[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Supervisors of the Township of Middletown as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Taxation — See Ch. 448.
[Adopted 4-14-1976 by Ord. No. 76-6 (Ch. 11, Part 1, of the 1992 Code)]
Unless otherwise herein expressly stated, the following terms shall have, for the purpose of this article, the meanings herein respectively indicated.
LESSEE
That person or persons who has the use of real estate of a lessor and is responsible for the giving of any type of consideration therefor, but excluding those who are lessees for a period of less than 30 days.
LESSOR
Any person who grants a lease for the use of his real estate or portion thereof, who owns and/or operates a transient dwelling, and/or who otherwise permits the use of his real estate or portion thereof.
[Amended 6-6-2016 by Ord. No. 16-01[1]]
PERSON
Any natural person, partnership, association, firm or corporation.
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also changed the title of this chapter from "Rental Property" to "Rental Property and Transient Dwellings."
[Amended 6-6-2016 by Ord. No. 16-01]
All lessors, on or before May 1 of each year, shall report to the Township Manager, in writing, the number of parcels or units of real estate that the lessor presently has rented and/or has available for rental, a description (by address, number and/or some other meaningful method) of said parcel or units, the names of the lessees of all such units at the time of such report, and a designation as to which unit or parcel is occupied by each such lessee. In addition, for any parcel or unit of real estate that constitutes a transient dwelling unit, the lessor shall also report the number of persons who reside in the transient dwelling unit at the time of such report, and the maximum number of persons that can occupy the transient dwelling unit.
The Township Manager shall prepare a form report entitled "Status of Occupancy Report," which report form shall require the necessary information set forth above and such other pertinent information that the Township may direct to be incorporated in said report form. The failure to have such report form, however, shall not excuse the obligation of lessors to provide the information required herein.
[Amended 12-1-1992 by Ord. No. 92-13; 6-23-1998 by Ord. No. 98-08]
A. 
Enforcement notice.
(1) 
If it appears to the Township that a violation of this article has occurred, the Township shall initiate enforcement proceedings by sending an enforcement notice as provided in this section.
(2) 
The enforcement notice shall be sent to the violator and, if applicable, the owner of record of the parcel on which the violation has occurred; to any person who has filed a written request to receive enforcement notices regarding that parcel; and to any other person requested in writing by the owner of record.
(3) 
An enforcement notice shall state at least the following:
(a) 
The name of the violator and, if applicable, the owner of record and any other person against whom the Township intends to take action.
(b) 
The location of the violation and, if applicable, the property in violation.
(c) 
The specific violation with a description of the requirements which have not been met, citing in each instance the applicable provision of this article.
(d) 
The date before which the steps for compliance must be commenced and the date before which the steps must be completed.
(e) 
That the recipient of the notice has the right to appeal to the Board of Supervisors within a period of 10 days.
(f) 
That the failure to comply with the notice within the time specified, unless extended by appeal to the Board of Supervisors, constitutes a violation, with possible sanctions clearly described.
B. 
Enforcement remedies.
(1) 
Any person, partnership or corporation who or which has violated or permitted the violation of the provisions of this article shall, upon being found liable therefor in a civil enforcement proceeding commenced by the Township, pay a judgment of not more than $600 plus all court costs, including reasonable attorney's fees incurred by the Township as a result thereof. No judgment shall commence or be imposed, levied or payable until the date of determination of a violation by the Magisterial District Judge. If the defendant neither pays nor timely appeals the judgment, the Township may enforce the judgment pursuant to the applicable Rules of Civil Procedure. Each day that a violation continues or each section of this article which shall be found to have been violated shall constitute a separate offense.
(2) 
Nothing contained in this section shall be construed or interpreted to grant to any person or entity other than the Township the right to commence any action for enforcement pursuant to this section.
(3) 
Magisterial District Judges shall have initial jurisdiction over proceedings brought under this section.
[Adopted 3-15-2021 by Ord. No. 21-04]
Unless otherwise expressly stated, the following terms shall have, for the purposes of this article only, the meanings set forth below:
APARTMENT COMPLEX OFFICIAL
The owner or individual in charge of the day-to-day operation or management of the apartment complex.
APARTMENT COMPLEX(ES)
A grouping of rental dwellings that are located within the same building, share common elements, or share common outside access, with the exception of the following: 1) hotel and motel units, where a change in occupancy occurs at least every 30 days; and 2) nursing homes, hospitals, and other such institutional facilities.
BIANNUAL or BIANNUALLY
Once every two years.
RENTAL DWELLING
Any rental or tenant-occupied single-family dwelling, room or group of rooms located within a building and forming a single, habitable unit with facilities intended to be used for living, sleeping, cooking and eating by one single family.
All apartment complexes in Middletown Township shall be subject to inspection by the Building and Zoning Code Enforcement Officer or employee or an official from the Office of Fire and Emergency Management as follows:
A. 
