A.
Any rental property shall be registered and inspected annually in
accordance herewith.
B.
If the owner of a registered rental property does not maintain his
or her primary residence within 15 miles of the Village of New Paltz,
said owner shall appoint a property manager who does maintain his
primary residence within that distance, and, in that event, such property
manager shall be registered with the Code Enforcement Official along
with the rental property itself.
C.
Whenever ownership of a rental property is transferred, the new owner
- if the property is to be rented - must notify the Code Enforcement
Official of the change of ownership within 15 days of the date of
change in title. No additional annual fee for the year in which the
transfer was completed shall be required from the new owner of the
rental property. The new owner if the property is to be rented shall
be liable for compliance with this chapter and the rental property
registration requirements as set forth herein, including any violations
thereof whether before or after taking title.
A.
The owner of a rental property shall file with the Building Department a rental property registration form as prescribed by the Code Enforcement Official within the time frame set forth in § 129-6C and prior to its first-time use or occupancy as a rental property. Such form shall include, but not necessarily be limited to:
(1)
The name, street address, mailing address, email address and home,
work and cell numbers of both the property owner and property manager
if applicable;
(2)
The property location, both by street or postal address and tax roll
identification number of the subject rental property;
(3)
The number of dwelling units contained in said building;
(4)
The number of individual sleeping units contained in each dwelling
unit;
(5)
The number of intended tenants, subtenants and/or occupants of each
dwelling unit;
(6)
The signature of the property owner and/or property manager;
(7)
The signature of the Code Enforcement Official, which shall not be
affixed until the inspection procedure set forth herein has been completed
and there is a determination that there are no violations of this
or any other Code provision;
(8)
Date and time of the annual inspection;
(9)
Verification by the Code Enforcement Official or designee that the
property meets the requirements of the New York State Uniform Fire
Prevention and Building Code (the Uniform Code), and the property
has passed the annual inspection;
(10)
An attached copy of the completed annual inspection checklist.
The Code Enforcement Official may extend the annual inspection checklist
deadline by no more than 15 days;
(11)
The signature of the property owner or designee affirming he/she
was present at the inspection and received a copy of the inspection.
B.
The Village shall collect an annual fee for each registration form
filed with the Code Enforcement Official in the amount set annually
by resolution of the Board of Trustees.
C.
After the inspection, the application made by the owner shall contain
verification on the part of the Code Enforcement Official that the
property meets the requirements of the New York State Uniform Fire
Prevention and Building Code (the Uniform Code), as well as any other
laws, rules and regulations promulgated by any local, state or federal
agency.
D.
Annual rental property inspection required.
(1)
An approved rental property registration form shall be valid for
one year from the date issued.
(2)
For a registration to be valid, it must be accompanied by a successful
annual inspection report. Such inspection shall follow the following
procedure:
(a)
Prior to any inspection, the applicant must pay a registration
fee as described above.
(b)
The Code Enforcement Official shall inspect the property, providing
the property owner and tenants with a copy of the written inspection
report.
(c)
If a property owner knowingly rents a property found physically lacking one or more of the following: running water, heat or heat source, electricity, sanitary facilities, windows in sleeping spaces, cooking facilities and/or smoke/carbon monoxide detector(s) or there is the presence of black mold, the property may not be rented until remedied and a reinspection completed. If there are current tenants, they must be vacated and placed in temporary housing as per § 129-7E.
(d)
If it is feasible for the owner to remedy the violation during
the inspection in which it is identified, or within 24 hours thereof,
reasonable effort will be made by the Code Enforcement Official to
remain or return accordingly, to avoid unreasonable delay in compliance.
Where such remedy is accomplished, no violation shall be issued.
E.
Temporary housing.
(1)
If a rental property is found not to be registered and/or upon inspection been denied, suspended or revoked for any reason set forth in Subsection D(2)(c) of this section unrelated to force majeure or the acts, omissions or negligence of tenant or tenant's invitees, the property owner shall provide, at owner's expense, temporary housing or the expense thereof for all displaced tenants, unless otherwise agreed to by tenant until:
(2)
Such temporary housing shall be provided at the nearest feasible
geographical location and rental rate.
F.
Tenant list. The property owner shall certify or affirm that he or
she has the name, address and contact information for each tenant
or subtenant occupying each dwelling unit. Any property owner who
fails to maintain said information shall be guilty of a violation
of this chapter, which is hereby declared to be a violation, and,
upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine not to exceed
the amount set forth in the schedule of penalties, fees and fines
maintained by the Village per tenant or subtenant.
A.
All registered rental properties shall be inspected by the Code Enforcement
Official at least annually.
B.
Property owner or manager shall be provided a copy of the blank annual
inspection report checklist at the time that the registration application
is filed whose criteria shall be maintained by the Code Enforcement
Official. Tenants of the subject rental property shall be entitled
to a copy of the annual inspection report checklist upon request.
C.
The Code Enforcement Official shall have the right to inspect all
properties which are required to be registered in accordance with
this chapter except that the owner, property manager or owner's agent
shall have the right to insist upon the procurement of a search warrant
from a court of competent jurisdiction by the Code Enforcement Official
in order to enable such inspection. The Code Enforcement Official
shall be required to obtain a search warrant whenever the owner, property
manager or owner's agent 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 such official without a search warrant.
D.
Property owners, managers, and tenants shall be responsible for providing
access to all parts of the premises within their control to the Code
Enforcement Official and/or Code Enforcement Assistant or their designees,
acting in their official capacity under these or other provisions
of the Code.
E.
If access is refused or cannot be obtained, the Village shall have
the right to revoke or deny the rental property registration.
F.
After the completion of the inspection itself, the Code Enforcement
Official shall cite the property owner with a notice to remedy within
30 days, and, if the violation is not remedied within 30 days, then
the Code Enforcement Official shall issue a violation and appearance
ticket for said violation. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if in the
Code Enforcement Official's judgment, the violation witnessed during
the inspection poses an imminent threat to the health, safety, and
welfare of the property occupants or the public, the Code Enforcement
Official may issue a violation and appearance ticket immediately,
without first issuing an order to remedy.
G.
If there are no code violations or violations of this chapter, the
owner shall be issued a rental property registration.
H.
If there are code violations or violations of this chapter which are not or cannot be immediately remedied according to § 129-7D(2)(c), the Code Enforcement Official shall not issue the rental property registration, and shall issue orders to remedy or appearance tickets for all such violations as set forth herein.
I.
In the event of the issuance of appearance tickets, a rental property
registration shall not be issued to the owner until there has been
a final disposition of the matters which are the basis for the appearance
ticket or tickets before the Town Court and the conditions remedied
or a determination made by the Court that no violation of code or
this chapter had been committed.
A.
The Code Enforcement Official shall maintain a rental index of all
registered rental properties, and shall make said index available
to any person seeking access thereto.
A.
A property owner who is required to register his/her property, and
who fails to register said property; and/or provides incomplete or
incorrect registration information; and/or has failed to update all
registration information within 30 days of a change in that information;
or fails to comply with any other provision of this chapter, shall
first be given 30 days' notice by the Code Enforcement Official of
the violation.
B.
If the property has not been registered within the 30 days provided,
the Code Enforcement Official shall issue the owner an appearance
ticket.
A.
Responsibilities of occupants. Occupants of dwelling units shall
be responsible for compliance with the housing standards in regard
to the following:
B.
Limiting occupancy of that part of the premises which he occupies
or controls to the maximum permitted by the housing standards.
C.
Maintenance of that part of the premises which he occupies or controls
in a clean, sanitary and safe condition.
D.
Maintenance of all plumbing, cooking and refrigeration fixtures and
appliances, as well as other building equipment and storage facilities
in that part of the premises which he occupies or controls, in a clean
and sanitary condition, and providing reasonable care in the operation
and use thereof.
E.
Keeping exits from his dwelling unit clear and unencumbered.
F.
Disposal of garbage and refuse into provided facilities in clean
and sanitary manner.
G.
Extermination of insects, rodents or other pests within his dwelling
unit if his unit is the only one infested in the premises.
H.
Hanging and removing required screens.
I.
Keeping his domestic animals and pets in an appropriate manner and
under control.
A.
Each day that a violation shall continue shall constitute a separate
violation at the discretion of the Building Department.
B.
The Code Enforcement Official shall file charges with respect to
any violations and may issue and serve appearance tickets when he
or she has reasonable cause to believe that such violation or offense
has been committed.
C.
For every violation of this chapter, the owner and/or the tenant
shall be subject to a fine set annually by resolution of the Board
of Trustees as part of its fee schedule and at the discretion of the
Code Enforcement Official.
D.
In addition to the foregoing, the Board of Trustees may maintain
an action or proceeding in the name of the Village in a court of competent
jurisdiction to compel compliance with or to restrain by injunction
the violation of this chapter.
The provisions of this article shall be applicable to all newly registered rental properties as of the effective date of this article. For those properties that are currently registered under the existing Chapter 129 of the Village Code, the provisions of this newly enacted Article II of Chapter 129 shall be applicable to those properties as of the date of the expiration of said property's current registration.
