far cost him $50,000 in forgone rental income. The Flint ordinance requires the properties to pass a city inspection before they are occupied as a rental and allowed access to city water.

The city can’t withhold water or deny a landlord the right to rent a property because he’s refused a warrantless search, according to Landon, who’s worked as a landlord for nearly 27 years.

“They can’t pass a law that penalizes you for asserting your Fourth Amendment right,” Landon said in a phone interview with Michigan Capital Confidential, “because landlords will feel coerced to give up their rights.”

In 2016 Landon sued the city over the same inspection program and won. The inspection program was thrown out for several years until the city revived it, according to a 2017 order from U.S. District Judge Linda Parker.

In that case, the judge enjoined the city of Flint from inspecting rental properties or penalizing a landlord or tenant for refusing to allow an inspection without a warrant.

In 2020 the city reinstated the policy with a clause that it would seek a warrant to enter a landlord’s property if access is denied.

Landon will not let inspectors enter the property without a warrant. It is a civil infraction in Flint to rent out a property that the city hasn’t inspected.

The city of Flint did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

The city charges $225 per unit every three years plus an initial registration fee of $250, reinspection fees of $120, a noncompliance fee of $450, a water fee of $75, and a water usage fee of at least $70, according to the 2024 lawsuit.

“Flint demands inspections regardless of whether a property is or is not vacant, and (the city) penalizes Plaintiff regardless of whether he refuses entry absent a warrant, or even if his tenant has refused entry without a warrant,” the lawsuit said.

The lawsuit seeks a permanent court injunction prohibiting the city of Flint from enforcing its search rule. It claims the city’s forced inspection rule violates the Fourth, Fifth, and Fourteenth amendments of the U.S. Constitution.

It seeks compensatory damages for the city’s refusal to provide water to his homes, loss of rental income, increased maintenance with mowing and utility bills, and damage to properties — including wear and tear from squatters.

Landon wants to get his houses back on the rental market. He’s awaiting action on the lawsuit he filed in July.

“A lot of my houses rent for $400-$500 per month,” Landon said. “All of these houses are sitting empty, driving up rental prices everywhere else.”