A.
It shall be the duty of every owner to keep and maintain all regulated
rental units in compliance with all applicable codes and provisions
of all applicable state laws and regulations and local ordinances
and to keep such property in good and safe condition.
B.
It is the owner's duty to provide the Borough with written notification of tenants in the owner's regulated rental unit as stated in Chapter 496, Tenant Registry, of the Code of the Borough of Blawnox.
C.
As provided for in this chapter, every owner shall be responsible
for regulating the proper and lawful use and maintenance of every
dwelling which he, she or it owns. As provided for in this chapter,
every owner shall also be responsible for regulating the conduct and
activities of the occupants of every one which he, she or it owns
in the Borough, which conduct or activity takes place at such regulated
rental unit or its premises.
D.
In order to achieve those ends, every owner of a regulated rental
unit shall regulate the conduct and activity of the occupants thereof,
both contractually and through enforcement, as more fully set forth
below.
E.
This section shall not be construed as diminishing or relieving,
in any way, the responsibility of the occupants or their guests for
their conduct or activity; nor shall it be construed as an assignment,
transfer, or projection over or onto any owner of any responsibility
or liability which occupants or their guests may have as a result
of their conduct or activity under any private cause of action, civil
or criminal enforcement proceeding, or criminal law; nor shall this
section be construed so as to require an owner to indemnify or defend
occupants or their guests when any such action or proceeding is brought
against the occupant based upon the occupant's conduct or activity.
Nothing herein is intended to impose any additional civil/criminal
liability upon owners other than that which is imposed by existing
law.
F.
This chapter is not intended to, nor shall its effect be, to limit
any other enforcement remedies which may be available to the Borough
against the owner, occupant or guest thereof.
Every owner who is not a full-time resident of the Borough of
Blawnox or within a twenty-five-mile radius of the Borough of Blawnox
shall designate a manager who shall reside in an area that is a local
call from the Borough of Blawnox. If the owner is a corporation, a
manager shall be required if an officer of the corporation does not
reside in the aforesaid calling area. The officer shall perform the
same function as a manager. If the owner is a partnership, a manager
shall be required if a partner does not reside in the aforesaid calling
area. Said partner shall perform the same function as a manager. The
manager shall be the agent of the owner for service of process and
receiving of notices and demands, as well as for performing the obligations
of the owner under this chapter and under rental agreement with occupants.
The identity, address and telephone number(s) of a person who is designated
as manager hereunder shall be provided by owner or manager to the
Borough, and such information shall be kept current and updated as
it changes.
A.
The owner shall maintain the premises in compliance with the codes
of the Borough and shall regularly perform all routine maintenance,
including lawn mowing and ice and snow removal and shall promptly
make any and all repairs necessary to fulfill this obligation.
B.
The owner and occupant may agree that the occupant is to perform
specific repairs, maintenance tasks, alterations, or remodeling. In
such case, however, such agreement between the owner and the occupant
must be in writing. Such an agreement may be entered into between
the owner and occupant only if:
C.
In no case shall the existence of any agreement between the owner
and occupant relieve an owner of any responsibility under this chapter
or other ordinances or codes for maintenance of premises.
A.
All agreements for regulated dwelling units shall be in writing and
shall be supplemented with an addendum as may be adopted by Borough
Council from time to time. No oral leases and no oral modifications
thereof are permitted. All disclosures and information required to
be given to occupants by the owner shall be furnished before the signing
of the rental agreement. The owner shall provide occupant with copies
of the rental agreement and addendum upon execution.
B.
Terms and conditions. Owner and occupant may include in a rental
agreement terms and conditions not prohibited by this chapter or other
applicable ordinances, regulations, and laws, including rent, term
of the agreement, and other provisions governing the rights and obligations
of the parties.
C.
Prohibited provisions. Except as otherwise provided by this chapter,
no rental agreement may provide that the occupant or owner agrees
to waive or to forego rights or remedies under this chapter. Any provision
prohibited by this subsection included in a rental agreement is unenforceable.
D.
Attachment of chapter to rental agreement. Following the effective
date of this chapter, a summary hereof in a form provided to owner
by the Borough at the time of licensing or the chapter itself shall
be attached to each rental agreement delivered by or on behalf of
an owner when any such agreement is presented for signing to an occupant.
If a most recent summary has been provided when the rental agreement
was first executed, a summary does not have to be provided upon renewal.
Where a rental agreement has been entered into prior to the effective
date of this chapter, the owner shall provide the occupants with a
copy of the summary within 60 days after enactment of this chapter.
The owner shall reply promptly to reasonable complaints and
inquiries from occupants.
The owner shall comply with all provision of this Landlord and
Tenant Act[1] of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 68 P.S. § 250.101 et seq.
Where an owner does not regulate the use of the common areas
and the behavior of occupants and guests in the common areas, the
owner shall be directly responsible for the behavior of occupants
and guests in the common area as if the owner were an occupant.
A.
Within 10 days after receipt of written notice from the Code Enforcement
Officer that an occupant of a regulated rental unit has violated a
provision of this chapter, the owner shall take immediate steps to
remedy the violation and take steps to assure that there is not a
reoccurrence of the violation.
B.
Within 20 days after receipt of a notice of violation, the owner
shall file with the Code Enforcement Officer or other designee of
the Borough a report, on a form provided by the Borough, setting forth
what action the owner has taken to remedy the violation and what steps
he or she has taken to prevent a reoccurrence of the violation. The
report shall also set forth a plan as to steps the owner will take
in the future if the violation recurs.
C.
The Code Enforcement Officer shall review the report and, if adequate
steps have been taken and the plan is adequate to address the future
violations, shall approve the plan. The Owner shall, in his or her
initiative, enforce the plan, and failure to do so shall be a violation
of this chapter.
D.
In the event that a second violation occurs within a year involving
the same occupant or occupants, the Code Enforcement Officer may direct
the owner to evict in accordance with the Landlord Tenant Act[1] the occupants who violated this chapter and to not permit
the occupant to occupy the premises during the subsequent licensing
period.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 68 P.S. § 250.101 et seq.
E.
If an occupant has been evicted from a regulated rental unit pursuant
to this chapter, he or she shall not be eligible to rent any other
regulated rental unit within the Borough of Blawnox.
Upon receiving notice of any code violation from the Code Enforcement
Officer, the owner shall promptly take action, or cause the necessary
action to be taken, to abate the offending condition and eliminate
the violation.
In case the owner of premises shall neglect, fail or refuse
to comply with any notice from the Borough or its Code Enforcement
Officer to correct a violation relating to maintenance and repair
of the premises under any code within the period of time stated in
such notice, the Borough may cause the violation to be corrected.
There shall be imposed upon the owner a charge of the actual costs
involved for each time the Borough shall cause a violation to be corrected,
and the owner of the premises shall be billed after the same has been
completed. Any such bill which remains unpaid and outstanding after
the time specified therein for payment shall be grounds for the imposition
of a municipal lien upon the premises as provided by law. Such a lien
may be reduced to a judgment and enforced and collected as provided
by law, together with interest at the legal rate and court costs.
The remedies provided by this section are not exclusive and the Borough
and its Code Enforcement Officer may invoke such other remedies available
under this chapter or other applicable codes, ordinances or statutes,
including, where appropriate, condemnation proceedings or declaration
of the premises as unfit for habitation, or suspension, revocation,
or nonrenewal of the license issued hereunder.
The owner shall permit inspections of any premises by the Code
Enforcement Officer at reasonable times upon reasonable notice.
