(A) General.
(1) Commencement of Proceedings. Whenever the department has inspected or caused to be inspected any building and has found and determined that such building is a substandard building, he shall commence proceedings to cause the repair, rehabilitation, vacation, or securing of the building.
(2) Notice and Order. The Department shall issue a notice and order directed to the owner of the building, their agent and/or responsible party and where appropriate to the occupant of the building, as indicated by the county assessor's and the Department's records. The effective date of the order shall be eight days from the date of the notice. The notice and order shall contain:
(a) The street address and a legal description sufficient for identification of the premises upon which the building is located.
(b) A statement that the Department has found the building to be substandard with a brief and concise description of the conditions found to render the building dangerous under the provisions of this code.
(c) A statement of the action required to be taken as determined by the Mayor.
1. If the Department has determined that the building or structure must be repaired, the order shall provide that all required permits be secured therefor and the work physically commenced within such time, not to exceed 30 days from the effective date of the order, and completed within such time as the Department shall determine is reasonable under all the circumstances.
2. If the Department has determined that the building or structure must be vacated, the order shall require that the building or structure shall be vacated within a certain time from the effective date of the order as determined by the Department to be reasonable.
3. If the department has determined that the building or structure must be demolished, the order shall require that the building be vacated within such time as the department shall determine reasonable, not to exceed 30 days from the effective date of the order; that all required permits be secured therefore within 60 days from the date of the order, and that the demolition be completed within such time as the department shall determine is reasonable. Failure to comply with the order to demolish the building or structure within such time as the department shall determine reasonable, not to exceed 30 days from the effective date of the order, will result in a Notice of Administrative Demolition of Dwellings Unfit for Human Habitation pursuant to ROA 1994, Chapter 14, Article 23.
4. If the department has determined that the building or structure is a nuisance or an attractive nuisance; the order shall require the nuisance to be abated within such time the Department shall determine to be reasonable, not to exceed 30 days from the effective date of the order; where there has been a failure to comply with such order the Department shall proceed to obtain an appropriate court order to abate such nuisance. Any such abatement of the nuisance shall be accomplished and the cost thereof paid and recovered in the manner provided by § 14-3-5-6.
(d) Statements advising:
1. That any person having any title or legal interest in the building may appeal from the notice and order or any action of the Department, excluding demolition, to the City Clerk’s Office, provided the appeal is made in writing as provided in this code, and filed with the City Clerk’s Office within 15 days of service of notice and order, and that failure to timely appeal the notice and order shall result in the order becoming effective;
2. That in the case of demolition the appeal procedure shall be as set forth in Section 3-18-5 NMSA 1978, and the hearing shall be held in accordance with the IHO Ordinance, ROA 1994, Chapter 2, Article 7, Part 8.
(3) Method of Service in Cases Other than Demolition.
(a) Service of the notice and order shall be made upon all persons entitled thereto either personally or by mailing a copy of such notice and order by certified mail, postage prepaid, return receipt requested, to each such person and owner, responsible party or identified agent at his address as it appears on the last assessment roll of the county or as known to the Department. If no address of any such person so appears or is known to the Department, then a copy of the notice and order shall be so mailed, addressed to such person, at the address of the building involved in the proceedings and posted thereon.
(b) The failure of any such person to receive such notice shall not affect the validity of any proceedings taken under this section. Service by certified mail in the manner herein provided shall be effective on the date of mailing.
(4) Proof of Service. Proof of service of the notice and order shall be certified to by a written affidavit executed by the person effecting service, declaring the time, date and manner in which service was made. The declaration, together with any receipt card returned in acknowledgement of receipt by certified mail shall be affixed to the copy of the notice and order retained by the Department.
(B) Recordation of Notice and Order.
(1) If compliance with the order is not achieved within the time specified therein, and no appeal has been properly and timely filed, the Department shall file in the office of the County Clerk a certificate describing the property, an assessment of any costs, fees, and fines claimed by the city against the property related to enforcement of this code, and certifying:
(a) That the building is a substandard building; and
(b) That the owner, their agent and/or responsible party has been so notified.
(2) Whenever the corrections ordered shall thereafter have been completed or the building demolished so that it no longer exists as a substandard building on the property described in the certificate, the Department shall file a new certificate with the County Clerk certifying that the building has been demolished or all required corrections have been made so that the building is no longer substandard, whichever is appropriate.
(C) Repair, Vacation, Securing or Demolition.
(1) Standards to be Followed. The following standards shall be followed by the department (and by the Office of Administrative Hearings if an appeal is taken) in ordering the repair, vacation, demolition or securing of any substandard building or structure:
(a) If any building is declared a substandard building under this code it shall either be repaired in accordance with the current Building and Housing Codes or shall be demolished at the option of the building owner.
(b) If the building or structure is in such condition as to make it immediately dangerous to the life, limb, health, property or safety of the public or of the occupants, it shall be ordered to be vacated through the posting of a Notice and Order to Vacate.
(2) If the building or structure is open and determined to be an attractive nuisance and/or nuisance, a court order to secure the building or structure will be obtained as provided herein.
(D) Notice and Order to Vacate.
(1) Posting. Every notice to vacate shall, in addition to being served, be posted at or upon each exit of the building, and shall be in substantially the following form:
DO NOT ENTER
SUBSTANDARD BUILDING
UNSAFE TO OCCUPY
SUBSTANDARD BUILDING
UNSAFE TO OCCUPY
NO PERSON SHALL RESIDE IN THIS STRUCTURE OR PROPERTY. NO PERSON SHALL OCCUPY THIS STRUCTURE OR PROPERTY PAST DAYLIGHT HOURS. ONLY PERSONS AUTHORIZED BY THE CITY OR THE OWNER MAY OCCUPY THIS PROPERTY DURING DAYLIGHT HOURS FOR PURPOSE OF REPAIRING, SECURING OR CLEANING THIS PROPERTY.
It is a misdemeanor to occupy this building, or to remove or deface this notice.
City of Albuquerque
City of Albuquerque
(2) Compliance. Whenever such notice is posted, the Department shall include a notification thereof in the notice and order issued reciting the emergency and specifying the conditions which necessitate the posting. No person shall remain in or enter any building which has been so posted, except that entry may be made to secure, repair, demolish or remove such building under permit. No person shall remove or deface any such notice after it is posted until the required repairs, demolition, or removal have been completed and a Certificate of Compliance filed with the County Clerk. Any person violating this division (D)(2) shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.