The Borough has determined non-owner-occupied dwellings or residential rental dwelling units are sometimes maintained at a standard significantly less than owner-occupied dwelling units and that such failure to maintain those residential rental dwelling units can and does result in dwelling units which are unsafe, unsanitary and, in many instances, not maintained to the minimum standards required by the various applicable codes and laws in effect in the Borough of New Cumberland. Therefore, the New Cumberland Borough Council determines it to be desirable in the public interest to enact the following provisions providing for the regular and systematic inspection of non-owner-occupied dwellings or residential rental dwelling units to ensure their continued compliance with applicable Borough codes.
[HISTORY: Adopted by the Borough Council of the Borough of New Cumberland as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 4-5-2017 by Ord. No. 689]
The majority of New Cumberland Borough's residential housing is over 50 years old; a number of individual, owner-occupied housing units have been converted to multiple, non-owner-occupied or rental dwelling units; and the number of non-owner-occupied dwelling units has continued to increase while the number of owner-occupied dwelling units has continued to decrease; the Borough therefore seeks to develop an effective policy and program of enforcement on housing, building, and property maintenance.
This article shall be known and may be cited as the "Borough of New Cumberland Residential Rental Dwelling Unit Inspection Ordinance."
As used in this article, the following words shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
Borough of New Cumberland.
The person or persons authorized by Borough Council to administer the Residential Dwelling Unit Inspection Ordinance Program and shall be referred to as the "CEO." This term shall also include the Borough Manager and any other designee as approved by action of the New Cumberland Borough Council, and may also include the Borough Zoning Officer and/or Building Code Official, as appointed, contracted or employed by the Borough from time to time.
All fire, building, property maintenance, electrical, and plumbing codes, and zoning, subdivision/land development, and other related building, development, property and safety ordinances and codes found in various ordinances of the Borough of New Cumberland as adopted by the Borough Council from time to time, and any rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.
One or more rooms used for living and sleeping purposes and having a kitchen(s) with fixed cooking facilities, toilet and bathroom facilities and arranged for occupancy by not more than one family.
The spouse, child, grandchild and parent of the owner of a dwelling unit.
Visual, nondestructive, observation of all accessible and nonhidden areas of the residential rental dwelling unit.
Any person, agent, operator, firm, corporation, partnership, limited liability company association, property managements group, or fiduciary having equal, equitable or other interest in any real property; or recorded in the official records of the state, county, or municipality as holding title to the property; or otherwise having control of the property, including the guardian of the estate of any such person and the executor or administrator of such person's estate. When used in this article in a clause proscribing any activity or imposing a penalty, the term, as applied to partnerships and limited liability companies, shall mean each partner/member, and as applied to corporations, the officers, and directors thereof.
A residential rental dwelling unit which has been inspected and certified by the CEO as complying with all the inspection requirements of this article and for which the annual fee has been paid.
Conversion of an existing single-family dwelling unit, detached or semidetached dwelling, other buildings or portions thereof into a residential rental dwelling unit.
A residential rental dwelling unit not occupied by the owner thereof or immediate family member. There shall be excluded from this definition those dwelling units subject to a periodic inspection by a county, state or federal agency or authority at least once every 36 months, providing the other agency applies standards substantially the same as or more thorough than the Borough codes referenced in the definition of "codes" above.
The Borough Council, by resolution, shall establish a Residential Rental Dwelling Inspection Checklist,[1] which may be amended from time to time by resolution of Borough Council, addressing matters which are standard items for every inspection of a residential rental dwelling unit.
[1]
Editor's Note: The Checklist is included as an attachment to this chapter.
Every owner of a residential rental dwelling unit must register the dwelling unit with the CEO within 60 days after the effective date of this article in accordance with the following schedule:
A.
All owners of a residential rental dwelling unit must register each residential rental dwelling unit with the CEO within 60 days after the effective date of this article.
B.
Any individual, entity or firm which converts any structure to a residential rental dwelling unit or units shall register each residential rental dwelling unit with the CEO of the Borough of New Cumberland within 30 days of the completion of the conversion or within 30 days of the time when any rent, including the exchange of other services for the residential rental dwelling unit, is obtained or within 30 days of the date within which a tenant or tenants occupies/occupy the residential rental dwelling unit, whichever time period is sooner.
C.
It shall be the responsibility of the purchaser and the purchaser's agent in the purchase of the said real estate to notify the Borough within 72 hours of any purchase or transfer of a rental residential dwelling unit.
D.
Registration information shall be provided by all owners and shall include the following:
E.
The owner of a residential rental dwelling unit must update the registration information on record with the CEO within 30 days of any changes of the information set forth below.
F.
