DBI Reports 66% Spike in December Housing Complaints, Maintains Inspections During Omicron

Interim director Patrick Reardon reported to the Building Inspection Commission on Jan. 19 that DBI saw a meaningful seasonal surge in housing-related life-safety complaints and that enforcement activity increased accordingly.

"This past December, we received 66% more complaints than the same time the previous year and saw a 60% increase in the number of cases sent for our director's hearing," Reardon said. He attributed the increase to winter weather and the seasonal rise in heat, hot water and water damage complaints, and emphasized DBI's proactive inspection and tenant-outreach efforts, noting community partners contacted tenants more than 180,000 times last year to educate them about rights and safe living conditions.

Reardon and other DBI staff said operations continued during the Omicron surge: inspectors are going directly to field inspections while using remote-work tools to limit office presence. Deputy Director Tyres Madison said DBI is finalizing its six-month financial report, which will be presented at a special budget hearing scheduled for Jan. 26 and used as a basis for next year's budget.

Joe Duffy, deputy director of inspection services, gave December operational figures: 4,707 building inspections, 2,933 electrical inspections, 2,735 plumbing inspections, for a total of 10,375 inspections. Housing inspection services performed 704 inspections, received 411 complaints, achieved a response time over 95% within 72 hours, referred 25 cases for director's hearing, issued 8 orders of abatement, and performed 112 complaint-driven inspections.

Commissioners asked for additional information on plan-review backlogs, average turnaround times by project size, and soft-story abatement status; DBI staff agreed to provide related reports for the February meeting. No formal votes were taken on enforcement policy at the Jan. 19 meeting.