A new federal lawsuit says the California city of Highland is violating the Fourth Amendment rights of landlords and tenants by subjecting them to unjustified & warrantless open-ended searches of their property by city inspectors without complaints or evidence of wrongdoing. The lawsuit was filed by the Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF) on behalf of local landlord Karl Trautwein and his tenants. The PLF said that the city is “attempting to bully property owners and tenants into allowing inspectors in without a warrant.”
“Karl Trautwein and his tenants are victims of this arm-twisting. Mr. Trautwein owns a number of rental homes throughout Southern California. He takes pride in maintaining them to a high standard and keeping tenants satisfied, and he objects to baseless, uncalled-for intrusions by government bureaucrats. But when he and the tenants in one of his rental homes in Highland refused an open-ended inspection of their property, the city responded with a threat. Mr. Trautwein was charged a “re-inspection fee” and told his rental license would not be renewed if he continued to refuse to allow a warrantless entry.”
Click here to read more at the Pacific Legal Foundation.
Click here to read the Fourth Amendment to the US Constitution.
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