[HISTORY: Adopted by the Borough Council of the Borough of Upland as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Building construction — See Ch. 60.
Numbering of buildings — See Ch. 62.
Uniform construction codes — See Ch. 71.
Electrical standards — See Ch. 81.
Fire prevention — See Ch. 85.
Plumbing and mechanical standards — See Ch. 140.
Property maintenance — See Ch. 143.
Zoning — See Ch. 185.
[Adopted 9-14-1999 by Ord. No. 5-1999; amended in its entirety 8-8-2000 by Ord. No. 4-2000]
No person, firm or corporation managing, conducting or operating a dwelling unit shall sell, rent, lease, let out or permit it to be occupied or shall rerent the same without first securing a certificate of occupancy from the Borough of Upland.
[Added 4-9-2002 by Ord. No. 3-2002]
A. 
Pursuant to Senate Bill No. 997, Session of 1999, an applicant for a certificate of occupancy shall inform the buyer or transferee of said property of the result of the inspection prior to the sale or transfer.
B. 
The seller and/or the buyer of the property escrows with the Borough of Upland at the time of settlement an amount of money which, in the judgment of the Building Code Official, is sufficient to pay the costs of the required repairs. The form of the escrow agreement shall give the Borough of Upland the authority to seize the monies from the escrow account if the owner has not completed the repairs within 18 months of settlement. The Borough of Upland shall be entitled to impose a reasonable administrative fee for the preparation of the escrow agreement and the establishment of the separate escrow account.
[Amended 7-13-2004 by Ord. No. 5-2004]
C. 
At the end of the eighteen-month period, the Borough of Upland shall have the right to reinspect the applicant's property. If at the time of said reinspection the applicant's property continues to have one or more substantial violations, as determined by the Building Code Official for the Borough of Upland, then the applicant shall forfeit her or his escrow monies and shall be subject to liability to the Borough of Upland for fines and/or penalties as further set forth in this Code.
[Amended 7-13-2004 by Ord. No. 5-2004]
D. 
If the cost of the repairs deemed necessary by the Building Code Official for the applicant to remedy any and all substantial violations is in excess of the amount of money placed in an escrow by said applicant, that amount shall be paid by the applicant.
[Amended 7-13-2004 by Ord. No. 5-2004]
E. 
The costs of each and every inspection/reinspection by any inspector for the Borough of Upland shall be paid for in advance prior to each and every inspection/reinspection to the Borough of Upland.
[Amended 7-13-2004 by Ord. No. 5-2004]
Such permit application shall be due initially as of January 1, 2000, and shall be scheduled for inspection by the Building Code Official to receive a certificate. Each certificate shall be valid for a period of three years. At the expiration of three years, the property shall be reinspected for a new certificate of occupancy. If the unit is sold or a unit is vacated and let to a new tenant prior to the expiration of the three-year period, the property and/or unit shall be reinspected for a new certificate of occupancy.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
BUILDING CODE OFFICIAL
The Building Code Official of the Borough of Upland or such other person as the Borough Council may designate.
[Amended 7-13-2004 by Ord. No. 5-2004]
DWELLING
A building or structure which is wholly or partly used or intended to be used for living, sleeping or occupation by human beings.
DWELLING UNIT
A room or group of rooms located within a dwelling and forming a single habitable unit with facilities which are used or intended to be used for living, sleeping, cooking or eating.
In order for a dwelling or dwelling unit to be eligible for a certificate of occupancy, it must comply with all of the requirements of the ordinances of the Borough of Upland and must comply with the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania now in existence and hereafter passed pertaining to building, plumbing, electrical, health, mechanical, property maintenance, zoning, safety, fire or fire prevention and any other law or regulation pertaining to housing standards.
A. 
No person, firm, partnership or corporation shall occupy, rent, lease, let out, permit, sell, convey or otherwise transfer or permit to be occupied or rented any apartment or dwelling unit, premises or structure used for a residential, commercial or industrial purpose, hereafter created, located, erected, changed, leased, altered, convened or enlarged, wholly or partly, without first securing a certificate of occupancy therefor from the Borough of Upland.
B. 
After the effective date of this article, a certificate of occupancy shall be required upon the change of occupancy or change in the use of any apartment, dwelling unit, commercial, business or industrial unit.
C. 
The cost of each and every certificate of occupancy, which includes inspections due to sale of property and/or new tenant in unit, shall be $100, and said fee shall be paid at the time the application is made for the certificate.
[Amended 5-8-2001 by Ord. No. 5-2001; 3-11-2008 by Ord. No. 2-2008]
(1) 
A certificate of occupancy will not be issued until all violations are corrected and reinspection is completed.
(2) 
The fee for a reinspection due to failure to pass inspection will be $25 per inspector.
(3) 
The fee structure may be set, from time to time, by a resolution of the Borough of Upland Council.
D. 
