[Adopted 2-10-2009 by Ord. No. 1-2009; amended in its entirety 9-27-2022 by Ord. No. 18-2022. Subsequent amendments noted where applicable.]
The terms used herein shall have the meaning ascribed to them in the City's Property Maintenance Code, codified as Chapter
223 of the Code of the City of Lancaster. Additionally, the following words, terms, and phrases, when used in this article, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:
CITY
The City of Lancaster, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.
CODE OFFICIAL
Any inspector or employee of the City empowered to act as
a Code Official by the Director of the Department of Community Planning
and Economic Development including without limitation: bureau chiefs,
deputy directors, technical officers, and inspectors. When acting
within the scope of their appointment, Code Officials shall have the
power of a police officer of the City of Lancaster; provided, however,
that under no circumstances shall they have the power of arrest.
DISRUPTIVE CONDUCT
A.
Any act by an occupant of a residential rental unit or by a
person present at a residential rental unit that:
(1)
Is so loud, untimely as to the time of day, and/or nuisance-causing
that it unreasonably interferes with the peaceful enjoyment by other
persons of their premises or causes damage to property that is owned
by others;
(2)
Involves music or noise that is disruptive to persons occupying
a different dwelling unit;
(3)
Involves music that is audible from a street, sidewalk or dwelling
from a minimum distance of 50 feet away from where the sound is originating;
(4)
Is the subject of a criminal citation for disorderly conduct
under the Pennsylvania Crimes Code;
(5)
Is the subject of a criminal citation under the Pennsylvania
Crimes Code or the Pennsylvania Liquor Code;
(6)
Involves the illegal possession of a controlled substance or
drug paraphernalia as defined by the Crimes Code or the Controlled
Substance, Drug Device and Cosmetic Act.
B.
It is not necessary that such conduct, action, incident or behavior
constitute a criminal offense, nor that criminal charges be filed
against any person in order for said person to have perpetrated, caused
or permitted the commission of disruptive conduct, as defined herein;
provided, however, that no disruptive conduct will be deemed to have
occurred unless a police officer shall investigate and make a determination
that such did occur, and keep written records, including a disruptive
conduct report, of such occurrences. The occupant and the owner or,
if applicable, the responsible agent shall be notified of any such
occurrences, in writing.
C.
A domestic victim with a protection from abuse order shall not
be subject to a disruptive conduct report if the police officer determines,
after investigation, that the behavior complained of is the result
of domestic violence.
DISRUPTIVE CONDUCT LETTER
A letter from the City advising that a disruptive conduct
report has been filed and containing the date and time of the occurrence;
a description of the conduct; and information regarding rights to
appeal a finding of disruptive conduct.
DISRUPTIVE CONDUCT REPORT
A written report of disruptive conduct to be completed by
a police officer, which shall be maintained by the Bureau of Police.
DWELLING
A building or part thereof occupied as a residence.
DWELLING UNIT
A single unit providing independent living facilities for
one or more persons, including provisions for living, sleeping, eating,
cooking and sanitation. For purposes of this article, a dwelling unit
includes, amongst other dwelling units, a single apartment or efficiency,
a single-family house, a dwelling unit within a multifamily house,
and dwelling units within other types of facilities.
HOTEL
A commercial lodging establishment that offers units for
sleeping purposes to transient guests and which provided twenty-four-hour
service for receiving and assisting guests.
OCCUPANT
Any person over one year of age living and sleeping in a
residential rental unit or having actual possession of such residential
rental unit.
OWNER
Any person, agent, operator, housing authority or fiduciary
having legal, equitable or other interest in any real property; as
recorded in the official records of the state, county or municipality
as holding title to the real property; or otherwise having control
of the real property, including the guardian of the estate of 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 general party; as applied to corporations, the officers
thereof; and as applied to limited liability companies, the members
and any managers thereof.
PROPERTY MANAGER
An individual or business certified or licensed by the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania to manage residential rental property, or who takes
responsibility for the care, maintenance, tenant management and supervisions
of the residential rental property under contract with the owner,
including receiving notices, citations, or other mail from the City
on behalf of the owner.
RELATED PARTY
Any spouse or child of an owner, or any corporation, limited
liability company, partnership or other entity in which the owner,
the owner's spouse or an owner's child has an ownership
interest, whether equitable or legal.
RESIDENTIAL RENTAL LICENSE
A document issued by the Bureau of Property Maintenance and
Housing Inspections of the City of Lancaster to the owner and property
manager. If applicable, of a residential rental unit certifying the
residential rental unit as licensed for being rented, hereinafter
referred to as "license."
RESIDENTIAL RENTAL PROPERTY
Any parcel of real estate, including land and all buildings
and appurtenant structures and dwellings thereon that contain therein
one or more residential rental units. Whenever the word "property"
is used herein, it shall mean residential rental property as defined
by this definition.
RESIDENTIAL RENTAL UNIT
A dwelling let for rent; or a residential unit occupied by
any persons other than are occupied solely by the owner and members
of the owner's family. Each individual townhouse dwelling, each
individual apartment unit, each individual unit in a multifamily building,
each individual until in a two-family dwelling, and each rooming unit
shall be considered a separate residential rental until. A residential
rental unit shall not include a hospital room utilized for medical
services. Whenever the word "unit" is used herein, it shall mean "residential
rental unit" as defined by this definition.
RESPONSIBLE AGENT
Any person or entity that serves as the principal contact
for an owner that does not reside in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.
ROOMING UNIT
A portion of a dwelling unit, including any room or group
of rooms forming a single habitable unit used or intended to be used
for living and sleeping, but not for cooking purposes. Granting of
permission to use shared or common cooking facilities may be associated
with the leasing of a rooming unit.
SHORT-TERM RENTAL
A fully furnished single-family dwelling that is rented on
a short-term basis by written contract to registered guests visiting
the Lancaster area and that is not occupied by an owner or manager.
Guests have use of the facilities as provided for in any contract
or agreement with the owner or management company, and no services,
such as meals or house cleaning, are provided to the guests.
TENANT
An occupant of a unit with whom a legal relationship with
the owner is established by a lease or other enforceable agreement
under the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
The issuance of a license is not a representation by the City
that the residential rental unit and/or the building in which it is
located is in compliance with the codes. The issuance of a license
indicates that the residential rental unit did not have any patently
dangerous conditions as of the date of inspection. However, neither
the enactment of this article nor the issuance of a license shall
impose any liability upon the City for any errors or omissions which
resulted in the issuance of such license, nor shall the City bear
any liability not otherwise imposed by law.
It shall be the duty of every owner or property manager of a
residential rental property to:
A. Obtain and maintain a license for each residential rental unit.
B. Keep and maintain all residential rental units in compliance with all applicable codes, ordinances and provisions of all applicable local and state laws and regulations, including but not limited to Chapter
223, Property Maintenance, Chapter
182, Lead Poisoning Prevention and Lead Hazard Control, and Chapter
300, Zoning.
C. Be aware of, and to act to eliminate, disruptive conduct in all residential
rental units.
D. Employ policies to manage the residential rental units under his/her
control in compliance with the provisions of this article and applicable
state laws.
E. Pay or ensure payment of all real estate taxes, sewer rates, water
rates, and trash collection fees to ensure that such vital utilities
are provided.
F. Maintain and make copies of all written leases under which each residential
rental unit is occupied and available for inspection upon request
of the Code Official. Such written leases shall indicate the name
of the occupants of each residential rental unit and the term of the
lease.
G. Provide instructions for trash and recyclable collection and disposal
(e.g., curbside or dumpster) and, if applicable, the day of week of
trash and recyclable pickup.
H. Provide each tenant with a disclosure statement containing the requirements
of this article, including the provisions relating to disruptive conduct.
Providing a copy of this article to each tenant will satisfy this
requirement.
I. Provide, upon request of the City, a written rental agreement for
each residential rental unit which shall include the names of all
permitted occupants and their relationship to each other.
J. Owners or property managers shall display the license in the residential
rental unit for which it was issued.
K. The owner or property manager must also post along with the license:
(1) The evenings on which trash and recycling are to be placed curbside
for collection.
(2) Lead poisoning prevention education material provided by the City.
L. Any owner to whom a license has been issued or any owner of property
who subsequently changes her/his place of residence or who changes
the designation of a responsible agent shall notify, in writing, the
Bureau of Property Maintenance and Housing Inspections within 10 days
after such change.
The Director of Community Planning and Economic Development
is hereby authorized to promulgate policies and procedures for the
implementation of the provisions of this article which policies and
procedures may be amended from time to time and shall become effective
upon posting of the same on the City of Lancaster's publicly
accessible website.