A.
No person shall occupy or let to another for occupancy
any dwelling or dwelling unit for the purpose of living therein which
does not comply with the requirements of this article.
B.
The owners of all property other than property which has been foreclosed by a public entity for nonpayment of taxes shall be responsible for complying with those requirements of this article which relate to the structural and exterior condition of properties regardless of occupancy, those sections being § 132-52, Weight stress; § 132-53, Foundation walls; § 132-54, Exterior walls; § 132-55, Roofs; § 132-62, Yards and accessory buildings; § 132-63, Pest extermination; § 132-64, Sanitation of yards and public areas.
Every part of a dwelling shall be maintained
in a structurally sound condition and so as to be capable of sustaining
safely its own weight and any additional weight that may be put on
it through normal use.
A foundation wall of a dwelling shall be maintained
so as to prevent the entrance of moisture, insects and rodents. Without
restricting the generality of this section, the maintenance includes
shoring of the wall where necessary, installing subsoil drains at
the footing, grouting masonry cracks, waterproofing the wall and joints
and using other suitable means.
An exterior wall of a dwelling and its components
shall be maintained so as to prevent its deterioration due to weather
and insects and to preserve its appearance. Without restricting the
generality of this section, the maintenance includes the painting
or whitewashing, restoring or repairing of the wall, coping or flashing,
waterproofing of joints, waterproofing of the wall itself, installing
or repairing of termite shields, treating of the soil with poison
and using other suitable means.
A roof of a dwelling shall be maintained in
a water-tight condition so as to prevent leakage into the building.
Without restricting the generality of this section, the maintenance
includes repairing of the roof and flashing, applying waterproof coatings,
installing or repairing eave troughs and rainwater piping and using
other suitable means. Dangerous accumulations of snow or ice or both
shall be removed from the roof of a dwelling or an accessory building.
Windows, exterior doors and basement or cellar
hatchways shall be maintained so as to prevent the entrance of wind
and rain into the dwelling. Without restricting the generality of
this section, the maintenance includes painting, renewing rotted or
damaged doors, door frames, window frames, sashes and casing, refitting
doors and windows, weatherstripping, replacing defective door and
window hardware, reglazing and using other suitable means.
An outside or inside stair and porch appurtenant
to it shall be maintained so as to be free of holes, cracks and other
defects which may constitute possible accident hazards. Without restricting
the generality of this section, the maintenance includes repairing
or replacing treads or risers that show excessive wear or are broken,
warped or loose, and supporting structural members that are rotted
or deteriorated. A handrail and bannister shall be installed so as
to provide reasonable protection against accident or injury on an
open side of a stairway, balcony, landing or stairwell.
A.
Every wall and ceiling in a dwelling shall be maintained
so as to be free of large holes or cracks and loose plaster or other
material, the collapse of which might cause injury. Without restricting
the generality of this section the maintenance includes repairing
or filling holes and cracks and removing and replacing loose or defective
parts. The surface of every wall and ceiling shall be finished so
as to be reasonably smooth, clean, tight and easily cleaned.
B.
If, upon inspection by the Director of the Department
of Inspections, there is found the presence of flaking, peeling, chipped
or loose paint, plaster or structural material in any dwelling, the
Director of the Department of Inspections is hereby empowered to secure
specimens of flaking, peeling, chipped or loose paint, plaster or
structural material and to analyze or cause an analysis to be made
determining whether the materials contain lead or its compounds. As
used in this subsection, "dwelling" means any building or structure
or portion thereof which is occupied in whole or in part as the home,
residence or sleeping place of one or more human beings.
C.
The Director of the Department of Inspections shall
order the owner or his/her agent to remove all paint, plaster or structural
material containing lead compounds in a quantity of more than 1% or
to cover such surfaces with such materials and by such methods as
the Department may approve to protect the life and health of the occupants
of such dwelling area. Scraping, then repainting a surface with a
paint containing less than 1% lead shall be deemed to be satisfactory
compliance with this section, if otherwise in compliance with the
City laws.
D.
This section shall apply only to dwellings where children
have access and to those dwellings vacated prior to new habitation.
