This chapter shall be known as "Local Law No.
1 of the Year 2009, Rental Dwelling Registry and Occupancy Law of
the Code of the Village of Wappingers Falls."
Except as hereinafter provided, this chapter
shall apply to every rental dwelling, dwelling unit and premises that
are leased, rented, let, assigned or otherwise classified as a rental
property with or without valuable consideration, by an owner, occupant,
or absentee owner.
As used in this chapter, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
DWELLING
Any building which is wholly or partly used or is intended
to be used as habitable space for human occupants.
OWNER
Any person or entity who or which, alone or with others,
has legal or equitable title.
RENTAL DWELLING UNIT
Any room or contiguous group of rooms located within a building
and forming a single, habitable living space for one family.
ROOMING UNIT
Any furnished room for rent located within a building or
forming a single sleeping space.
All rental units shall be registered with the
Village of Wappingers Falls by the owner as required herein.
The owner of any rental dwelling already registered
with the Village of Wappingers Falls shall reregister within 30 days
after any change occurs in registration information. A new owner of
a registered dwelling shall reregister the dwelling within 60 days
of assuming ownership.
The Village shall maintain a registry of all
rental dwellings and rental units containing the following information,
which shall be provided by the owner on forms available from the Zoning
Administrator:
A. The name, legal residence address and telephone number
of the owner and any agent in control of the rental dwelling, and,
in the event the owner or agent is not a natural person, then the
owner information shall be that of the president, general manager
or other chief executive officer of the organization. Where more than
one natural person has an ownership interest, the required information
shall be included for each owner. The information required herein
shall also include the address and phone number where the owner(s),
agent(s) and/or responsible person(s) may be reached day and night.
B. The number and type of rental units in the dwelling.
C. The address of the rental dwelling.
D. The employer identification number in the event that
the rental dwelling is owned by a corporation.
E. If neither the address of the owner or the address of the agent in control of the premises as provided in Subsection
A is within a radius of 25 miles of the premises, the name, legal residence or business address within Dutchess County and telephone number of a natural person who shall be an agent for service of notices and orders issued under this chapter and for service of process in connection with the prosecutions of violations of this chapter in Village of Wappingers Falls Court or other court of competent jurisdiction.
It shall be a violation of this chapter for
an owner or a responsible person to provide inaccurate information
for the registry of rental dwellings or to fail to provide the information
required herein for the registry.
An owner who fails to register, reregister or
otherwise comply with the provision of this chapter shall, upon conviction,
be subject to the penalties set forth in the Code of the Village of
Wappingers Falls.
No owner, agent or person in charge shall collect rents during any period of noncompliance with a notice to cure issued pursuant to §
120-11 which would otherwise be due and owing for the rental of premises unless and until he or she shall have complied with the provisions herein.
The provisions of this chapter shall not apply
to dwellings designed and used exclusively for occupancy as hotels,
motels, transient homes or establishments of like nature.
Any person who shall knowingly and willfully violate or assist in the violation of §
120-11 or
120-12 or who fails to comply with a notice and order issued by the Zoning Administrator or Building Inspector under the aforementioned sections shall, upon conviction, be punished as set forth in the Code of the Village of Wappingers Falls.