HOUSTON -- There are 2,500 apartment complexes in the city of Houston. Those complexes are home to more than one million people.

So, how many city inspectors are there to inspect those complexes?

Ten.

After two boys were killed when a stairwell collapsed on Wednesday, members of Houston's City Council are calling for more inspectors.

“It's tragic what happened to those kids, and it could happen again,” said Councilman Peter Brown.

The councilman said he believes the way the apartment inspection system is set up now puts people at risk. During a walk-through of a southwest Houston apartment complex on Thursday, 11 News and Brown found plenty of problems.

At one complex the wood was rotted, metal was missing from key supports and a second-story balcony was held up only by the leg of a table that had been wedged in.

“(There's) no telling what that covers up,” said Brown, who is an architect.

And those weren't the only problems.

At a complex downtown, a fire escape had parts missing, in violation of city code. The complex where the two boys were killed Wednesday had its own list of problems.

Brown said the city needs to take a more proactive approach to inspecting apartment buildings. Under the current system, inspections are done based on complaints.

That means once a complex owner receives a certificate of occupancy, city inspectors will not return unless someone files a complaint.

That may explain why the city was not aware of the problems at the Carter's Grove Apartments in northwest Houston back in 2007. It wasn't until two children were nearly electrocuted after they were able to get into an unlocked transformer box that the city knew anything was wrong.

Brown is now calling for regular inspections.

“It would be nice if we could do it once a year,” he said. “And if we can't do it once a year, once every two years or maybe the older properties need more inspections than the newer properties.”

Right now, the city does not have plans for regular inspections, but changes are coming.

“We have inspectors. We are going to put them on this program and they are going to begin shortly,” said city spokesman Andy Icken.

As a matter of fact, seven new inspectors will soon be hired, and they will take a more proactive approach, said Icken. They will review a complex's complaint history and perform inspections on those that have the most complaints.

The city has also just hired someone to coordinate the new inspection program, which should be in place by the end of September.

Still, that may not be enough for Brown and other council members 11 News spoke to.

For now, if you have a complaint or a problem with your apartment complex, the city wants you to call the 311 hotline to report it.