Any dwelling or dwelling unit which is found to have any of the following defects shall be condemned as unfit for human habitation and declared to be a common and public nuisance and shall be so designated and placarded by the Building Inspector:
A. 
One which is so damaged, decayed, dilapidated, unsanitary, unsafe or vermin-infested that it creates a serious hazard to the health or safety of the occupants or the public.
B. 
One which lacks elimination, ventilation or sanitation facilities adequate to protect the health or safety of the occupants or the public.
C. 
One in which unsafe equipment, including any boiler, heating equipment, elevator, moving stairway, electrical wiring or device, flammable liquid containers or other equipment on the premises or within the structure which are found to be a hazard to life, health, property or safety of the public or occupants of the premises or structure.
Whenever the Building Inspector has determined that there has been a violation of this chapter or has declared a dwelling or multiple dwelling as unfit for human habitation and constituting a common and public nuisance, he shall give notice to the owner of such property and shall placard the dwelling or multiple dwelling as unfit for human habitation. Such notice shall:
A. 
Be in writing.
B. 
Include a description of the real estate sufficient for identification.
C. 
State the time the occupants must vacate the dwelling units.
D. 
Include an order allowing a reasonable time for repairs and improvements required to bring the dwelling unit or structure into compliance with the provisions of this chapter.
E. 
Include an explanation of the owner's and/or the occupant's right to seek modification or withdrawal of the notice by petition to the Board of Adjustments and Appeals having jurisdiction.
F. 
State the penalties for noncompliance.
Service shall be deemed to be properly served upon the owner or occupant or both of them as follows:
A. 
By delivery to the owner personally or to the occupant personally or to both of them by leaving the notice at the usual place of abode of the owner with a person of suitable age and discretion;
B. 
By depositing the notice in the United States Post Office addressed to the owner at his last known address by certified mail with return receipt requested and postage prepaid; or
C. 
By posting and keeping posted for 24 hours a copy of the notice in placard form in a conspicuous place on the premises and by publication of such notice in a newspaper of general circulation in the Town of Millsboro.
When a condemnation order is served on an occupant other than the owner or person responsible for such compliance, the Building Inspector shall allow the owner or occupant a reasonable time to vacate the property after noncompliance shall be stated. Owners or persons responsible for compliance must vacate at the time set for correction of the defects if there is a failure of compliance.
It shall be unlawful for the owner of any dwelling unit or structure who has received a compliance order or upon whom a notice of violation has been served to sell, transfer, mortgage, lease or otherwise dispose of such property to another until the provision of the compliance order or notice of violation has received compliance or until the owner shall first furnish the grantee, transferee, mortgagee or lessee a true copy of any compliance order or notice of violation issued by the Building Inspector and shall furnish to the Building Inspector a signed and notarized statement from the grantee, transferee, mortgagee or lessee acknowledging receipt of a copy of such compliance order or notice of violation and fully accepting the responsibility without condition for making the corrections or repairs required by such compliance order or notice of violation.
After the condemnation notice required under the provisions of this chapter has resulted in an order by virtue of failure to comply within the time given, the Building Inspector may post on the premises or structure or parts thereof, or on defective equipment, a placard bearing the words "condemned as unfit for human occupancy or use" and a statement of the penalties provided for any occupancy or use or for removing the placard. The owner or the person or persons responsible for the correction of violations and all other occupants shall remove themselves from the property on failure to comply with the correction order within the time specified.
Any person shall occupy a placarded premises or structure or a part thereof, or shall use placarded equipment, and any owner or any person responsible for the premises who shall let anyone occupy a placarded premises shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be subject to the penalties provided for in this chapter.
The Building Inspector shall remove the condemnation placard whenever the defect or defects upon which the condemnation and placarding action were based have been eliminated. Any person who defaces or removes a condemnation placard without the approval of the Building Inspector shall be subject to the penalties provided by this chapter.
Whenever the Building Inspector finds that an emergency exists on any premises or in any structure or part thereof or on any defective equipment which requires immediate action to protect the health and safety of the public or that of the occupants thereof, the Building Inspector may, with proper notice and service in accordance with the provisions of this chapter, issue an order reciting the existence of such emergency and requiring the vacating of the premises or requiring that such action be taken as the Building Inspector deems necessary to meet such emergency. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, such order shall be effective immediately, and the premises or equipment involved shall be placarded immediately upon service of the order.
Any person to whom such an order is directed shall comply therewith. The person to whom such an order is directed may thereafter, upon petition directed to the Board of Adjustments and Appeals, be afforded a hearing as prescribed in this chapter. Depending upon the findings of the Board of Adjustments and Appeals at such hearing as to whether the provisions of this chapter and the rules and regulations adopted pursuant thereto have received compliance, the Board of Adjustments and Appeals shall continue such order or modify or revoke it.
The Building Inspector may order the owner of any premises upon which is located any structure or part thereof which in the judgment of the Building Inspector is so old, dilapidated or has become so out of repair as to be dangerous, unsafe, unsanitary or otherwise unfit for human habitation, occupancy or use, so that it would be unreasonable to repair the same, to raze and remove such structure or a part thereof; or if it can be made safe by repair, to repair and make safe and sanitary or to raze and remove at the owner's option; or where there has been a cessation of normal construction of any structure for a period of more than six months to raze and remove such structure or a part thereof.
The order shall specify a time within which the owner shall comply therewith and specify the repairs, if any. It shall be served on the owner of record or an agent where an agent is in charge of the building and upon the holder of any lien in the manner provided in this chapter for service of condemned buildings. If the owner or holder of a lien of record cannot be found, the order may be served by posting it on the main entrance of the building and by publishing it once each week for three successive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the Town of Millsboro.
Whenever the owner of a property fails to comply with the demolition order within the time prescribed, the Building Inspector may institute or cause to be instituted a suit in a court of competent jurisdiction to have the building so demolished at the cost and expense of the owner, and the cost of the razing and removal of such building or structure shall become a lien pursuant to the Charter of the Town of Millsboro.
Any owner or tenant of a structure affected by the order of the Building Inspector to demolish may, within 30 days after service of such order, apply to a court of competent jurisdiction for an order restraining the Building Inspector from demolishing such building or part thereof. The court to which the application is made shall determine whether the order of the Building Inspector is reasonable, and if found to be unreasonable, the court may issue an order restraining the Building Inspector from proceeding.
When any structure has been ordered razed and removed, the Building Inspector or his designated representative may sell the salvage and valuable materials resulting from such razing or removal, such materials to be sold at the highest price obtainable. The net proceeds of such sale, after deducting the expenses of razing and removal, shall be promptly remitted with a report of such sale or transaction, including the item of expense and the amounts deducted, to the person who may be entitled thereto, subject to any order of a court of competent jurisdiction. If no surplus remains, the report shall so state.