[HISTORY: Adopted by the Borough Council of the Borough of Mahanoy City 7-5-1988 by Ord. No. 88-1. Amendments noted where applicable.]
On or after the effective date of this chapter, no person, persons, firm or corporation shall move into or occupy any dwelling, building or other structure within the Borough of Mahanoy City without first having obtained a permit therefor from the Borough Code Enforcement Officer, unless said person, persons, firm or corporation owns said premises in fee simple on or before the effective date of this chapter.
A. 
Every person or persons, firm or corporation seeking a permit to occupy any premises shall file an application with the Borough Secretary-Treasurer, setting forth his name, location of the premises, name of the owner of the premises and his address, the nature of the proposed use of the building and the names and ages of the occupants thereof, and such permits shall be secured from the Borough Code Enforcement Officer.
B. 
A fee of $30 shall be charged for said permit. In addition, a security deposit equal to the fee for six months of Borough garbage collection will be required. The deposit will be refundable at the time the property is vacated, if and only if the garbage account is paid to date. Delinquency of three months or more on a garbage account will result in forfeiture of security deposit. Additionally, no permit shall be issued under this section in the event a delinquency on the garbage account exists for any property owned or occupied by the person or persons seeking to obtain a permit under this section. Also, no permit shall be issued under this section for any property owned by an individual who has a delinquent garbage account for any of his properties within the Borough.
[Amended 3-6-1990 by Ord. No. 90-2; 2-9-1993 by Ord. No. 93-1; 2-11-2003 by Ord. No. 2003-2; at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
[Amended 2-11-2003 by Ord. No. 2003-2]
Upon the filing of the application, it shall be the duty of the Borough Code Enforcement Officer to issue the requested occupancy permit permitting the applicant to occupy the premises for which the permit is applied if the person or persons applying for said permit are current on the garbage account for the premises intended to be occupied with said permit and are current on the garbage account for any other property owned or occupied by said person or persons within the Borough, if the owner of the premises is not delinquent on his garbage account for any property owned by that individual within the Borough, and if the indicated use of said premises does not violate any of the ordinances of the Borough and if the premises is fit for human habitation as a dwelling place or fit for any other purpose for which the applicant is seeking the permit.
It is the duty of each seller of real estate in the Borough of Mahanoy City and it is the duty of any realtor involved in the selling, renting, leasing or occupancy of any structure within the Borough of Mahanoy City to report such proposed occupancy to the Secretary-Treasurer of the Borough of Mahanoy City prior to the premises' being occupied. It is also the duty of any such seller or realtor of such a premises to notify the potential occupant of the premises of his duty to seek an occupancy permit. No one shall permit another to occupy such a premises prior to the issuance of a permit for the same.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
Any person who violates or permits a violation of this chapter shall, upon being found liable therefor, pay a fine of not more than $600, plus court costs and reasonable attorneys' fees incurred by the Borough in the enforcement proceedings. If the penalty is not paid, the Borough shall initiate a civil action for collection in accordance with the Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure. Each day a violation exists shall constitute a separate offense, and each section of this chapter that is violated shall also constitute a separate offense. In addition to or in lieu of enforcement under this section, the Borough may enforce this chapter in equity in the Court of Common Pleas of Schuylkill County.