Any word or term not defined herein shall be used with a meaning
of standard usage. The following words or phrases, as used in this
chapter, are defined as follows:
AGENT
A person authorized to do any of the following on behalf
of the landlord or owner:
A.
Make, contract for, and authorize necessary repairs to the residential
rental unit.
B.
Comply with the ordinances, notices and requests of the Town
of Milton.
C.
Accept all communications, notices, orders and all types of
service of process, relating to the rental housing/unit.
LANDLORD
The owner or agent of real property who offers the residential
rental unit to others for a defined term, including month to month,
in exchange for monetary compensation or other considerations, or
both.
RESIDENTIAL RENTAL UNIT
Any building, structure, or room which is rented or offered
for rent as living quarters. Residential rental units do not include
bed-and-breakfasts, hotels, inns, or motels.
TENANT
Any person or persons, including the lessee, who occupies
a residential rental unit or rental room with the landlord's
consent and upon payment of compensation or gives other considerations
in exchange for occupancy.
Each person, partnership, corporation, or other entity who rents or offers to rent any residential rental unit shall register to obtain a rental unit license and pay an annual fee as set forth in §
164-3 of this chapter.
License fees to be paid to the Town of Milton for rental licenses
shall be at the relevant rate as established in the effective Town
of Milton Fee Schedule.
Applications for licenses pursuant to this chapter shall be made on the prescribed form to the Town of Milton, and no license shall be granted until the applicant has met all provisions in Chapter
95 (Clean Hands Policy) of the Town Code of Milton and the license fee shall have been paid in full. Each applicant shall give the following information:
A. The property owner's name.
B. The address and telephone number of the property owner.
C. The property address to be rented (street name, block number, and
unit number, if any).
D. The name, address and telephone number of the agent, if any.
E. The number of sleeping rooms provided.
F. If the applicant is a partnership, the names and addresses of the
individuals composing the partnership.
G. If the applicant is a corporation, the names and addresses of the
principal officers of the corporation.
H. Authorization for the Town, its agents and employees to seek information
and conduct an investigation into the truth of the statements set
forth in the application and the qualifications of the applicant for
the license.
I. A statement that the applicant:
(1) Shall comply with all laws and ordinances of the Town of Milton.
(2) Shall provide in each such rental unit a functioning smoke-detection
device and those other safety devices required by the State Fire Marshal
and as enumerated by Subchapter IV, Chapter 66, Title 16, of the Delaware
Code.
(3) Shall notify the Town of Milton in writing within 30 days after any
change in the above requirements.
Any person aggrieved by a decision of the Town Administrator
or his/her designee may, within 15 days, take an appeal to the Town
Council by giving written notice of his or her election so to do and
the reasons therefor to the Town Hall; and, upon the appellant's
payment of a fee, if any, as may be established in the currently effective
Town of Milton Fee Schedule, the Town Administrator or his/her designee
shall notify the Secretary of the Town Council and shall transmit
to the Secretary of the Town Council all the papers constituting the
record upon which the decision appealed from was taken. Council shall
set a date, time and place for the hearing of the appeal, which time
and date shall be at the regular Town Council meeting, so long as
the applicable notice and time requirements may be met; if such applicable
notice and time requirements cannot be met, then the appeal shall
be held at either a special meeting or at the next regular Council
meeting. Notice of the appeal shall be sent to the appellant at least
seven days prior to the scheduled hearing. The decision of the Mayor
and Council shall be final, and any review shall be by writ of certiorari
to the Superior Court of the State of Delaware.
Licensees are required to provide names of tenants occupying residential rental units upon request of the Town, for the purpose of verifying compliance with Chapter
136.
The effective date of this chapter shall apply immediately to any new applications. All licenses valid through December 31, 2015, shall be eligible for certification under §
164-5.