Premises to comply with regulations. In order to be eligible for a certificate of occupancy, said apartment, dwelling, structure or premises used for residential, commercial or industrial purposes, apartment house, rented or occupied dwelling or business must be in good repair, clean, sanitary, in a habitable condition and in complete compliance with all of the ordinances of the Borough of Upland, the International Building Code/Uniform Construction Code and any amendments thereto, published by the International Code Council, and the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania now in existence or hereafter passed pertaining to building, plumbing, electrical, mechanical, property maintenance, zoning, health and safety, fire or fire prevention, minimum housing standards and all regulations established pursuant to said ordinances and laws.
[Amended 7-13-2004 by Ord. No. 5-2004]
E. 
On any sale or transfer of property, the seller is responsible for the repair of public sidewalks, curbs and outside sanitary sewer vents. When curbing and sidewalks are replaced, handicap ramps must be installed at the corners according to American National Standard specifications and the direction of the Borough of Upland.
F. 
The cost of each and every rental license, which includes inspections due to sale of property and/or new tenant in unit, shall be as follows:
[Added 2-12-2019 by Ord. No. 4-2019]
(1) 
For a residential rental license, the fee is $100 per address/residence. The rental license must be renewed by May 1 of each and every year.
(2) 
For a commercial rental license, the fee is $300 per address/residence.
(3) 
Failure to appear for a scheduled inspection and failure to cancel the same at least 24 hours in advance of the scheduled inspection shall result in a no-show fee payable to the Borough in the sum of $25 per cancellation.
[Amended 7-13-2004 by Ord. No. 5-2004]
Upon adoption of this article, any person who is currently or thereafter becomes a landlord of any parcel of real estate or any improvement on real estate or building located in the Borough of Upland by agreement of sale, by deed or by other means shall, within 30 days thereafter, report to the Building Code Official the following information:
A. 
A list of the dwelling units and/or business units owned by the landlord, located within the Borough of Upland whether occupied or unoccupied.
B. 
The address of each dwelling unit and/or business unit.
C. 
A brief description of each dwelling unit and/or business unit.
D. 
Whether or not said dwelling unit and/or business unit is inhabited or utilized by tenants.
E. 
The name of the tenant or tenants utilizing the aforementioned dwelling unit and/or business unit occupied.
[Added 3-11-2008 by Ord. No. 3-2008]
A. 
A certificate of occupancy for rental properties must be renewed on an annual basis and whenever a change of occupancy occurs, upon inspection of a dwelling or dwelling unit and payment of an inspection fee, which shall now be declared as $100. This said fee shall from hereon after be levied by resolution of the Council of the Borough of Upland. The fee for the first inspection shall be allocated to be $50 for the inspectors in attendance and $50 for the Borough, to be set forth into the general fund account for general purposes usage.
B. 
The inspection shall be made annually, from the start of each calendar year, and the owner shall be present for the inspection. Owners must contact the Borough by May 31 of each calendar year to arrange for an inspection of their property for that current year. However, if an owner has had a use and occupancy inspection, due to a change of tenant or the sale of the property within one year of the May 31 due date, said owner will be exempted from the annual inspection of the said rental property for that given calendar year.
[Amended 6-13-2011 by Ord. No. 3-2011]
C. 
Any type of failure to pass the annual permit/inspection, due to repairs, Code violations, or the maintenance issues, et cetera, the landlord shall pay a reinspection fee of $50 for each time the inspector/inspectors have to reinspect the unit. This fee is to be distributed, through the Borough, to the inspector/inspectors. If a landlord has more than two inspections, and the unit still fails inspection, the landlord shall be required to pay $100 per inspection, for the inspector/inspectors to return each and every time thereafter. If after the fourth inspection of any given rental unit, the unit still does not pass the inspection, the owner shall be cited for whichever or all Code violation/violations that the inspector/inspectors deem necessary; that are the main concerns for the failing of the inspection/inspections to not issuing the annual permit.
D. 
Any of the following person or persons, either singly or in combination, who serve at the pleasure of the Borough Council may make the inspection: BOCA Code Enforcer, Building Inspector, Electrical Inspector, Plumbing Inspector, Health Inspector, Fire Marshal or Assistant Fire Marshal.
E. 
Any landlord or owner of a resident rental unit which violates any of these provisions shall suffer the following penalties:
(1) 
First offense: $100 for each and every offense.
(2) 
Second offense: $300 for each and every offense.
(3) 
Third offense: $500 for each and every offense.
(4) 
Fourth offense: $1,000 for each and every offense.
[Amended 7-13-2004 by Ord. No. 5-2004]
Upon the effective date of this article, each and every landlord of a property within the Borough of Upland shall report to the Building Code Official, on a report form supplied by the Borough of Upland, and changes in the use and occupancy of any dwelling unit or business unit owned by said landlord. The report change shall include the name or names of the new tenants of such dwelling unit or business unit, the date when such change was effected and the forwarding address of the old tenant or tenants, if known. In the event that a dwelling unit or business unit which was utilized by a tenant becomes vacant, this change shall also be reported to the Building Code Official. All reports required by this section shall be within 10 days after the landlord has knowledge that such a unit has had a change in occupancy or has become vacant. Thereafter, said landlord shall obtain a certificate of occupancy, as provided for hereinabove, before occupation by a new tenant.
