[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Town Council
of the Borough of Chambersburg as indicated in article histories.
Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 3-12-2002 by Ord. No. 2002-3]
Whereas the Borough has determined that dwelling
units not occupied by the property owner are frequently maintained
at a standard significantly less than owner-occupied dwelling units
and that such failure to maintain those units can and frequently does
result in dwelling units which are unsafe, unsanitary and, in many
instances, not maintained to the minimum standards required by the
various fire prevention, building, housing, property maintenance,
electrical and plumbing codes in effect in the Borough of Chambersburg
from time to time, the Borough of Chambersburg finds it to be desirable
and in the public interest to enact the following ordinance providing
for the regular and systematic inspection of these properties to insure
their continued compliance with applicable Borough codes.
This article shall be known and may be cited
as the "Borough of Chambersburg Residential Rental Unit Inspection
Ordinance."
In the event any provision of this article is
inconsistent with the provisions of any other Code in effect in the
Borough of Chambersburg, the ordinance provision applying the more
strict standard shall apply.
As used in this article, the following words
shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates
otherwise:
The Fire Prevention, Building, Property Maintenance, Electrical,
and Plumbing Codes, as adopted by the Borough from time to time, and
any rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.
The outside facade of a building, including but not limited
to any porch, yard, lawn, landscaping, sidewalks, setbacks, curbs,
and all open area contiguous to a building owned by the same person
or persons or part of the same real estate parcel.
Any person, agent, operator, firm, corporation, partnership,
association, property management group, or fiduciary having legal,
equitable or other interest in any real property; or recorded in the
official records of the state, county or municipality as holding title
to the property; or otherwise having control of the property, including
the guardian of the estate of any such person and the executor or
administrator of such person's estate. When used in this article in
a clause proscribing any activity or imposing a penalty, the term,
as applied to partnerships and associations, shall mean each partner,
and as applied to corporations, the officers thereof.
A residential rental unit which has met the inspection requirements
of this article and for which the annual fee has been paid.
A dwelling unit not occupied by the owner thereof. There
shall be excluded from this definition those dwelling units subject
to a periodic inspection by a state or federal agency at least once
every three years applying a standard substantially the same as or
more thorough than the Borough codes referenced in the definition
of "codes" above.
Except as provided following in this section,
it shall be unlawful to occupy or let to others for occupancy any
residential rental unit which has not been currently inspected as
provided by this article. The foregoing notwithstanding, during the
initial phase-in period of the inspection program contemplated hereby,
no property shall be considered out of compliance with the inspection
requirements of this article until after the initial property inspection
hereunder. This notwithstanding, payment of the annual inspection
fee shall be required if the property is to be rented for residential
purposes. Except as provided in Subsection D following, the requirements
for periodic inspections shall be as follows:
A.
Each residential rental unit shall be inspected by
the Property Maintenance Code Officer or other designee of the Borough
at least one time in every thirty-six-month period; and for such purpose
and for any reinspection required hereunder, the owner shall provide
access to Borough representatives. A unit where inspection access
is denied may not be a qualified residential unit until inspection
access is provided.
B.
This inspection shall include the exterior and interior
of the premises being inspected.
C.
For the purpose of enforcing this article, the Property
Maintenance Code Officer or designee of the Borough may seek to obtain
a search warrant issued by a competent authority in accordance with
applicable legal standards for the purpose of compelling an inspection
of a residential rental unit. The refusal to provide inspection access
does not limit the Borough to the remedy that the unit is determined
not to be a qualified residential unit, but the Borough may also seek
a search warrant.
D.
The foregoing notwithstanding, if the building containing
the residential rental unit in question has received a certificate
of occupancy for new construction under any other Borough code, the
owner of said building shall not be required to schedule an inspection
of such new construction pursuant to this article until the expiration
of 36 months from the date of the issuance of said certificate of
occupancy.
E.
If the owner of a residential rental unit can present
to the Borough Property Maintenance Code Officer a certificate certifying
that a particular residential rental unit has been inspected by a
federal or a state authority pursuant to a maintenance standard equivalent
to or more strict than the International Property Maintenance Code
or any successor thereto which from time to time is in effect in the
Borough of Chambersburg, and pursuant to said inspection found to
be in compliance, the owner of said building shall not be required
to schedule an inspection under the terms of this article until the
expiration of 36 months from the date of the issuance of the state
or federal certificate of compliance. If as a result of the state
or federal inspection deficiencies were determined, there shall be
no waiver of the inspection requirements under this article unless
the property owner can also provide to the Borough Property Maintenance
Code Officer a certificate evidencing resolution of the deficiency
sufficient to obtain a certificate of compliance.
F.
Independent inspectors.
