[HISTORY: Adopted by the Borough Council of the Borough of
Collegeville 11-3-2021 by Ord. No. 608.[1] Amendments noted where applicable.]
This chapter shall be known as "Residential Rental Housing Licensing."
The purpose of this chapter is to regulate the licensing of
residential rental housing units in Collegeville Borough.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
A permanent dwelling unit within a building containing three
or more dwelling units (also known as "apartment house"), each for
a single family living independent of one another, and being vertically
arranged, sharing outside access, and having one or more walls as
well as a ceiling or floor in common with another dwelling unit.
Collegeville Borough, Pennsylvania.
A building designed for and occupied exclusively for residential
purposes, excluding hotels, rooming houses, tourist homes, motels
and the like, but including the following:
SINGLE-FAMILY DWELLINGA building designed for and occupied exclusively as a dwelling for one family, including a mobile home.
TWO-FAMILY DWELLINGA building designed for and occupied exclusively as a dwelling for two families (also known as a "twin" or "duplex").
MULTIFAMILY DWELLINGA building designed for and occupied exclusively for dwelling purposes by three or more families living independently of one another; not a townhouse, but customarily called an "apartment house."
A building, or portion thereof, providing one or more rooms
designed, occupied, or intended to be occupied as separate living
quarters, with cooking, sleeping, and sanitary facilities provided
within the dwelling unit for the exclusive use of a single family
maintaining a household.
A person who leases as lessor to a tenant any residential
rental property and the use or occupancy of which continues for a
period in excess of 30 days.
A natural person, heir, executor, administrator or assign,
and includes a firm, partnership or corporation, or limited-liability
corporation, its successors or assigns, or the agent of any of the
aforesaid.
A natural person, partnership, corporation, unincorporated
association, limited partnership, or any other entity appointed by
a landlord or property owner to maintain a rental housing unit or
units, and whose duty it is to ensure that a rental housing unit or
units complies with all statutes and ordinances of the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania and Collegeville Borough.
Any person who, either alone, or jointly or severally with
others, has legal title to any rental housing unit, with or without
accompanying actual possession thereof, or who has charge, care, or
control of any residential rental unit as an owner or agent of the
owner, or as executor, executrix, administrator, administratrix, trustee,
or guardian of the estate of the property owner. Any such person thus
representing the actual property owner shall be bound to comply with
the provisions of this chapter, and to the rules and regulations adopted
pursuant thereto, to the same extent as if he/she were the property
owner.
Includes both residential rental units and short-term rentals.
A room or group of rooms for one or more persons with independent
living facilities, providing for living, sleeping, cooking and sanitary
facilities that are not occupied by the property owner, including
but not limited to single-family dwellings, two-family dwellings,
multifamily dwellings, apartments, boardinghouses, and tourist homes.
This is evidenced by a written or oral contract, lease, sublease or
agreement for residential property only and does not include any rental
property for industrial, commercial or business use nor does this
include any hotel, motel, bed-and-breakfast, nursing homes, dormitories,
dwelling unit occupied by an immediate family member, or any other
business licensed to provide transient lodging to overnight guests
for less than 30 days.
A residential rental dwelling unit or portion of a residential
rental dwelling unit owned or managed by a person, firm or corporation
which is rented for a period of less than 30 consecutive days. Tourist
homes, rooming units, and rooming houses are included in this definition
when rented for a period of less than 30 consecutive days.
A person who has the use or occupancy of a residential dwelling
unit within a residential rental property for a period exceeding 30
days, regardless of the payment of monetary consideration associated
with the use or occupancy of the residential rental property.
A.Â
Establishment of rental housing license.
(1)Â
All owners of rental housing properties in Collegeville Borough shall
make application to Borough Hall for the issuance of a rental housing
license under this chapter. A separate application shall be required
for each rental property under this chapter. Once established, the
rental license will be renewed upon change of ownership of the parcel
or every three years, whichever occurs sooner.
(2)Â
At the time of application, the owner shall provide the Code Enforcement
Official a list of tenants proposed to reside in the rental housing
property. The tenant list shall include all of the following: the
full legal name of all tenants; the current address of the tenants
and/or emergency contact information for each tenant.
(3)Â
The tenant list shall be updated any time that a change of tenant
occurs during the term of the rental housing license. Failure to update
the tenant list shall constitute a violation of this chapter. The
updated tenant list shall be attached to a New Tenant Inspection Form
signed by both the landlord and then tenant.
