[Adopted 7-12-2007 by L.L. No. 1-2007]
The purpose of this article is to protect the health, safety,
and welfare of residents of the Village of Chatham and to protect
the diverse building structures in the Village of Chatham from deterioration,
and to accomplish the foregoing at the lowest cost to property owners
and occupants.
The Village Board finds and declares that the registration of
rental property is intended to and will ensure the protection of persons
and property in all existing rental structures and on all structures
required to be registered under this article of the Village Code and
ensure that rental property owners and prospective rental property
owners are informed of and adhere to the Code provisions.
This article of the Village Code shall apply to every rental
structure, including dwellings, dwelling units, and units used for
commercial enterprise that are leased, rented, let, assigned, or otherwise
classified as rental property, with or without valuable consideration,
by an owner-occupant, an absentee owner, or legal agent on behalf
of the owner.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
AGENT
Any person who has charge, care, or control of a building
or any part thereof.
ENFORCEMENT AGENCY
The Village of Chatham Police Department shall enforce the
provisions of this article.
OWNER
Any person or entity who, alone or with others, has fee title
or an equitable interest in real property.
PROPERTY
Any structure which is wholly or partly used or intended
to be used as habitable space for human occupants or used for commercial
enterprise.
It shall be a violation of this article for an owner or a responsible
person to provide inaccurate information for the registry of rental
property or to fail to provide the information required herein for
the registry.
An owner who fails to register, reregister, or otherwise comply
with the provisions of this article shall, upon conviction, be subject
to a fine not exceeding $250 or to imprisonment for not more than
seven days, or both, for each violation.