Any owner of a residential rental dwelling unit shall notify the Borough of New Cumberland at the New Cumberland Borough Office within 30 days of a new tenant occupying, renting or residing in the owner's residential rental dwelling unit.
G.
Notwithstanding any other provisions of this article, the names and addresses of a tenant shall not be disclosed by any Borough personnel in the event that the tenant is the subject of a court order requiring that this information be kept confidential.
Except as provided in this article, it shall be unlawful to occupy or permit persons to occupy any building or property with a residential rental dwelling unit which has not been properly inspected and certified as a qualified residential rental dwelling unit pursuant to the provisions of this article. Notwithstanding the foregoing, during the initial phase-in period of the residential rental dwelling unit inspection program contemplated hereby, no building, property, and residential rental dwelling unit shall be considered out of compliance with the inspection requirements of this article until after the initial residential rental dwelling unit inspection has been concluded and the residential rental dwelling unit has been properly certified. However, payment of the annual administration fee shall be required if the building or property is to be rented for residential purposes. Except as provided in Subsection D of this section, the requirements for periodic inspections shall be as follows:
A.
Each residential rental dwelling unit shall be inspected by the CEO at least one time in every thirty-six-month period and for such purpose and for any re-inspection required hereunder, the owner shall provide complete access to the property to the CEO. A dwelling unit where inspection access is denied will not be deemed a qualified residential rental dwelling unit until inspection access is provided and the inspection or re-inspection concluded to the satisfaction of the CEO.
B.
The inspection shall include the exterior and interior of the residential rental dwelling unit.
C.
For the purpose of enforcing this article, the CEO may seek an administrative search warrant issued by a competent authority, in accordance with applicable legal standards, for the purpose of compelling access and inspection of a residential rental dwelling unit. If access for inspection and reinspection is not provided, the CEO shall deem the unit is not a qualified residential rental dwelling unit.
D.
If a building or property contains residential rental dwelling units and the owner of the dwelling unit has received a certificate of use and/or occupancy for new construction under any other Borough code, or ordinance, the owner of said building or property shall not be required to schedule an inspection of such new construction pursuant to this article until the expiration of 36 months from the date of the initial issuance of said certificate of occupancy.
E.
The residential rental dwelling unit inspections, required by this article, shall not be applicable to any hotel, motel, or bed-and-breakfast facility which advertises a weekly or monthly rate. No inspection under this article shall be required of hotels, motels, or bed-and-breakfasts principally providing overnight lodging for compensation to guests.
The CEO will issue a certificate of compliance with this article upon the occurrence of the events defined in Subsections A and B of this section. Issuance of a certificate of compliance shall represent compliance with the requirements of this article but shall not denote compliance with any other code nor any standard of safety. The CEO will issue a certificate of compliance upon the occurrence of the following events:
A.
The inspection of the residential rental dwelling unit by the CEO does not note any violations of the Codes referenced in the definition of "codes" above and meets all requirements contained in the Residential Rental Dwelling Unit Inspection Checklist attached hereto as Attachment 1[1]; or
[1]
Editor's Note: The Checklist is included as an attachment to this chapter.
B.
The inspection of the residential rental dwelling units by the CEO violations were noted; however, upon subsequent re-inspection the violations were corrected.
If the inspection of a residential rental dwelling unit discloses code violation(s) or does not meet the requirements of the Residential Rental Dwelling Unit Inspection Checklist, the CEO shall issue a notice of violation. The notice of code violation(s) shall set forth the following data:
A.
The street address or appropriate description of the subject property, building, or residential rental dwelling unit.
B.
The date of the inspection;
C.
The identity of the inspector;
D.
A list of code and/or checklist deficiencies with specific sections of the code and/or checklist;
E.
The number of days in which the owner is to accomplish corrections; and/or
F.
Otherwise eliminate the deficiencies noted in the codes; and
G.
If defects are not corrected within the time specified in the notice of violations, the tenant and/or the owner of the residential rental dwelling unit may be prosecuted and/or the residential rental dwelling unit may be placarded and noted as unfit for human occupancy. The Borough shall have the sole authority to institute prosecution proceedings under the terms of this article.
A.
Upon the expiration of the time specified to accomplish the corrections or otherwise bring the premises into compliance with the notice of code violation, or upon notice from the owner the corrections have been accomplished or code deficiencies otherwise eliminated, the CEO or qualified and certified independent inspector, as the case may be, shall re-inspect the subject residential rental dwelling unit.
B.
In the event such re-inspection discloses the deficiencies were corrected, the CEO shall issue a certificate of compliance to the owner or tenant in accordance with this article.
C.