E.
Whenever examinations upon blood, urine or any standard
diagnostic method for the detection of lead in humans reveal an excess
of the maximum safety level of lead as determined and promulgated
by the United States Health Public Service, the Health Officer may
request the Director of the Department of Inspections to make an immediate
inspection of the dwelling of such individual examined to determine
whether the paint, plaster or structural material in the dwelling
contains lead or its compounds. This will be done with reasonable
consideration for the appearance of the wall, floor, ceiling, window
sills or any other part of the dwelling required for sampling.
F.
Paint used on interior surfaces shall be interior
paint. Interior paint shall contain no more than 1% lead. The use
of any other paint is hereby prohibited.
A.
Every floor in a dwelling shall be maintained so as
to be free of loose, warped, protruding, broken or rotted boards that
might cause an accident or that might admit rodents into a room because
of holes or wide cracks. Without restricting the generality of this
section, the maintenance includes the repairing or replacing of floor
boards and, where the floor boards have been covered with linoleum
or some other covering that has become unduly worn or torn so that
it retains dirt, the repairing or replacing of the linoleum or other
covering.
B.
Every kitchen floor, bathroom floor and toilet floor
where the toilet is in a separate room shall be maintained so as to
be reasonably impervious to water and so as to permit easy cleaning.
Without restricting the generality of this section, the maintenance
includes installing, repairing, refinishing and replacing a floor
covering of a kind that will provide the waterproof and cleaning conditions
required.
A.
Chimneys, flues, vents and connector pipes shall be
inspected, cleaned and maintained as often as necessary to insure
adequate draft, structural integrity and freedom from combustible
deposits and other obstructions.
B.
Storage of combustible materials shall not be permitted
within two feet of any heat-producing appliance, including water heaters.
C.
All fuel oil tanks, above or below grade, which are
no longer being used shall be removed in accordance with the Uniform
Fire Code F4016.0.
Every fireplace used or intended to be used
in a dwelling for burning fuel in open fires shall be maintained so
that adjacent combustible material and structural members shall not
be heated to unsafe temperatures. Without restricting the generality
of this section, the maintenance includes securing connection to a
chimney that complies with the provisions of this article, if necessary,
lining, repairing and relining with fire-resistant material and installing,
repairing and replacing the hearth.
A.
A yard shall be kept reasonably clean and free from
rubbish or other debris and from objects or conditions such as holes
or excavations that might create a health, fire or accident hazard.
B.
Stormwater shall be drained from the yard so as to
prevent recurrent or excessive ponding or the entrance of water into
a basement or cellar.
C.
Steps, walks, driveways, parking spaces and similar
areas of a yard shall be maintained so as to afford safe passage under
normal use and weather conditions.
D.
An accessory building, including a fence, shall be
kept in good repair and free from health, fire and accident hazards.
E.
The exterior of an accessory building shall be made
weather resistant through the use of appropriate weather-resistant
materials, including paint and other preservatives.
F.
Where an accessory building is not maintained in accordance
with these standards, it shall be removed from the yard.
G.
If hedges extend beyond the established property line
or through a fence, it shall be the property owner's responsibility
from which the hedge originates to trim back all growth extending
beyond the boundaries of the yard and remove the cuttings. This shall
be done with the permission of entry from the adjacent property owner
to enter the yard.
[Added 3-2-2006 by Ord. No. 06-020]
H.
If there is a tree in a yard and the branches of same
extend over the established property line, and the tree could cause
damage to the adjacent property by falling or scraping the roof covering
rendering it ineffective, such branch or tree shall be ordered removed
at the expense of the property owner on which the tree originates.
Should such tree be located on the established property line, the
expense of the removal and order to do so shall be the responsibility
of both property owners.
[Added 3-2-2006 by Ord. No. 06-020]
A.
Where an accessory building or any condition in a
yard may harbour noxious insects or rodents, all necessary steps shall
be taken to eliminate the insects or rodents and to prevent their
reappearance.
B.