(1)
Any owner shall have the right to employ an independent
inspector certified as a qualified inspector under the International
Property Maintenance Code, and as to any residential rental unit inspected
and certified as being in compliance by said inspector, the owner
of said building shall not be required to schedule an inspection under
the terms of this article until the expiration of 36 months from the
date of the issuance of the certificate of compliance based on said
inspection. In this context, the Borough shall maintain a list of
inspectors which it recognizes as being properly certified to perform
inspections under the International Property Maintenance Code and
any independent inspector employed by an owner must be from said list.
(2)
When an inspection is performed by an independent
inspector, a copy of the inspection report must be provided to the
Borough Property Maintenance Code Officer within 48 hours of the date
of inspection. Where violations or code deficiencies are noted in
the independent inspector report, the independent inspector must provide
a follow-up inspection to verify resolution of those deficiencies
and must provide the Borough Property Maintenance Code officer a copy
of the inspection report following the follow-up inspection to verify
the status of corrections. The follow-up inspection must be prompt
and within a reasonable time from the date of the original inspection.
No inspection shall be recognized as having been completed under this
section until a certificate of compliance is issued.
(3)
The Borough reserves the right to remove from the
list of qualified inspectors any inspector determined by the Borough
not to be conducting inspections in accord with the standards established
by the International Property Maintenance Code or who fails to conduct
the required reinspections on properties in which deficiencies have
been noted or who fails to provide copies of all inspection reports
in accord with the provisions of this subsection.
G.
For any inspection pursuant to Subsections E and F above, the Borough reserves the right to inspect any premises to verify the quality of any independent or government agency inspection. No fee will be charged for this inspection, but appropriate fees may be charged for reinspections if violations are found.
H.
The individual residential rental unit inspections
required by this article shall only be applicable to any hotel or
motel facility which advertises a weekly or monthly rate and which
has a substantial occupancy by persons on a weekly or monthly basis.
No inspection under this article shall be made of hotels or motels
principally providing overnight lodging only.
I.
Designation of local agent. Every owner who is not a full-time resident
of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania or is out of the state for a continuous
period in excess of 30 days or more shall appoint a local agent who
is a full-time resident of Pennsylvania or maintains a permanent full-time
office within Pennsylvania. The appointment shall be on a form to
be provided by the Borough. The local agent shall be the agent of
the owner, with access to and supervision of residential rental units
located within the Borough and authorized to be contacted by the Borough
or tenant in case of emergency, and shall be the agent of the owner
for purposes of service of process and receiving of notices and demands,
as well as scheduling or assisting in the scheduling required inspections
and receiving a copy of inspection reports. The identity, business
address and telephone of the person so appointed shall be provided
by the owner to the Borough and the tenant. Such information shall
be kept current and updated in the event of changes in identity or
contact information.
[Added 5-23-2016 by Ord.
No. 2016-05]
The Borough will issue a certificate of compliance
with this article upon the occurrence of the following Subsections
A through D. Issuance of a certificate of compliance shall represent
compliance with the inspection requirements of this article but shall
not denote compliance with any other applicable code nor any standard
of safety. A certificate of compliance will issue:
A.
If, upon inspection of the residential rental unit,
the inspecting officer does not note any violations of the codes referenced
in the definition of "codes" above;
B.
If, upon inspection of the residential rental unit,
violations were noted upon subsequent inspection if the violations
noted have been satisfactorily resolved;
C.
Upon receipt of an inspection report performed by an independent inspector provided to the Borough as provided in § 236-5F above, if the report indicates there are no violations; or
D.
If the inspection report provided by an independent
inspector notes the presence of violations, upon presentation to the
Borough of a report of the follow-up inspection in which the previously
noted violations are resolved, provided the report of the follow-up
inspection is presented to the Borough within two working days of
the follow-up inspection.
If the inspection of a residential rental unit
discloses code deficiencies, the Property Maintenance Code Officer
or other Borough designee, or the independent inspector, shall issue
a notice of violation. The notice of code violation shall set forth
the following:
A.
The street address or appropriate description of the
subject property;
B.
The date of the inspection;
C.
The identity of the inspector;
D.
A list of the code deficiencies;
E.
The number of days in which the owner and/or occupant
is to accomplish repairs and/or otherwise eliminate the code deficiencies;
and
F.
Notice that, if the conditions are not repaired or
the premises are not otherwise brought into compliance with the applicable
code within the time specified, the tenant and/or the owner may be
prosecuted and/or the residential rental unit may be placarded as
unfit for human occupancy in accordance with the Borough Property
Maintenance Code. Only the Borough shall have authority to institute
prosecution proceedings under the terms of this article.
A.
Upon the expiration of the time specified to accomplish
repairs or otherwise bring the premises into code compliance, or upon
notice to the Borough from the owner that the repairs have been accomplished
or code deficiencies otherwise eliminated, whichever occurs first,
the Borough Property Maintenance Code Officer or other Borough designee,
or independent inspector, as the case may be, shall reinspect the
subject residential rental unit.
