Municipal code changes are an aspect of multifamily management that’s very difficult for most people to keep up with. And there are a number of reasons for that.
Why is it Difficult to Keep Up With the Municipal Code?
Number one, municipal codes are hard to find. They can be buried in sets of regulations that are thousands of pages long. And when you do find a municipal code that might apply, you have to determine if that code applies to real estate, residential operators generally, apartment operators, or commercial operators.
Just making your way through the codes can be difficult. And understanding the nuances of the codes can be difficult too.
Also, tracking code changes is not a great use of local operators’ time. You don’t want your community managers going back and reading these codes to see if there have been changes from the last time they read those codes.
You need an easy way to put the requirements of the municipal code in front of the right person at the right time.
The Dangers of Failing to Comply
Also, if you’re not tracking those codes and you have an incident, or a loss, or a claim at your property related to a municipal code that you aren’t following, you’re open to greater liability in those instances.
Sometimes a failure to meet code requirements can result in fines, misdemeanors, or in some cases criminal charges. In short, these are very serious issues.
Leonardo247’s Municipal Code Tool
To help with this, we’ve added a machine learning algorithm to Leonardo247. This algorithm reads the municipal codes and determines whether or not any piece of the code contains language that requires an operator to do something to remain in compliance.
We’re not talking about building codes. This isn’t about whether or not a door is a certain width or outlets are a certain number of inches above a finished floor. We’re talking about things that you’re required to do on a regular basis to stay in compliance.
These are inspections that you have to perform on a regular basis. You must confirm that this thing or that thing has been done. And our algorithm finds those relevant codes and converts them into tasks that are pushed out to a given property.
Matching Regulations to Specific Properties
If a property is subject to a certain code because it has a pool or is in a certain geographic area, the app only sends that task to those properties. And that’s a major time-saver because operators only receive tasks from the municipal codes that are relevant to them.
Also, the municipal code tool algorithm rereads the codes and looks for changes on a regular basis. We have a team member review what the algorithm says to confirm material changes. And we send those to our clients almost immediately when we find them.
The main benefit here is that Leonardo247 passively provides guidance for municipal code compliance without the property managers ever having to open a municipal code and try to parse that information. And for the first time, operators have visibility into all of the requirements that they’re subject to based on their geographic location.
Supplementing Your Best Practices
Lots of properties already have their own internal policies and procedures. And they might have Leonardo247-recommended best practices to adhere to. But now we can seamlessly incorporate what the law has to say about how you operate a property.
And best of all, executives, regional managers, and owners can track all of the efforts that are made on-site to comply with all of these different policies and procedures.
These are tasks that wouldn’t otherwise be on your radar or too resource-intensive to figure out. But now it’s simple. The app presents information in a way that makes it easy to track and complete tasks with real-time visibility. Also, now you’re more effectively mitigating operational risk by complying with the latest municipal codes.