A.
No person shall let or rent out a dwelling, a house or any dwelling unit within a multiple dwelling, nor operate a rooming house unless he or she holds a valid rental property permit issued by the Code Enforcement Officer in the name of the owner and for the specific dwelling, house, multiple dwelling or rooming house. This Chapter 222 shall apply to any rented dwellings, rented houses, multiple dwellings and rooming houses which are let by the owner to one or more persons who are not the owner's husband or wife, son or daughter, mother or father, sister or brother, or those standing in such relationship.
B.
The owner, operator, or authorized agent shall apply to the Code
Enforcement Officer for such permit, which shall be issued by the
Code Enforcement Officer upon compliance by the owner, operator, or
authorized agent or operator with the applicable provisions of this
chapter and any rules and regulations adopted pursuant thereto. No
such permit shall be transferable.
C.
Every person holding such a permit shall give notice, in writing,
to the Code Enforcement Officer within 24 hours after having sold,
transferred, given away or otherwise disposed of ownership of, interest
in or control of any rooming house or multiple dwelling. Such notice
shall include the name and address of the person succeeding to the
ownership or control of such rooming house or multiple dwelling.
D.
All current and previous years' sewer/refuse and property taxes must
be paid in full before a rental permit is issued.
E.
The owner, property manager, operator, authorized agent, or responsible
party shall reside within a ten-mile radius of the Borough of Downingtown.
A.
It shall be the responsibility of every owner, operator, landlord,
or authorized agent to apply for and obtain a biennial rental permit
under this section. At the time of registration, the applicant shall
pay to the Borough the sum provided in the fee schedule adopted by
resolution of the Borough Council and schedule a date and time for
the rental inspection.
B.
The permit shall be known as a "rental property permit." Permits
issued after January 1 of an odd-numbered year shall be valid from
the date of issuance to and including December 31 of the next following
even-numbered year. The permit shall be issued for a period of one
odd- and one even-numbered calendar year or such portion thereof as
shall remain after issuance of the permit. There shall be no reduction
in the fee for a permit issued after the beginning of any two-year
period; however, any initial rental permit application and fee submitted
within 90 days of December 31 in an even-numbered year will be applied
to the next following two-year permit time frame.
C.
Frequency of inspections.
(1)
The Code Enforcement Office shall inspect each rented dwelling, rented
house and each unit in multiple dwellings and rooming houses no less
frequently than biennially (at least once in every two-year permit
time frame as described above). Such inspections shall be made in
accordance with the provisions of this chapter. A fee for the performance
of the inspection and documentation affiliated with this process will
be set by Borough Council through resolution. Inspections shall occur
in accordance with the following:
(a)
Inspection to occur upon submission by an owner or operator
of an initial rental property permit application;
(b)
Inspection to occur upon a change in tenant. It shall be the
responsibility of the owner, landlord or authorized agent to schedule
change of tenant inspections with the Code Enforcement Office upon
a change in tenant.
(c)
Upon the renewal of an expired rental property permit. It shall
be the responsibility of the owner, landlord or authorized agent to
schedule all inspections with the Code Enforcement Office within 30
days of receipt of the renewal notice.
(2)
However, if a change of tenancy occurs within 90 days of a prior
inspection, no new inspection will be required.
D.
In the event that an inspection reveals that the dwelling, house
or unit fails to meet the requirements of the Building Code, the Code
Enforcement Officer shall notify the owner/landlord or operator thereof.
It shall be the responsibility of every owner, landlord, or authorized
agent to schedule a reinspection within 30 days (or a shorter period
of time determined by the Code Enforcement Officer in the event of
an emergency) of the initial failed inspection to ensure compliance.
An additional inspection surcharge fee will be assessed in an amount
set forth in a fee schedule adopted by resolution of the Borough Council.
Any person whose application for a permit to operate a rental
dwelling, rented house, rooming house or multiple dwelling has been
denied may request and shall be granted a hearing on the matter before
the Board of Administrative Appeals.
Whenever, upon inspection of any rental dwelling, rented house,
rooming house or multiple dwelling, the Code Enforcement Officer finds
that conditions or practices exist which are in violation of any provision
of this chapter or of any rule or regulation adopted pursuant thereto,
the Code Enforcement Officer shall give notice, in writing, to the
owner, landlord, or authorized agent of such rental dwelling, rented
house, rooming house or multiple dwelling that unless such conditions
or practices are corrected within a reasonable period, to be determined
by the Code Enforcement Officer, the operator's rental permit will
be suspended. At the end of such period, the Code Enforcement Officer
shall reinspect such rental dwelling, rented house, rooming house
or multiple dwelling, and, if he finds that such conditions or practices
have not been corrected, he shall give notice, in writing, to the
operator that the latter's permit has been suspended. Upon receipt
of notice of suspension, such owner/operator shall immediately cease
operation of such rental dwelling, rented house, rooming house or
multiple dwelling, and no person shall occupy for sleeping or living
purposes any rooming unit or multiple dwelling therein.
Any person whose permit to operate a rental dwelling, rented house, rooming house or multiple dwelling has been suspended or who has received notice from the Code Enforcement Officer that his permit is to be suspended unless existing conditions or practices at his rental dwelling, rented house, rooming house or multiple dwelling are corrected may request and shall be granted a hearing on the matter before the Board of Administrative Appeals, in accordance with Chapter 4, provided that if no petition for such hearing is filed within 20 days following the day on which such permit was suspended, such permit shall be deemed to have been automatically revoked.
With the exception of the requirement of an inspection upon
a change in tenant, every provision of this chapter which applies
to rooming houses shall also apply to hotels, except to the extent
that any such provision may be found in conflict with the laws of
this commonwealth or with the lawful regulations of any commonwealth
board or agency.
A.
From and after the effective date of this chapter, all persons who
own premises within the Borough of Downingtown which are occupied
by persons not members of said owners' immediate family are required
to report, in writing, certain information about said persons.
B.
Each report shall list, under the column headings of name, sex, residence,
and adult or minor, all persons occupying said property owner's dwelling
unit.
C.
Reports shall be supplemented within 15 days of the arrival of occupants
not previously reported or the departure of occupants previously reported.