B.
In the event such reinspection discloses that the
owner accomplished the repairs or the code deficiencies have otherwise
been eliminated, the Borough Property Maintenance Code Officer or
other Borough designee shall issue a certificate of compliance to
the owner or tenant in accordance with this article. Where the reinspection
has been completed by an independent inspector, the certificate of
compliance shall be issued by the proper Borough official, provided
a report of the reinspection indicating that all deficiencies have
been resolved is received by the Borough within two working days of
the date of the reinspection.
C.
In the event such reinspection discloses that the
owner failed to accomplish the repairs or otherwise eliminate the
code deficiencies, the Property Maintenance Code Officer may pursue
prosecution as otherwise provided in the Borough Property Maintenance
Code.
[Amended 6-13-2011 by Ord. No. 2011-05]
A.
The owner of a residential rental unit shall be billed
annually for a portion of the total program costs of the inspections
contemplated by this article. Council, by resolution, shall establish
the inspection fee annually, and invoices shall be mailed to owners
of each rental unit before September 30 of each year. Invoices are
due upon receipt and must be paid prior to December 31 of each year.
The foregoing notwithstanding, in times of community emergency, Council
may, by resolution, extend the due date for payment to a later date.
In the event of any such change, rental property owners will be notified.
[Amended 6-22-2020 by Ord. No. 2020-05]
B.
In the event violations of any of the codes referenced
in § 236.1 of this article are found during the initial
inspection of the premises, fees will be assessed according to the
Master Fee Schedule for each reinspection of the premises for matters
relating to the violations found during the initial inspection. Where
the violation notice issued specifies times for resolving noted Property
Maintenance Code violations, it should be anticipated that an additional
inspection will be required for each time frame established in the
notice. The foregoing notwithstanding, if the initial program inspection
of the premises discloses five or fewer Property Maintenance Code
violations, a fee will be assessable by the Borough for the administration
and enforcement undertaken pursuant to this article and the Code as
shall be established by the Borough by resolution from time to time.
C.
In those instances in which a valid certificate of compliance is issued based upon a qualified inspection described in Subsection C(1) and (2) below, if the certificate of compliance is dated less than three years from December 31 of the then-current year, no inspection fee will be required as to those residential rental units for which a certificate of compliance has been properly issued. Refer to the Master Fee Schedule for the certificate of compliance fee amount. Fees assessable by the Borough for the administration and enforcement undertaken pursuant to this article and the Code shall be established by the Borough by resolution from time to time, and current schedules are available from the office of the Borough Secretary.
[Amended 6-22-2020 by Ord. No. 2020-05]
The issuance of a certificate of compliance
is not a representation by the Borough that the residential rental
unit inspected and/or the building in which it is located does not
contain any violation of any of the codes referenced in the definition
of "codes" above. Rather, the issuance of a certificate of compliance
represents that on the date of inspection, no material violation of
any of said codes was noted by the inspector. Neither the enactment
of this article nor the issuance of a certificate of compliance is
a guarantee to any person that no code violations exist in the premises
inspected, nor shall there be imposed any liability upon the Borough
for any errors or omissions which resulted in the issuance of such
certificate, nor shall the Borough bear any liability not otherwise
imposed by law.
The owner of a residential rental unit or a
tenant of said unit if a tenant has been cited who is aggrieved by
a decision of the Property Maintenance Code Officer or other Borough
designee may, within 30 days of the date of receipt of the notice
of violation or the time fixed for repair, whichever is shorter, appeal
the decision in accord with applicable provisions of the Borough of
Chambersburg Property Maintenance Code.
Nothing in this article shall preclude or prohibit
the Property Maintenance Code Officer or other Borough designee from
identifying any code violations or inspecting any property according
to the terms of any of the referenced codes at any time, whether or
not the particular premises are scheduled for periodic inspection
under the terms of this article.
A.
The failure of any owner to effect corrections as
provided in this article shall be considered a violation of the Borough
Property Maintenance Code Ordinance and the procedures and penalties
prescribed therein shall be applicable.
B.
The failure of any owner to schedule an inspection
or reinspection as provided in this article shall result in the issuance
of a notice to the owner that the property is not a qualified residential
rental unit, in which event it shall be unlawful for any person to
occupy or to let to others for occupancy the premises in question
until the unit becomes a qualified residential rental unit after inspection
and compliance with violation notices.
C.
Rental of a unit that is not a qualified residential
rental unit shall result in a penalty as provided in the Borough Property
Maintenance Code for violations of that code.
D.
Property condition violations are subject to the imposition
of penalties as provided for such violations in the Borough of Chambersburg
Property Maintenance Code.
