[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Board of the Charter Township of Huron 4-28-1999 by Ord. No. 99-1 (Part 228 of the 1995 Compilation of Ordinances). Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Dangerous buildings — See Ch. 159.
Property maintenance — See Ch. 395.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meaning indicated:
CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE
A certificate issued by the Building Department, which certificate certifies compliance with this chapter.
COMMON UTILITY AREAS
All areas of a rental dwelling other than the dwelling units themselves, including, but not limited to, all mechanical rooms, utility rooms, storage areas, exit facilities, recreational areas and other public spaces within or connected to the building.
LEASE
Any written or oral agreement that sets forth conditions concerning the use and occupancy of rental dwellings or rental units.
NOTICE OF VIOLATION
A notice issued to the owner or registered agent stating that there has been a violation of this chapter or any other applicable code, ordinance, rule or regulation concerning the premises.
OCCUPANCY
Includes all tenants, lessees and persons residing within a rental dwelling or rental unit.
OWNER
Any person having a legal or equitable interest in the premises.
PREMISES
Any lot or piece of land, inclusive of the rental dwellings, rental units, common utility areas and all other improvements or any part thereof.
RENTAL DWELLING
Any structure, building or other facility promised and/or leased in whole or in part to a residential tenant for use as a home, residence or sleeping unit, regardless of the type, form or amount of remuneration received as a result of any such lease or other arrangement. "Rental dwelling" includes, but is not limited to, all two-family dwellings, multiple dwellings, apartment buildings, boarding houses, rooming houses, hotels, motels and flats, and all single-family houses (excluding those houses which are owner-occupied and are not rented in whole or in part).
A. 
The purposes of this chapter are to protect the public health, safety and welfare by establishing minimum standards governing the state of repair and maintenance of rental dwellings, rental units and the premises on which they are located; to establish minimum standards governing utilities, facilities and other physical components and conditions essential to make and keep such premises fit for residential occupancy and use; to prevent blight and its detrimental effects from destroying the character and viability of the community; to fix certain responsibilities and duties upon owners and tenants; to authorize and establish procedures for registering, inspecting and requiring that such premises be maintained in a compliant manner; to establish service and administrative fees to be charged through the enforcement of this chapter; and to fix penalties for violations of this chapter.
B. 
This chapter is declared to be essential for the public health, safety and welfare, and it is intended that this chapter be liberally construed to effectuate the purposes stated in this section.
Every owner of a rental dwelling shall comply with each of the various requirements of this chapter so as to obtain and keep current a certificate of compliance for the premises of each rental dwelling and all dwelling units therein.
A. 
The owner of a rental dwelling, occupied or unoccupied, shall register with the Building Department his or her name and business address, the location of each dwelling and the number of rental units within such dwelling. Notification of change in ownership or use of any rental dwelling shall be officially provided within 30 days after such change for the purpose of maintaining an accurate registry of such information. This requirement does not relieve the registered owner of any such property of the responsibility to fully comply with the inspection, maintenance and code compliance requirements of this chapter.
B. 
A registry of owners and premises shall be maintained by the Building Department. Such registry shall be kept as a public record and shall be available for public inspection.
C. 
If rental dwellings are managed or operated by an agent or representative, the agent or representative's name and business address shall be provided to the Department, and shall be placed with the owner's name and business address in the registry.
D. 
If the owner is a corporation, the names and addresses of its officers shall be provided and recorded in the registry.
E. 
Any change in address of the owner, agent or representative shall be provided by such owner, agent or representative to the Department within 30 days of such change.
F. 
If any rental dwelling is sold, it shall be the obligation of the seller or his or her agent to provide the purchaser with a current certificate of compliance for such dwelling and to also notify the Department, within 30 days, of the name and address of the purchaser. If the certificate of compliance was last issued more than 12 months prior to the date of the sale, then the premises must be inspected prior to the sale. Correction of identified violations may be assumed by the purchaser if the Department is provided with an affidavit of such assumption from the purchaser. This requirement shall not relieve any owner of a rental dwelling of the responsibility to keep registrations current and to comply with every provision of this chapter.
A. 
There shall be an initial registration fee for each rental dwelling. Such fees shall be paid by the owner or his or her agent or representative at the time of registration. The initial registration fees shall be as established by the Township Board in the Township's fee schedule.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: The current Fee Schedule is on file in the Township offices.
B. 
There shall also be an annual renewal registration fee, which fee shall be as established by the Township Board in the Township's fee schedule. Every owner, agent or representative of a rental property shall make payment for the required annual renewal registration fee prior to December 31 of each year.
C. 
Each annual renewal registration shall expire on December 31 of each year. The owner of a rental dwelling shall be responsible for ensuring that the registration is kept current at all times. A late fee of $10 shall be added to the annual renewal registration fee for every registration which has expired.
D. 
Each new owner of a currently registered rental dwelling shall pay, within 30 days of the transfer of ownership interest, a re-registration fee equal to the renewal registration fee as set forth in Subsection B hereof.
E. 
Any change in address of the owner, agent or representative shall be provided by such owner, agent or representative to the Department within 30 days of such change.
A. 
The Supervisor of the Building Department and such other code enforcement officials as the Supervisor may designate are hereby authorized to make inspections of rental dwellings, occupied or unoccupied, as follows:
(1) 
Prior to the sale thereof, if a certificate of compliance has not been issued within the 12 months preceding such sale;
(2) 
Prior to being removed from the registry for the purpose of becoming an owner-occupied single-family dwelling, if a certificate of compliance has not been issued within the 12 months preceding such change in occupancy;
(3) 
Upon identification of external violations documented by the Building Department Supervisor or upon receipt of a complaint registered by a tenant, resident and/or neighborhood association if, after investigation, said Supervisor determines that such inspections are reasonably required to accomplish the intent of this chapter; and
(4) 
Every rental dwelling unit shall be inspected at least once every two years.