(4)Â
Emergency contact information and response. Every property owner
shall provide such contact information to the Borough that will allow
the Borough, in the event of an emergency, to contact the property
owner or a designated property manager, 24 hours per day, seven days
per week, 365 days per year. It shall be the property owner's
or designated property manager's absolute duty to update the
contact information to reflect any changes. In the event the Borough
or a representative of the Borough alerts the property owner or property
manager of an emergency, the property owner or property manager shall
be present at the rental housing unit in question to address the emergency.
(5)Â
Every application shall be accompanied by the tenant list required
under this chapter, a copy of any residential rental license issued
for the residential rental property by Collegeville Borough, the emergency
contact information, and the license fee of $50 required for the rental
housing license. The license fee may be adjusted by resolution of
the Collegeville Borough Council.
(6)Â
A rental housing license issued under this chapter shall be valid
for a period of three years and may be renewed upon application. All
rental housing properties seeking renewal of a rental housing license
must comply with all terms and conditions of this chapter.
(7)Â
A rental housing license under this chapter shall not be subject
to transfer or assignment without the written consent of Collegeville
Borough which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld.
B.Â
Inspections.
(2)Â
Upon every first application for a license under this chapter, the
Code Enforcement Official shall perform an inspection of the property
subject to the application to ensure that the property meets all of
the requirements of the Code of Collegeville Borough, including, but
not limited to, the International Property Maintenance Code, the Uniform
Construction Code, the International Fire Code, the Zoning Ordinance,
the Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance,[1] the terms and conditions of this chapter, and any and
all other applicable provisions of the Code of Collegeville Borough
or the laws of the commonwealth.
(3)Â
Any property proposed to be issued a license under this chapter,
in addition to any other relevant requirements, must demonstrate compliance
with the following standards:
(a)Â
Each dwelling unit must have at least one habitable room not
less than 120 square feet.
(b)Â
All spaces, other than kitchens, must contain a minimum of 70
square feet to be considered habitable spaces.
(c)Â
Bedrooms must contain a minimum of 70 square feet, plus an additional
50 square feet for each additional person occupying the same room.
(d)Â
No basement space may be considered habitable unless it meets
the requirements for secondary means of egress/escape as defined by
the applicable Collegeville Borough Building or Property Maintenance
Code.
(4)Â
The Code Enforcement Official shall schedule inspections of properties
under this chapter with a minimum of 10 days' advance notice.
Nothing in this chapter shall be deemed to limit or restrict the ability
of Collegeville Borough to conduct inspections of any property as
deemed necessary to enforce any portion or part of the Code of Collegeville
Borough or the laws of the commonwealth. The applicant is responsible
for the payment of any and all costs of the inspection, currently
fixed at $150. The inspection fee may by adjusted as required by resolution
of the Collegeville Borough Council.
(5)Â
Upon successful completion of all requirements of this chapter, the
Borough may issue an appropriate rental housing license. Properties
which fail to meet the requirements of this chapter shall not qualify
for issuance of a license unless the property is brought into compliance
with this chapter. A reinspection fee shall be paid by any owner seeking
a second or subsequent inspection under an application for a license
prior to the Code Enforcement Official conducting such inspection.
(6)Â
Properties subject to a license under this chapter shall be inspected
by the as provided herein. Every three years the property must be
inspected by the Code Enforcement Official. Between the three-year
mandatory Code Enforcement Official inspections, property owners must
conduct inspections whenever there is a rental to a new tenant and
both the property owner and tenant must complete the New Tenant Inspection
Form.
(7)Â
The Borough shall have discretion to schedule inspections of licensed
properties consistent with this chapter. Failure to conduct or schedule
an inspection when there is a rental to a new tenant or failure to
comply with a notice from the Code Enforcement Official regarding
the scheduling conduct of a mandatory inspection because the residential
rental property has not received a new tenant in three years under
this chapter may result in suspension and/or revocation of any rental
housing license under this chapter. Inspections under this subsection
shall be subject to such fees and charges as set by Collegeville Borough
for inspections and/or reinspections, as applicable.
C.Â
Landlord responsibilities. As a condition of any license issued pursuant
to this chapter, each landlord shall be responsible to ensure that
a property which is subject to a license meets all requirements of
this chapter, the Code of Collegeville Borough, including the property
maintenance, grass, garbage collection, recycling, snow and ice and
other provisions, and shall be subject to any and all relevant enforcement
and penalty provisions associated therewith.
D.Â
Revocation of rental housing license.
(1)Â
Any landlord who violates any term, condition or provision of this
chapter, in addition to the penalties set forth hereunder, shall be
subject to revocation of any license issued under this chapter.