The Building and Zoning Code Enforcement Officer (or employee) or an official from the Office of Fire and Emergency Management shall inspect each apartment complex, including each dwelling unit therein, biannually for compliance with the Middletown Township Code of Ordinances, including, but not necessarily limited to, the Property Maintenance Code, the Fire Code, and the Uniform Construction Code.
B. 
Such inspections shall pertain only to compliance with the Middletown Township Code of Ordinances and may not involve any inspection or searches of tenant belongings unrelated to determining compliance with the Middletown Township Code of Ordinances.
C. 
The Building and Zoning Code Enforcement Officer (or employee) or an official from the Office of Fire and Emergency Management shall provide advance notice of the biannual inspection to the responsible apartment complex official.
D. 
Upon receiving notice of an upcoming biannual apartment complex inspection from the Building and Zoning Code Enforcement Officer (or employee) or an official from the Office of Fire and Emergency Management, each responsible apartment complex official must inform every tenant in the building of the inspection, anticipated inspection date, and scope of inspection.
E. 
If any tenant in the apartment complex to be inspected objects to the Building and Zoning Code Enforcement Officer (or employee) or the official from the Office of Fire and Emergency Management's entry into that tenant's unit, each responsible apartment complex official must promptly inform the Building and Zoning Code Enforcement Officer (or employee) or the official from the Office of Fire and Emergency Management, whichever provided notice of the inspection.
F. 
If any tenant or responsible apartment complex official refuses entry for the biannual inspection, the Building and Zoning Code Enforcement Officer (or employee) or the official from the Office of Fire and Emergency Management may pursue legal means to enter the building for such inspections, including, but not limited to, obtaining an administrative warrant.
G. 
The Building and Zoning Code Enforcement Officer (or employee) or the Office of Fire and Emergency Management shall keep records of the inspections in accordance with the Uniform Construction Code, the Fire Code, and the Property Maintenance Code.
H. 
The Building and Zoning Code Enforcement Officer (or employee) or the official from the Office of Fire and Emergency Management may charge a fee to cover administration and enforcement costs pertaining to the biannual apartment complex inspections. The fee shall be incorporated into Middletown Township's publicly available fee schedule.
All rental dwellings in Middletown Township shall be subject to inspection by the Building and Zoning Code Enforcement Officer (or employee) as follows:
A. 
Before the rental of any rental dwelling to a new or initial tenant, it shall be the duty of the owner, landlord, property manager, or their agents or employees, to make application for and secure a certificate of approval from the Middletown Township Department of Building and Zoning. Failure to arrange for an inspection shall constitute a violation of this article.
B. 
A certificate of approval shall be issued where the Building and Zoning Code Enforcement Officer (or employee) determines that the rental dwelling meets the requirements of the Middletown Township Code of Ordinances, including, but not limited to, the Property Maintenance Code, the Fire Code, and the Uniform Construction Code.
C. 
If the rental dwelling is in violation of the Middletown Township Code of Ordinances, the Building and Zoning Code Enforcement Officer (or employee) shall notify the applicant, in writing, of the code violation, and further, shall determine whether the violation constitutes a danger to the health and safety of the rental dwelling's occupants or the general public.
D. 
If the violation of the Middletown Township Code of Ordinances constitutes a danger to health and safety, the Building and Zoning Code Enforcement Officer (or employee) shall notify the applicant, in writing, that the rental dwelling shall not be occupied until the violation is abated and a certificate of approval is issued.
E. 
If the violation of the Middletown Township Code of Ordinances does not constitute a danger to health and safety, the Building and Zoning Code Enforcement Officer (or employee) shall issue a certificate of approval on the condition that the violation be corrected by a certain date, to be determined by the Building and Zoning Code Enforcement Officer (or employee), and that the applicant correct the violation and arrange for a reinspection of the rental dwelling on or before the said date. Failure to arrange for a reinspection to correct a violation on or before the date provided by the Building and Zoning Code Enforcement Officer (or employee) shall constitute a violation of this article.
F. 
The certificate of approval shall become invalid upon the rental dwelling becoming vacant, or upon notice of revocation for violation of the provisions of the Middletown Township Code of Ordinances from the Building and Zoning Code Enforcement Officer (or employee). Thereafter, a certificate of approval will be issued after the inspection and determination that the rental dwelling is fit for occupancy as provided for under the provisions of the Middletown Township Code of Ordinances.
G. 
The fee for the issuance of a certificate of approval shall be set from time to time by resolution of the Board of Supervisors of Middletown Township.
H. 
Failure to comply with any one of the foregoing requirements shall constitute a violation, subject to the penalties provided for herewith.
I. 
Issuance of a certificate of approval shall not relieve the owner of a rental dwelling from the duty to comply with all other applicable requirements of the Middletown Township Code of Ordinances.
Any person, firm, or corporation who or which shall violate any provision of this article shall, upon conviction thereof, be subject to a fine of not more than $1,000, plus court costs and reasonable attorney's fees. Each day that a violation continues after due notice has been served in accordance with the terms and provisions hereof shall be deemed a separate offense. If the offending party neither pays nor timely appeals the judgment, the Township may enforce the judgment pursuant to the Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure.