Building inspector.

Not psychologist, counselor or ambassador.

Carroll Brown works full time as an inspector for Section 8 in Syracuse, an often tedious and emotionally draining task that the job description doesn’t even begin to capture.

He puts it this way:

“We’re inspectors. We do buildings; we’re not sociologists. A lot of times we don’t know how to deal with people and their problems. We listen to them, we don’t just blow them off, but it’s very difficult for somebody like us to sit there and listen to it. It just wears us down.”

Section 8 is a federally subsidized housing voucher program that provides checks directly to landlords of low-income residents, capping what they pay at no more than 30 percent of their income toward rent, said Michael Carey, the housing assistance payments program supervisor for the Syracuse Housing Authority.

The Syracuse Housing Authority is responsible for running Section 8 in Onondaga County and Phoenix, New York, handling about 3,400 households, Carey said. Most people receiving Section 8 from the Syracuse Housing Authority live in either Onondaga County or Phoenix, but the housing authority does “port out” if participants find landlords who are willing to accept a voucher that was originally administered in Syracuse, Carey said.

But before tenants can use their Section 8 voucher, an inspector from the Section 8 office must make sure the property meets the program’s minimum standards for quality and safety. The Section 8 office in Syracuse employs three inspectors: Rob Nicklaw, Carroll Brown and Charles Johnson. Each works a 36-hour week and can inspect up to 10 houses a day, making a range of $33,000 to $42,000 a year.

But the work of the inspectors goes beyond the building. For many tenants the inspectors serve as representatives of the Section 8 program said Brown, who has been an inspector for seven years.

“First and foremost we’re building relationships, because we are going to be dealing with these people time and time and time again. And we’re the face of Section 8 when we’re out there,” Brown said.

Brown said that on each inspection he tries to compliment the tenants on their housekeeping, to encourage them about the inspection process. He treats every inspection as though he were a guest. If tenants decide they don’t want him to be there, he reschedules.

Brown recalled being chased to his car by a tenant yelling at him. Sometimes he’s felt so uncomfortable before a walk-through that he’s called it off, too uneasy and wary to enter.

In fact, most of the time the inspectors go in blind, Brown said. The most common surprise for them: pets. Brown was bitten by a pit bull during an inspection his first year on the job.

The inspectors also find themselves dealing with other people’s relationships as well, usually the relationship between landlords and tenants.

“Whether it’s neighborhood relationships or differences between landlords and tenants or tenants and tenants, basically all we can do is listen to them and say, ‘Yes I understand. However, we’re not in a position to do anything about it,’ ” Brown said.

The inspectors hear from landlords, too, who have problems with the way tenants treat their properties. Properties inspectors visit can vary dramatically. A few weeks ago Nicklaw inspected a home where the tenant was such a heavy smoker that the walls were covered in brown tar dribbling down onto the floor.

Tensions between landlords and tenants can get extreme, Nicklaw said.

“Years ago there was a building over on Bellevue Avenue, it was a three- or four- story brick building. There was a young lady in there that had some mental issues and apparently she had a falling out with the landlord and she moved out without notifying anybody,” Nicklaw said. “She plugged the drain on the tub and left the water running, and this was on the third floor. The water ran down and the ceilings caved in two floors below her.”

But however tense any relationship may be, the inspectors work to avoid getting attached or having a bias, Brown said. They are “not the touchy-feely type,” but the “nuts-and-bolts type.”

Brown said he is only ever “haunted” when he experiences a dysfunctional tenant who has children. He may have to call Child Protective Services or notify his supervisor.

Nicklaw said he once inspected a property of a mother of six, where children were locked in the bathroom and pit bulls confined in a closet. The smell of dog feces filled the apartment.

During visits the inspectors check each room for proper structural conditions in the walls, floors and ceilings, as well as electricity, heat and the presence of lead-based paint. They note any code violations, and ultimately whether the property passes or fails. About 25 percent of houses receive a failing grade after inspection, Brown and Nicklaw said.

If a property fails, the landlord gets 30 days to fix it. After that, the leasing agreement between landlord and tenant is terminated and the tenant gets approval to move. If an inspector identifies any life-threatening structural damage during the inspection the lease is terminated immediately. On average, 2 to 5 contracts are terminated every month, Brown and Nicklaw said.

For some problems to be fixed 30 days is not enough, and the landlord receives an extension. Or, if a landlord fixes the problem before the tenant moves to a new location the property can receive a third inspection, Nicklaw said. If the property passes, the landlord and tenant may agree on a new lease.

After returning from a long day of inspections, Brown said he’s always ready to go home. The work’s not particularly challenging, and going through the motions can be tedious. He’s anxious to escape the problems of others that he sees on a day-to-day routine.

“Nothing goes home. If it does it’s ‘Ha ha ha guess what happened to me today?’” Brown said.