(2)Â
Any property licensed under this chapter that is determined to be
a nuisance shall be subject to revocation. A nuisance property shall
be any property which is in violation of the Borough property maintenance
requirements by being in a substantial state of uncleanliness, disorder
or disrepair; any residential rental property substantially damaged
by fire, flood or other natural disaster; any residential rental property
determined to be uninhabitable by the Code Enforcement Official.
(3)Â
The determination to revoke a license under this chapter shall be
made by the Code Official. Written notice of revocation of a license
issued under this chapter shall be given to the license holder not
less than 15 days prior to the proposed effective date of the revocation.
The Code Official shall provide written notice of revocation by personal
service or registered mail to the address designated in the application
for the license.
(4)Â
Any property which has been subject to revocation of a rental housing
license under this chapter shall not be eligible for a new or renewal
license for a period of not less than three years. Further, any landlord
who has been subject to revocation of a license under this chapter
shall be deemed ineligible to hold (individually or as a member, shareholder,
officer, director or partner in any limited-liability company, corporation,
partnership, limited partnership, limited-liability partnership or
any other entity) a license for any new or additional rental housing
property for a period of not less than three years. Any entity, as
herein described, which is associated in any manner with a landlord
who has been subject to revocation under this chapter shall be deemed
ineligible during any such period of association.
E.Â
Rental housing license hearings. Any person aggrieved by an order
of the Code Official granting, denying, renewing or revoking a license
subject to the provisions of this chapter may file a written request
for a hearing before the Borough Council within 30 days after notice
or order was served. Borough Council shall give notice of a public
hearing upon this request to be held in not less than 30 days after
service of the notice of the person requesting the hearing. Procedures
shall follow the means of appeal as specified in the International
Property Maintenance Code. At such hearing Borough Council shall determine
whether the granting, denial, renewal or revocation of the license
was in accordance with the provisions of this chapter and shall issue
an order which will be filed with the Borough Manager and served upon
all parties appearing or represented at said hearing.
A.Â
Short-term rental properties are subject to all of the requirements
listed above with the following exceptions and additions.
B.Â
Overnight occupancy of a short-term rental shall be limited to no
more than two persons per bedroom.
C.Â
The number of bedrooms permitted for a short-term rental shall be
limited to three bedrooms, unless applicant demonstrates to the Borough
Manager that their property had adequate parking and trash facilities
for additional bedrooms.
D.Â
The property owner shall use his/her best efforts to assure that
the occupants of the short-term rental unit do not create unreasonable
noise or disturbances, engage in disorderly conduct, or violate provisions
of Borough ordinances or any state law pertaining to noise or disorderly
conduct by notifying the occupants of the rules regarding short-term
rental units and responding when notified of occupants violating laws
during their occupancy.
E.Â
The property owner shall, upon notification that occupants of the
short-term rental unit have created unreasonable noise or disturbances,
engaged in disorderly conduct or violated provisions of Borough ordinances
or state law pertaining to noise, or disorderly conduct, promptly
use their best effort to prevent a recurrence of such conduct by those
occupants or guests.
F.Â
If the property owner of a short-term rental unit is cited for a
violation of a Borough ordinance for three times within 12 months,
the owner's rental housing license may be revoked.
G.Â
Short-term rental property owners are required to maintain accurate
rental records listing, at a minimum, the number of days their property
was rented and how many guests stayed on each night. A copy of the
record will be filed annually with the Borough and is due on April
15 of each year. Noncompliance with this provision is subject to the
penalty provisions below and also may result in the rental license
being revoked.
H.Â
Inspections. Because of the high turnover rate for tenants of short-term
rental properties, short-term rental properties must be inspected
by the Code Official annually. The inspection must be included when
the property owner applies for their license. Short-term rental properties
are not required to conduct inspections for every new tenant who rents
their property.
I.Â
A short-term rental unit may be rented only to a person 21 years
of age or older.
J.Â
Parking. In addition to the parking spaces required by § 680-73 for dwellings, one additional parking space for each bedroom for rent.
K.Â
Zoning. Short-term rentals must meet the same zoning requirements
of a "rooming house."
Any property owner who fails to comply with the provisions of
this chapter shall, upon summary conviction therefor before a District
Justice within the Magisterial District within which the Borough is
located, be fined not more than $1,000 plus costs of prosecution and
reasonable attorney's fees, after a summary proceeding brought
in the name of the Borough before said District Justice. A new and
separate offense shall be deemed to be committed for each day that
such violation exists. In default of the payment of any fine imposed
and the costs, the person or persons that are charged may be sentenced
to be committed to the county jail for a period not exceeding 30 days.
Every owner of a rental housing unit shall also comply with the relevant provisions contained in Chapter 495 and all other relevant chapters of the Code of Ordinances of Collegeville Borough.
