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I read the editorial from April 9 regarding the rental inspection program in Moundsville.

My initial reaction is here is another example of government overreach and interference in free trade. Tenants know what they do and don’t want, and if they don’t like landlord A, they can go to landlord B, or landlord C.

The handful of similar laws in our state have resulted in a number of unintended consequences including higher rent and limited apartment availability, and has caused landlords to raise their application standards for tenants, thus locking out those in desperate need of housing, which exacerbates homelessness.

The entire inspection process presents costs to the landlord that will most certainly be passed along to the tenant. Using the Housing and Urban Development inspection process, and the loaded labor rate for an inspector in an average city, a one time inspection adds over $100 to the rent on a typical two-bedroom apartment. HUD gladly pays for that.

Those in our communities who are least able to afford it should not have to bear this unreasonable cost.

There is the cost of the unit sitting vacant while waiting for the “inspector” to arrive, and then the question is where will Moundsville find someone qualified to perform both the “safety” and sanitary inspection referenced in the editorial. Someone with the necessary building code experience likely won’t have the needed sanitary credentials, and they certainly won’t work for free.

Since Moundsville seems hell bent on regulating the entire process, maybe they should make the tenants register as well, and certify that they are not bringing bed bugs, addiction or domestic violence into a multi-tenant structure.

I remember when one of our children rented an apartment in Morgantown while attending WVU. It “passed” the city’s check for a “clean, safe and sanitary” structure. The landlord even had a certificate to that effect.

I am a licensed contractor, and observed 10 building code violations, including a serious electrical violation that no landlord in our area would allow. But it was “inspected.”

Anyone can clean, and a tenant who is capable of coming up with the rent every month should be able to make their own decision about the suitability of an apartment.

While Moundsville is busy being a nanny city, they should follow up in 6 months or so and see if the tenant is choosing to live in squalor. That is, and will always be, the tenants choice, and the landlords responsibility to clean up after the tenant skips on their rent, regardless of Moundsville’s legal overreach.

This is an expensive proposition that discourages landlords who serve the most at-risk population, and will have massive unintended consequences for all types of rentals.

In the meantime, I invite those who will be priced out of Moundsville to come to Wheeling. We have nice places available for nice people, and the city won’t make you wait or add to your rent.

Dolph Santorine is a resident of Ohio County.