Rental property owners in Newton will be paying a little more for property inspections after the first of the year. Under a new five year contract the City Council approved last Monday night, the initial inspection fee for the first unit is going up from $75 to $90 dollars. Then in three years, another increase will raise that cost to $100. Newton landlords also pay another $25 for each additional unit in the same building. 

Fred Rhodes owns rental property in Newton, and believes the rental inspection fees are too high.

“The fees being charged are already exorbitant for the time it takes to do these inspections and should not be raised. These inspections can easily take ten minutes or less.” 

Landlord Carl Smith told the City Council he agreed with Rhodes.

“I back up what he’s saying, and think we should look into local inspectors.”

The new rental inspection contract the Newton City Council unanimously approved is with Iowa Inspections LLC of Ackworth. They were one of four rental inspection companies that submitted bids, and  have had a contract with the City of Newton for this service the past three years. Newton City staff recommended they be given another contract based on their experience, qualifications, and efficiency. Iowa Inspections LLC also does rental property inspections in Ankeny, Windsor Heights, Oskaloosa, Albia, Van Meter, Knoxville, Chariton, Centerville, Creston, and DeSoto.