B. 
All owners, agents, representatives and tenants shall comply with inspection requests of the Building Department Supervisor and such other code enforcement officials as are provided for in Subsection A hereof.
(1) 
A request for inspection shall read, in part:[1]
NOTICE: PURSUANT TO ORDINANCE NO. 99-1 OF THE CHARTER TOWNSHIP OF HURON, A RENTAL INSPECTION IS REQUIRED. YOU MAY REFUSE ENTRY TO AN INSPECTOR WHO DOES NOT HAVE A SEARCH WARRANT. SHOULD AN OWNER, AGENT, REPRESENTATIVE OR TENANT REFUSE TO CONSENT TO AN INSPECTION, A SEARCH WARRANT SHALL BE REQUIRED AND MAY BE OBTAINED TO CONDUCT AN INSPECTION.
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).
(2) 
The owner of such property shall pay the prescribed fees and schedule the required inspections within 10 days of the notice of inspection. The owner shall inform all tenants of the scheduled inspection and assure entry into each unit and access to all areas at the time of inspection. The Building Department Supervisor or his or her representative shall provide seven days' notice of inspection of the premises, and every owner, agent, representative and tenant shall provide unrestricted access to the premises for the purpose of making such inspections. In the event of an emergency or life-threatening situation, the owner, agent, representative or tenant shall allow immediate inspection. Refusal to grant access for inspection will not preclude said supervisor from obtaining a search warrant to allow inspection.
A. 
If, upon inspection of a rental dwelling and premises, any unit or any part thereof is found to be in violation of this chapter or any applicable building code, zoning regulation or other code relating to the maintenance or conditions of said property, such violation shall be recorded by the Building Department. Notice thereof, by regular mail, shall be given to the owner, agent or representative as such appears in the registry.
B. 
It shall be the property owner's responsibility to correct all identified code violations immediately and to maintain such property in a safe and compliant manner at all times.
C. 
Correction of maintenance violations which can be performed without obtaining a permit must be verified and documented by an inspector; this will be done without additional cost provided that the owner corrects all violations and requests verification within the time prescribed on the violation notice.
D. 
Correction of violations which must be performed by an appropriately licensed or qualified person shall be done in compliance with the permit requirements specified in the Township's ordinances. Every such permit shall be additionally identified as a "correctional permit."
E. 
A certificate of compliance shall be issued by the Building Department supervisor for each rental dwelling when it is established that such dwelling or facility is in compliance with all of the code requirements applicable to existing structures or residential occupancies. A certificate of compliance shall expire after two years. A valid certificate of compliance may be transferred to a new owner of the property, provided that the new owner has properly registered the change in ownership and that the date of the sale is within 12 months of the date on which the certificate of compliance was issued.
Each unit in a rental dwelling shall be inspected as required by this chapter. The fees shall be set from time to time by resolution of the Township Board. The applicable fees shall be paid within 10 days of the date of the notice set forth in § 412-6B of this chapter.
The Building Department supervisor and his or her authorized representatives shall serve as ordinance officers for purposes of enforcement of this chapter and shall be authorized to issue notices, orders, violations and court appearance tickets relative to violations of this chapter.
A. 
If any owner of any rental dwelling fails to comply with the registration requirements specified herein, a final notice and order to comply shall be issued.
B. 
If any owner of any rental dwelling fails to comply with the inspection requirements specified herein after being properly notified, a final notice and order to comply shall be issued. If the order is not promptly complied with, each dwelling unit contained therein shall be posted with a notice requiring that the occupant of the unit provide entry for inspection purposes at a specified date and time.
C. 
If any owner of any rental dwelling fails to correct the violations identified in the inspection report, as required by this chapter, a final notice and order to comply shall be issued. If the order is not promptly complied with, each dwelling unit which is in violation of the applicable codes shall be posted with a notice that said unit is substandard and in violation of this chapter. Court action to enforce compliance will be initiated.
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).
A. 
In any case where a provision of this chapter is found to be in conflict with any provision of any state statute or any zoning, building, fire, safety or health ordinance or code of the Township, the provision which established the higher standard for the promotion and protection of the health, safety and welfare of the public shall prevail.
B. 
Nothing in this chapter shall be deemed or construed to impair the rights of the Township under any ordinance or code relating to condemnation of structures or under any related code or ordinance regarding the maintenance, condition or safety of structures.
Any person affected by any notice which has been issued in connection with the enforcement of this chapter may request and shall be granted a hearing on the matter before the hearing board on dangerous buildings and code appeals; provided that such person files, in the office of the Building Department, a written petition requesting such hearing and containing a statement of the grounds of the appeal within 20 days after the day the notice was served.
It is the intent of this chapter to have all rental dwellings maintained according to the minimum codes governing existing buildings and residential occupancies. It is not intended to have such rental dwellings brought up to the current code requirements for new buildings.
A. 
Any person, firm or corporation violating any of the provisions of this chapter shall, upon conviction thereof by any court of competent jurisdiction, be punished by a civil fine not to exceed $500. Any actions by the property owner to bring the property into compliance after the issuance of a citation shall not constitute a defense to a prosecution for violation of this chapter.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Added at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).
B. 
The imposition of a penalty shall not preclude the initiation of appropriate legal action to restrain, correct or abate a violation, to prevent illegal occupancy of a rental dwelling or dwelling unit or to stop an illegal act, conduct of a business or use of a structure.