Every owner of a dwelling containing two or more dwelling
units shall be responsible for the extermination of insects, rodents
or other pests on the premises. Whenever infestation exists in two
or more of the dwelling units in any dwelling, or in the shared or
public parts of any dwelling containing two or more dwelling units,
extermination thereof shall be the responsibility of the owner.
C.
When deemed necessary by the Housing Inspector that extermination
needs to be completed, the owner and/or occupant must employ a licensed
professional exterminator to complete extermination and provide proofs
to the Division of Housing Inspections.
[Added 3-17-2016 by Ord.
No. 16-10]
A.
Every owner of a dwelling unit containing two or more
dwelling units shall be responsible for maintaining in a reasonably
clean and sanitary condition all communal, shared, public areas of
the dwelling and premises, including the yard and accessory buildings
thereof which are used or are shared by the occupants of two or more
dwelling units.
A.
No owner shall occupy or rent to any other person
for occupancy or allow any other person to occupy any vacant dwelling
unit unless it is reasonably clean, sanitary and complies with all
the provisions of this chapter and all rules and regulations adopted
pursuant thereto.
B.
No owner shall occupy or rent to any other persons
for occupancy or allow any other persons to occupy any dwelling or
dwelling unit unless (s)he has informed such persons, in writing,
of the maximum number of occupants that may live in the dwelling or
dwelling unit.
C.
No owner shall occupy or rent to any other person
for occupancy or allow any other person to occupy a vacant building
which, by virtue of a cited violation, has been determined to require
a certification of the facilities, utilities or structural integrity
that may affect the health, safety and welfare of those persons on
or near the premises.
A.
It shall be the owner's responsibility to supply,
unless otherwise provided for under lease agreement, all of the equipment
and facilities required by this chapter, except that in dwellings
containing no more than three units it shall be the responsibility
of the occupant of each dwelling unit to furnish receptacles required
for temporary storage of rubbish and garbage until removal from the
premises.
B.
Every supplied facility, piece of equipment or utility
which is required under this chapter shall be so constructed or installed
that it will function properly and shall be maintained by the owner
in reasonably good working condition.
C.
The owner is responsible for all repairs and maintenance
to supplied facilities and equipment required by this chapter regardless
of any agreement or lease entered into between owner and occupant.
No owner or operator shall cause any service,
facility, equipment or utility which is required to be supplied under
the provisions of this chapter to be removed from, shut off from,
or discontinued for any occupied dwelling or dwelling unit let or
occupied by him/her, except for such temporary interruption as may
be necessary while actual repairs, replacements or alterations are
in process of being made.
A.
Every owner or operator of any dwelling who rents,
leases or lets for human habitation any dwelling unit contained within
such dwelling on terms, either expressed or implied, to supply or
furnish heat to the occupants thereof, shall supply heat to maintain
therein a minimum inside temperature of 68º F., in all habitable
rooms, bathrooms and water closet compartments between the hours of
7:00 a.m. and 11:00 p.m. during the day and 60º F. during the
hours of 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. during the night throughout the
year.
B.
Whenever a dwelling is heated by means of a furnace,
boiler or other heating apparatus under the control of the owner or
operator of the dwelling, such owner or operator, in the absence of
a written contract or agreement to the contrary, shall be deemed to
have contracted, undertaken or bound himself/herself to furnish heat
in accordance with the provisions of this section to every dwelling
unit which contains radiators, furnace heat duct outlets or other
heating apparatus outlets.
The owner of every multi-dwelling facility shall
maintain in operating order all elevators providing access to occupied
units on the third level or higher. No owner shall permit such an
elevator to remain out of service without notifying the Building Inspector
of the fact and without pursuing a diligent repair effort.
A.
One- and two-family dwellings. The owner of all buildings
containing one- and two-family dwellings shall conspicuously display
the street address number of the property with a minimum size configuration
of three inches in height. These numbers must be clearly visible at
all times from the center of the street. All other buildings, whether
commercial use or multifamily dwellings, shall display the street
address with a minimum size configuration of six inches in height.
B.
Apartments. The owner of buildings containing more
than one unit shall identify each entrance door to each unit with
a letter or numeral placed on the entrance door to each unit with
a minimum size configuration of three inches in height.
