[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Village
of Canisteo as indicated in article histories.[1] Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 8-1-2005 by L.L.
No. 5-2005; amended in its entirety 7-13-2021 by L.L. No. 2-2021]
The Village of Canisteo does hereby establish a program for
the periodic registration of all rental properties for the general
purposes of identification and regulation. The registration of rental
properties will serve to protect the health, safety and welfare of
citizens in the Village of Canisteo by ensuring safe and sanitary
conditions in the stock of rental housing. Moreover, registration
will ensure that rental property owners and prospective rental property
owners are informed of, and adhere to, code provisions governing the
use and maintenance of rental properties.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
Any owner of rental property who resides outside the designated
boundaries of Steuben County as those boundaries may be defined at
the time of regular, periodic property registration.
A person or entity who is a party to an agreement (land contract)
which requires installment payments to a seller of property. Said
buyer does not become the owner of said property until title or deed
is conveyed upon satisfaction of the installment purchase agreement.
The Code Enforcement Officer of the Village of Canisteo.
An examination of rental housing or any part thereof as the
Mayor and Board of Trustees deem appropriate to carry out the purposes
of this article.
A contract between a buyer and seller of a property, wherein
the seller holds the title or deed to the property until all agreed
upon payments have been made in full.
Any structure or portion thereof, or combination of related
structures and appurtenances, operated as a single entity, of which
the owner or operator thereof provides, for a consideration, one or
more dwelling units. Rental housing includes multiple-family dwelling
units, including upper-level storefronts and single-family dwelling
units, including mobile homes. For purposes of this article, "land
contracts" are deemed installment or rental/sales agreements and as
such the seller is deemed to be the owner of a rental property and
therefore subject the requirements of this article. Rental housing
does not include hotels, inns, motels, nursing homes, hospices and
other residential medical or psychiatric care facilities.
Any housing unit which is occupied by persons other than
the property owner for which a fee or compensation, monetary or otherwise,
is received by the property owner in exchange for such occupation.
A person, who resides within the designated boundaries of
Steuben County, who is authorized to do the following on behalf of
the rental property owner:
Make, contract for, and authorize necessary repairs to the rental
property.
Comply with the orders, notices and requests of the Code Enforcement
Officer.
Accept all communications, notices, orders and all types of
service of process, including, but not limited to, municipal infraction
citations relating to the rental property. The resident agent may,
but need not, be the owner of the rental property.
The property owner of record who enters into an agreement
(land contract) with a buyer wherein the seller agrees to accept installment
payments from the buyer for the purchase of said property. The seller
retains the title or deed to said property until all agreed upon payments
have been made in full.
Any person who occupies a dwelling unit for living or dwelling
purposes with the rental property owner's consent and for such occupation
pays a fee or compensation, monetary or otherwise.
A.
All rental property owners or their resident agents shall register
their property(ies) once every two years with the Village of Canisteo.
Registrations shall be submitted with proof of insurance on or before
date of rental inspection.
B.
It is the responsibility of the property owner to register any rental
property or properties, and failure to do so constitutes a violation
of this article and is subject to the penalties set forth herein.
C.
All absentee landlords must have a resident agent for each rental
property they own.
D.
The registration of rental properties will be on a form approved
by Board of Trustees and must be submitted to the Village Clerk/Treasurer
within the time frames aforementioned. Said registration form will
indicate the name, address and phone number of the property owner
as well as the name, address and phone number of his designated resident
agent. Additionally, the street address of the rental property and
description of the premises, including number of rental units contained
at that address and the property tax number, will be indicated on
that registration form.
E.
It shall be unlawful for any rental property owner to offer any unit
for rent or to allow any rental unit to be occupied without having
first registered the rental property as required herein within the
time prescribed for such registration.
F.
Failure to receive notice of the registration deadline will not excuse
failure to register rental property. It is the rental property owner's
responsibility to fulfill registration requirements.
G.
Upon the sale or transfer of the rental property, the new owner must
register that property with the Village Clerk/Treasurer within 30
days of the date of transfer if its continued usage will be as a rental
property.
Any person or entity that shall violate any of the provisions
of this article or who fails to comply with any of the requirements
thereof shall, upon conviction thereof, be subject to a mandatory
minimum fine of $250, up to a maximum fine of $2,500 per rental property.
It shall be no defense that the owner of the rental property or his
resident agent did not know and/or was not notified of the violation
of this article.
[Adopted 6-2-2008 by L.L.
No. 1-2008]
The Village of Canisteo does hereby establish a program for
the periodic inspection of all rental properties by providing for
inspection and compliance procedures and to provide certificates of
occupancy when applicable regulations have been met.
B.
All rental housing properties shall be inspected once every two years
thereafter.
C.
Inspections shall be completed by the Village Codes Enforcement Officer (CEO) or, at the owner's expense, by a New York State certified Building Inspector or a licensed professional engineer of the owner's choice with the approval of the Village Board of Trustees. If the owner chooses to have his own inspector, inspection will be completed on a form provided by the Village CEO. Upon request by an owner, agent or occupant or as pursuant to Chapter 47, Buildings, Unsafe, of the Canisteo Village Code, the CEO may inspect a property as necessary and as provided for in Chapter 47, Buildings, Unsafe, of the Village Code.