Each application and renewal application shall state:
A. 
Whether the building complies with all of the provisions of the Upland Borough Building Code, Zoning Ordinance and other applicable ordinances and, if not, the basis on which noncompliance is justified.
B. 
Whether the use contained in the application represents any change in use from the prior use.
C. 
The names of all occupants of the dwelling or dwelling units in question who have attained the age of 18 years, as well as the number of occupants in each unit under the age of 18 years.
[Amended 7-13-2004 by Ord. No. 5-2004]
When the Building Code Official determines that there exists a violation of any provision of this article, the Building Code Official shall serve written notice of such violation to the person or persons responsible therefor, as hereinafter provided.
A. 
Such notice shall:
(1) 
Be put in writing.
(2) 
Include a statement of the reasons why it is being issued.
(3) 
Allow a reasonable time for the performance of any act it requires.
(4) 
Be served upon the owner or his agent as the case may require, provided that such notice shall be deemed to be properly served upon such person if a copy is sent by registered or certified mail to his last known address or if he is served by any other method authorized or required under the laws of this state.
B. 
Such notice may contain an outline of remedial action which, if taken, will effect compliance with the provisions of this article and with rules and regulations adopted pursuant thereto.
[Amended 7-13-2004 by Ord. No. 5-2004]
Any person affected by any notice which has been issued in connection with the enforcement of any provision of this article or of any rule or regulation adopted pursuant thereto may request and shall be granted a hearing on the matter before the Borough Council of Upland or a committee appointed by the Borough Council, provided that such person shall file in the office of the Building Code Official (Borough Hall) a brief statement of the grounds therefor within three days after the day the notice was served. Upon receipt of such petition, the Borough Council, or its appointed committee, shall set a time and place for such hearing and shall give the petitioner written notice thereof. At such hearing, the petitioner shall be given an opportunity to be heard and to show why such notice should be modified or withdrawn. The petitioner shall be notified of the hearing date not later than seven days after the day on which the petition was filed, and the hearing shall commence not later than 30 days from said notice. After the hearing, the Borough Council or its appointed committee may sustain, modify or withdraw the notice of the violation on the basis of the finding of the hearing and shall give the petitioner written notice thereof. Such proceedings shall be summarized in writing and shall become a matter of public record in the office of the Building Code Official. Such record shall also include a copy of every notice or order issued in connection with this matter. If the appointed committee hears the petitioner, and makes a decision which the petitioner rejects, the petitioner shall have the right to appeal to the entire Borough Council within five days of receiving the notice asking the entire Borough Council to hear the case and make the ruling. Any person aggrieved by the decision of the Borough Council may seek relief therefrom in any court of competent jurisdiction, as provided by the laws this state.
[Amended 7-13-2004 by Ord. No. 5-2004]
Any notice served pursuant to § 69-9 of this article shall automatically become an order if a written petition is not filed in the office of the Building Code Official (Borough Hall) within three days after such notice is filed.
[Amended 7-13-2004 by Ord. No. 5-2004]
Whenever the Building Code Official finds that there exists any violation of this article which creates an emergency requiring immediate correction to protect the health or safety of any occupant of a dwelling or the public, the Building Code Official may issue an order reciting the existence of such an emergency and require that such action be taken as he/she deems necessary to meet the emergency. Notwithstanding the other provisions of this article, such order shall be effective immediately, but upon petition to the Borough Council shall be afforded a hearing as soon as possible. After such hearing, depending upon the findings of Council as to whether the provisions of this article and of the rules and regulations adopted pursuant thereto have been complied with, the Building Code Official shall continue such order in effect, modify or revoke it.
[Amended 7-13-2004 by Ord. No. 5-2004]
The Building Code Official or his/her agents are hereby authorized and directed to make inspections of the conditions of the rental dwellings and dwelling units located in the Borough of Upland. Upon display of proper identification, the inspector is authorized to enter, examine and survey such units and premises on weekdays between 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., or at such other time as may be necessary in an emergency, or as mutually agreed upon by the occupant and the Building Code Official or one of his agents. Every occupant of a rental dwelling or dwelling unit shall grant to the owner or his agents or employees free access to it at reasonable times for the purpose of making repairs or alterations, or exterminating services, to effect compliance with this article.
Any person who violates any provision of this article, or any provision of any rule or regulation adopted by the Borough Council pursuant to authority granted by this article, or fails to correct in a reasonable time the defects for which the dwelling or dwellings have been cited, or who permits a dwelling or dwelling unit to be occupied or continue to be occupied, without a current valid permit, shall, upon conviction before a District Judge of competent jurisdiction, pay a penalty of not less than $1,000 nor more than $10,000 and, in default of payment of such fine be imprisoned for not less than one day nor more than 30 days, and each day's failure to comply with any such provision as to each dwelling or dwelling unit shall constitute a separate violation.