Open the door, the city's coming in.

That's what Councilman William Peduto wants to say to landlords in student-heavy areas of Pittsburgh that have been the scenes of debris, overcrowding and safety violations.

He has drafted legislation requiring that all rentals in three zones favored by college students face mandatory inspections. Pass, and owners would pay a modest fee for a certificate of livability. Fail and don't fix the problems, and they'd be barred from charging rent.

Mr. Peduto said he is pushing for mandatory inspections because student renters may not know their rights under city and county codes, and because those who live permanently among the college crowd need a way to address deteriorating properties.

"The quality of life of those who've decided to make Oakland their homes should not be jeopardized by absentee landlords who view the neighborhood simply as an opportunity for profit," he said yesterday.

Nathan Hart, president of the Oakland Community Council and a small-time landlord, said the legislation "looks great. ... I don't think it's a panacea, but I think it would help a lot."

Other landlords may fight it.

Legally, to single out a type of property in a specific area for special enforcement, there has to be "a reasonable cause to believe that the whole entire area was in jeopardy of disaster," said John Kostelac, president of the Pennsylvania Landlord Legal Defense Fund. "You'd have to have smallpox or typhoid fever."

Mr. Peduto's bill is modeled on codes in place in Philadelphia and Morgantown, W.Va.

The largest of three enforcement zones would cover most of Central Oakland, bounded by Forbes Avenue, Halket Street, the Boulevard of the Allies, Boundary Street and South Bouquet Street.

Another, in North Oakland, would be bounded by Bigelow Boulevard, Bayard Street, North Neville Street and Baum Boulevard. The smallest, in Squirrel Hill, would run along Beeler Street from Forbes Avenue to Wilkins Avenue.

Within the zones, anyone collecting rent would have to pay for a city inspection every three years. The fees could cover the hiring of more inspectors.

If building code violations were found, the landlord could fix the problems, and get the certificate. If problems went unaddressed, the landlord wouldn't get the certificate, and wouldn't be able to charge rents.

"The landlords, first of all, are going to start raising hell with the students [saying], 'You're going to have to start keeping these houses in shape,'" predicted Chas Hirsh, co-founder of the Beeler Street Association. The street's residents have battled decay to a standstill, he said, but still face bad student behavior and a few irresponsible landlords.

A Pittsburgh Post-Gazette story in June documented dilapidation in student housing due to landlord neglect, student misbehavior and ineffective enforcement tools in the hands of the city Bureau of Building Inspection and the Allegheny County Health Department.

An August sweep by city inspectors found 270 of 700 Central Oakland properties had code violations, ranging from trash heaps to tumbledown decks and a lack of smoke alarms.

The effort was limited by inspectors' inability to get into apartments without an invitation from the tenant or owner. Of 16 buildings they were invited to enter, 13 had too few smoke detectors, 12 had inadequate fire doors, and others fell short of standards for fire extinguishers and emergency lighting.

"We've had problems in the past after big sporting events of things being set on fire," Mr. Peduto said. "We need this in place to prevent a disaster."

A University of Pittsburgh spokesman, John Fedele, said university officials hadn't reviewed the bill's specifics, but said "we are in favor of any efforts to improve the off-campus housing for our students and the regulation of absentee landlords."

The proposal would let inspectors get warrants to enter rental properties if neighbors complain and landlords won't submit to inspections. It also would let them compel tenants to move out if an emergency condition weren't quickly addressed.

Mr. Kostelac said that in his view, the only way to make the plan constitutional is to require inspection of all buildings in the neighborhood, including businesses and private homes.

The two smaller zones are in Mr. Peduto's district, while Central Oakland is split between council members Jeff Koch and Tonya Payne. Mr. Peduto said he expects to involve those colleagues, Mayor Luke Ravenstahl's administration, and Oakland groups in refining the plan.

He said he had not yet provided the draft to the administration. Mr. Peduto and Mr. Ravenstahl will face off in the May 15 Democratic mayoral primary.

Mr. Peduto views the plan as a pilot program that could later be expanded to the whole city.

"We can address housing code violations and make them stick with this legislation," he said.