Kenner, LA Building Safety: Building Inspections (2026)

Sec. 5-66 of the Kenner Code of Ordinances gives the administrator of the Division of Housing Improvement, or an authorized representative, the right to enter any building or structure used or intended for human habitation during all reasonable hours to make inspections, after presenting proper identification to the owner, agent or tenant, and requires that inspections cause the occupants the least inconvenience possible. The same section allows entry at any time, without the reasonable-hours limit, in emergencies involving potential loss of life or severe property damage, and requires the owner, agent or tenant to give the administrator free access to the premises.

If access is refused, Sec. 5-67 makes that refusal itself unlawful, and Sec. 5-68 lets the administrator swear an affidavit before a municipal court judge to obtain a search warrant authorizing entry. Sec. 5-69 is the operative inspection-and-recordkeeping provision: the administrator must cause inspections to be made, either on their own volition or upon receipt of a written and signed complaint, to determine whether a dwelling unit is fit for human occupancy, and must make a written record of every inspection and of all violations found.

That record feeds the next step in the process, the written complaint and notice of hearing the administrator must serve on the owner under Sec. 5-70 once violations are documented, which in turn leads to a repair or vacate-and-close order under Sec. 5-71 and an appeal right to the Board of Building Standards and Appeals under Sec. 5-72.