In the event such re-inspection discloses that the owner did not correct the deficiencies, the CEO may prosecute the owner of the property, building, and residential rental dwelling unit using the fines and enforcement provisions provided in the Borough Property Maintenance Code[1] or any other ordinance of the Borough of New Cumberland.
A.
The owner of a residential rental dwelling unit shall be billed tri-annually for the total program costs of the inspections proposed by this article. The Borough Council, by resolution, shall establish the inspection fees from time to time and said fees shall remain in place until amended by subsequent resolution by Borough Council. Invoices for the inspection fee shall be mailed to the owner for each residential rental dwelling unit before March 1 of each year. Payment of all invoices is due by July 1, annually. Failure to pay the inspection fee may result in the issuance of a notice the residential rental dwelling unit is not a qualified residential rental dwelling unit and may not be utilized as a qualified residential rental dwelling unit until the fee is paid. Authorized fees shall include, but not be limited to, issuance of certificates of compliance, renewal of certificate of compliance, inspections, reinspections and review of independent inspection reports.
B.
In the event violations of any of the codes defined above are found during the initial inspection of the residential rental dwelling unit, a fee may be charged for each re-inspection of the residential rental dwelling unit. Where the violation notice specifies times for correcting the violations, an additional inspection fee will be required for each re-inspection.
The issuance of a certificate of compliance is not a representation by the Borough the residential rental dwelling unit inspected and/or the building in which it is located does not contain any violation of any of the codes, referenced in the definition of "codes" above. The issuance of a certificate of compliance represents on the date of inspection, no material violations of any of said codes were noted. Neither the enactment of this article nor the issuance of a certificate of compliance is a guarantee to any person that no code violations exist in the residential rental dwelling unit at that time or in the future. The Borough shall not be liable for any errors or omissions involved in the issuance of the certificate of compliance.
If the owner or tenant of a residential rental dwelling unit has been cited by a decision of the CEO, the owner, within 30 days of the date of receipt of the notice of violation or the time fixed to correct the deficiencies, whichever first to occur, may appeal the decision to the Borough Council, or a committee appointed by Borough Council.
Nothing in this article shall preclude or prohibit the CEO from inspecting any residential rental dwelling unit whether or not the particular residential rental dwelling unit is scheduled for periodic inspection. Such determination shall be in sole discretion of the CEO.
A.
The failure of any owner to register the residential rental dwelling unit pursuant to § 284-5 hereof or schedule an inspection or re-inspection as provided in this article shall result in the issuance of a notice to the owner that the property is not a qualified residential rental dwelling unit and it shall be unlawful for any person to occupy or let other persons occupy the residential rental dwelling unit in question until the dwelling unit becomes a qualified residential rental dwelling unit.
B.
Rental of a dwelling unit that is not a qualified residential rental dwelling unit shall be a violation of this article and the owner shall be subject to the penalties set forth in this § 284-14 as well any other penalties permitted by law, including the filing of an equity action by the Borough in the Court of Common Pleas of Cumberland County to enforce the provisions of this article. In such action, the property owner shall be responsible for all costs and fees and attorneys' fees incurred by the Borough in such a legal action.
C.
Failure of any owner to affect all corrections as provided for in this article shall be considered a violation of Chapter 269, Property Maintenance, of this Code and procedures and penalties prescribed therein shall be applicable.
D.
The penalties for noncompliance with orders and notices of the CEO or the Borough Manager, and for any other violation of this article, shall include, but shall not be limited to, the provisions contained in this section, including those set forth in this Subsection D. Any owner of a residential rental dwelling unit who shall violate any provision of this article shall, upon conviction, be sentenced to pay a fine of not less $100 or more than $1,000, plus costs of prosecution, and in default of payment of said fine and costs, said person may be subject to imprisonment up to 30 days. Each day that a violation of this article continues shall constitute a separate offense. All fines collected for the violation of this article shall be paid over to the Borough of New Cumberland. An owner shall include any person, firm, partner, member, director or officer of an owner which can include, but shall not be limited to, a limited liability company, partnership, corporation or shareholder who shall be in violation or fail to adhere to the requirements of any provision of this article.
In all matters that are regulated by the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania or by regulations of departments or agencies of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and which laws or regulations are equal or greater than the standards contained in this article, then the former standards shall control in all cases.
The Borough may enact regulations concerning the administration of this article.
If any sentence, clause, section or part of this article is found to be unconstitutional, illegal or invalid, such action shall not affect or impair any of the remaining provisions of this article.
All ordinances or parts of ordinances that are inconsistent herewith are repealed.
Nothing in this article shall be construed to affect any suit or proceeding pending in any court; or affect any rights, or any cause of action, nor shall legal right or remedy be lost, impaired or affected by this article.