D.
Nothing in this article, except for provisions concerning emergency
inspections, shall be deemed to authorize the Village of Canisteo
or the CEO to conduct an inspection of any premises, subject to this
article, without the consent of the owner, agent or occupant of the
premises. The officials charged with conducting the inspection shall
be required to obtain a search warrant whenever an owner, agent or
occupant refuses to permit a warrantless inspection of the premises
after having been advised that he or she has a constitutional right
to refuse entry of the officials without a search warrant.
A.
A rental property may not be occupied without a valid certificate
of occupancy. The following are the conditions precedent to the issuance
of a certificate of occupancy:
(2)
The owner of the rental property must furnish a certificate of insurance
to the Village of Canisteo which evidences that the subject property
is insured against property damage claims as well as general liability
claims. The certificate of insurance shall contain a provision that
coverage(s) afforded under the policy(ies) will not be canceled unless
at least a thirty-day prior written notice has been given to the insured
with a copy of such notice given to the Village of Canisteo. If, during
the term of the certificate of occupancy, said insurance is canceled
or not renewed, then the certificate of occupancy for said property
shall be deemed null and void for the purposes of this article.
(3)
A property inspection must be performed, compliant with all state
and local laws, rules and regulations, and the inspection report must
be filed with the Village Clerk.
(4)
All applicable fees relative to the property inspection must be paid
to the Village of Canisteo.
B.
Upon receipt, the certificate of occupancy must be displayed conspicuously
at all times at the rental property.
A.
The Codes Enforcement Officer may revoke a certificate of occupancy where he or she finds that the certificate holder has caused, permitted, suffered or allowed to exist a violation of the New York State Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code, Chapter 87 of the Code of the Village of Canisteo or any other chapter of the Code of the Village of Canisteo.
B.
The Codes Enforcement Officer may revoke a rental housing certificate
of occupancy and the affected rental housing unit shall be vacated
forthwith where the certificate holder has, following reasonable notice
and an adequate opportunity to correct the same, failed to correct
a code violation(s) or failed to correct the duly noted violations
that may endanger the health and welfare of the occupants.
A.
The Board of Trustees of the Village of Canisteo is hereby authorized
to adopt, by resolution, a schedule of reasonable and uniform fees
that are required to be paid for rental housing inspections, certificates
of occupancy or any other associated fees that are now required or
provided by this article or that may hereafter be required or provided
for. Such resolution and the fees so established may be revised or
amended from time to time by a resolution of the Village Board of
Trustees.
B.
At the time of inspection, a check for all fees in full made payable
to the Village of Canisteo is required.
C.
The inspection fee shall cover the initial inspection and one follow
up inspection. Additional inspections or callbacks based on the initial
inspection shall be charged the same as the initial inspection.
D.
A fee equivalent to the inspection fee shall be charged for missed
inspection appointments by the owner, agent, or occupant unless sufficient
prior notice is given to the Village Clerk or the Codes Enforcement
Official. The Codes Enforcement Official shall give sufficient notice
to the owner, agent, or occupant if he or she cannot be at the inspection
site at the appointed time.
A.
Any person or entity that shall violate any of the provisions of
this article or fails to comply with any of the requirements thereof
shall, upon conviction thereof, be subject to a mandatory minimum
fine of $250, up to a maximum fine of $2,500 per violation each day
a violation exists. It shall be no defense that the owner of the rental
property or his resident agent did not know and/or was not notified
of the violation of this article.
B.
In addition to the fines set forth above, any person who violates
this article by receiving rent for premises lacking a valid certificate
of occupancy shall be required to refund all rents collected for the
rental of those premises for any period of time during which those
premises lacked the certificate of occupancy or temporary certificate
of occupancy; provided, however, that a landlord or owner shall not
be required to refund rents or security deposits to a tenant or occupant(s)
who has caused the revocation of the certificate of occupancy for
the premises through the neglect or willful misconduct by such tenant
or occupant(s).
A.
The Village Codes Enforcement Officer and the Village of Canisteo
shall not be held responsible for the condition of any rental property
after the Village CEO has completed his inspection. An owner may hire
his/her own independent inspector with the approval of the Village
Board of Trustees. A rental property inspection can only verify obvious
conditions at the time of the inspection and cannot attest to hidden
defects. Once the inspector has left the property, there is no means
to prevent the owner, agent, or occupant from modifying the property
to not comply with applicable codes.
B.
No CEO, officer, agent or employee of the Village of Canisteo shall
render himself personally liable for any damage that may accrue to
persons or property as a result of any act required or permitted in
the discharge of his/her duties under this article. Any suit brought
against any officer, agent, or employee of the Village of Canisteo
as a result of any act required or permitted in the discharge of duties
under this article shall be defended by the Village Attorney at Village
costs or the municipality's insurance carrier's attorneys until the
final determination of the proceeding therein.
The effective date of this Article II, Rental Housing Inspections and Certifications, L.L. No. 1-2008, is June 2, 2008.
