In order to protect the health, safety and welfare of the residents
of the City, it is hereby declared to be the policy of the City to
require casualty and fire legal liability insurance for all landlords
letting property in the City.
All landlords owning property in the City shall be required to obtain
a minimum of $50,000 in fire legal liability insurance and casualty
insurance in an amount sufficient to either restore or remove the
building. Further, in the event of any fire or loss covered by such
insurance, it shall be the obligation of the property owner to use
such insurance proceeds to cause the restoration or demolition or
other repair of the property, adhering to applicable housing or building
code provisions.
Said landlords shall be required to place their insurance company
name, policy number and policy expiration date on their City real
estate tax remittances or, in the alternative, to provide the City
with a copy of their actual casualty and fire legal liability insurance
policies.
When the fire loss to any property in the City is more than $7,500,
no insurance company, association or exchange ("insurer") shall pay
a claim of an insured for fire damage to a building or other structure
located within the City ("structure"), unless said insurer is provided
with a municipal certificate from the City Treasurer and unless there
is compliance with all of the procedures and provisions of this chapter.
The request shall be made in writing by the named insured to the
City Treasurer and shall specify the tax number of the property, the
name and address of the insurer(s), the total amount of insurance
on the property, the date of the fire, and documented proof of the
date the loss was reported to the insurer(s).
The municipal certificate shall state whether all City taxes, liens,
utilities, assessments, penalties, user charges, and other costs have
been paid for the property.
If delinquent sums are due, the City Treasurer shall attach a municipal
bill to the certificate, indicating what sums are due, including all
City taxes, liens, utilities, assessments, penalties, and user charges
as well as all costs incurred by the City for the removal, repair
or securing of the structure. An unpaid tax or charge is deemed delinquent
at the time a lien could have been filed by the City. For all municipal
utilities, a lien can be filed at the time the utilities are provided.
The municipal certificate shall bear the signatures of the Director
of the Bureau of Codes Enforcement, the Director of the Bureau of
Operations and Revenue, the City Solicitor, and the City Treasurer.
The City Treasurer shall place said sums into an escrow account established
for this purpose and shall be entitled to retain said funds until
such time as the insured repairs or removes the fire-damaged structure
or until such time as alternative arrangements are made between the
City and the insured.
If the insured does not repair or remove or otherwise make alternative
arrangements with the City, the City shall, after giving reasonable
notice and an opportunity for response, repair or remove said structure.
If the City has to correct the damage, the costs to the City are to
be deducted from the fund, and any remaining principal amounts are
to be applied first to any delinquent taxes, liens, delinquent utilities,
assessments, penalties, and user charges due and owing to the City,
and the remainder of the principal amounts may be returned to the
insured. If any principal amount remains, then the insured shall also
be entitled to accrued interest, if any. If no principal amount remains
after all taxes, liens, delinquent utilities, assessments, penalties,
costs, and user charges are paid, then the City shall be entitled
to retain any accrued interest.
If the City has not incurred any costs for the repair, removal or
securing of the structure and all taxes, liens, delinquent utilities,
assessments, penalties, costs, and user charges have been paid, the
amounts that have been transferred to the City by the insurer shall
be paid over to the insured when the City Treasurer receives confirmation
from the Codes Administrator that repair, removal or securing of the
structure has been completed.
Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit the City and
the insured from entering into an agreement that permits the transfer
of funds to the insured after some other reasonable disposition of
the damaged property has been negotiated.
If a property is insured by more than one policy, the transfer of
proceeds to the City Treasurer shall be on a pro rata basis by all
insurers insuring the structure.
Policy proceeds remaining after the assessment of delinquencies and
costs, if any, shall be allocated on a pro rata basis among all insurers
insuring the structure and shall be disbursed in accordance with instruction
from the insurers.
It shall be the duty of the insurer to provide the City with the
name and mailing address of the insured, if the request for a certificate
is made by an insurer on behalf of the insured.
The City shall notify the insured, in writing, when appropriate proceeds
have been received by the City and that the procedures of this chapter
shall be followed in order for the proceeds to be disbursed to the
insured.
The City Clerk shall file with the Department of Community and Economic
Development a certified copy of this chapter upon its effectiveness
and identify for said Department the municipal official designated
by the Mayor as responsible for compliance with this chapter.[1]
No report shall be released by the Bureau of Fire unless the insured has requested from the City Treasurer a municipal certificate if required by § 2-106.2 of this chapter.
Any person who violates the provisions of this chapter shall be subject to the general code penalty, § 1-301.99 of these Codified Ordinances.