No person shall operate a rooming house unless he holds a valid
rooming house license issued by the Department of Development and
Enforcement and Fire Marshal in the name of the operator and for the
specific dwelling or dwelling unit.
The rooming house operator shall apply to the Department of
Development and Enforcement for the license, which shall be issued
upon compliance by the operator with the applicable provisions of
this chapter.
The rooming house license shall at all times be displayed in
a conspicuous place within the rooming house.
No rooming house license shall be transferable. Every person
holding such a license shall give notice in writing to the Department
of Development and Enforcement within 24 hours after having sold,
transferred, given away or otherwise disposed of ownership of, interest
in or control of any rooming house.
Every rooming house license shall expire at the end of two years following the date of issuance, unless sooner suspended or revoked as provided in § 125-30.
Any person whose application for a license to operate a rooming
house has been denied may request and shall be granted a hearing on
the matter before the Neighborhood Rehabilitation Advisory Board.
Whenever, upon inspection of any rooming house, conditions or
practices are found to exist which are in violation of any provisions
of this chapter, the Department of Development and Enforcement shall
give notice in writing to the operator of such rooming house that
unless such conditions or practices are corrected within a reasonable
period, to be determined by the Department of Development and Enforcement,
the operator's rooming house license will be suspended. At the end
of such period the Department of Development and Enforcement shall
reinspect such rooming house, and if it finds that such conditions
or practices have not been corrected, notice in writing shall be given
to the operator that his license has been suspended. Upon receipt
of notice of suspension such operator shall immediately cease operation
of such rooming house, and no person shall occupy for sleeping or
living purposes any rooming unit therein.
Any person whose license to operate a rooming house has been
suspended, or who has received notice from the Department of Development
and Enforcement that his license is to be suspended unless existing
conditions or practices at his rooming house are corrected, may request
and shall be granted a hearing on the matter before the Neighborhood
Rehabilitation Advisory Board, provided that if no petition for such
hearing is filed within 20 days following the day on which such permit
was suspended, such license shall be deemed to have been automatically
revoked.
At least one flush water closet, lavatory basin and bathtub
or shower, properly connected to a water and sewer system approved
by the Department of Development and Enforcement and in good working
condition, shall be supplied for each two rooming units of three rooms
or fewer, or each eight persons or fractions thereof residing within
a rooming house, including members of the operator's family whenever
they share the use of the facilities, provided that in a rooming house
where rooms are let only to males, flush urinals may be substituted
for not more than 1/2 of the required number of water closets. All
such facilities shall be so located within the dwelling as to be reasonably
accessible from a common hall or passageway to all of the persons
sharing such facilities and shall be on the same floor as the rooming
units which they service. Every lavatory basin and bathtub or shower
shall be supplied with hot water at all times. No such facilities
shall be located in a basement except by written approval of the Department
of Development and Enforcement.
The operator of every rooming house shall change supplied bed
linen and towels therein at least once a week and prior to the letting
of any room to any occupant. The operator shall be responsible for
the maintenance of all supplied bedding in a clean and sanitary manner.
Every room occupied for sleeping purposes by one person shall contain at least 70 square feet of floor space, and every room occupied for sleeping purposes for more than one person shall contain at least 50 square feet of floor space for each occupant thereof. The provisions of § 125-21C are qualified to permit in rooming units ceiling heights of at least seven feet over 1/2 of the floor area.
A.
Every rooming unit shall have safe unobstructed means of egress leading
to a safe and open space at ground level. The Director of Development
and Enforcement or designee will note and report any suspected violation
to the Fire Marshal. The Director of Development and Enforcement or
designee will note the presence of operating smoke detectors, and
report suspected violations to the Fire Marshal for future action.
The operator of every rooming house shall be responsible for
the sanitary maintenance of all walls, floors and ceilings and for
maintenance of a sanitary condition in every other part of the rooming
house, and he shall be further responsible for the sanitary maintenance
of the entire premises where the entire structure or building is leased
or occupied by the operator.
Every provision of this chapter which applies to rooming houses shall also apply to hotels, except as provided in § 125-38 and except to the extent that any such provision may be found in conflict with the laws of the state or with the lawful regulations of any state board or agency.
No meals may be prepared or eaten in a rooming house, other than in a dwelling unit contained therein, unless such meals are prepared and eaten in communal kitchens and dining rooms conforming to the standards of §§ 125-39 and 125-40, except that this section shall not apply to the eating of meals in establishments which hold valid restaurant licenses issued by the Director of Health and Human Services and which have the rooming house and restaurant operations integrated as a single business enterprise.
A communal kitchen as mentioned in § 125-38 shall comply with the following standards:
A.
It shall contain at least 60 square feet of floor space in every
case and at least 100 square feet if meals are both prepared and eaten
therein.
B.
If occupants are permitted to eat meals therein, it shall be supplied with one dining chair and two linear feet of dining table space, in addition to the surface area for food preparation required under Subsection F below, for each occupant of the rooming house permitted to eat in the kitchen, the surface of each dining table to be smooth and easily cleanable.
D.
It shall contain at least one supplied kitchen gas stove or electric
stove, every such stove to have at least two top burners and an oven.
E.
It shall contain one supplied electric or gas refrigerator with an
adequate food storage capacity.
F.
It shall contain one or more supplied tables or other facilities
having a total surface area for food preparation of not less than
six square feet, the surface of each table or other facility to be
suitable for the preparation of food, smooth and easily cleanable.
G.
It shall contain at least one supplied cabinet of adequate size for
and suitable for storage of food and eating and cooking utensils.
I.
It shall be located within a room accessible to the occupant of each
rooming unit sharing the use of such kitchen without going outside
of the dwelling and without going through a dwelling unit or a rooming
unit of another occupant.
Where a communal kitchen does not conform to the provisions of § 125-39 relating to the eating of meals therein, meals shall be eaten in a communal dining room that complies with the following standards:
A.
It shall contain at least 70 square feet of floor area.
B.
It shall be supplied with one dining chair and two linear feet of
dining table space for each occupant of the rooming house permitted
to eat in the dining room, the surface of each dining table to be
smooth and easily cleanable.
C.
It shall be located on the same floor of the rooming house as the
communal kitchen in which meals are prepared and shall be as nearly
adjacent to the communal kitchen as is practicable.
D.
It shall be located within a room accessible to the occupant of each
rooming unit sharing such dining room without going outside of the
dwelling and without going through a dwelling unit or rooming unit
of another occupant.
The operator of any rooming house shall post in every rooming
unit a sign on which shall be written or printed, in letters not less
than 3/8 inch in height, the following words: "No Cooking Permitted
In This Room," and such sign shall remain so posted at all times the
room is occupied.
