(A) Minimum building occupancy standards. No person shall occupy as owner-occupant or let to another for occupancy any dwelling or dwelling unit, for the purpose of living therein, which does not comply with the following requirements.
(1) Every foundation, floor, wall, ceiling and roof shall be reasonably weathertight, watertight and rodent-proof; shall be capable of affording privacy; and shall be kept in good repair.
(2) Every window, exterior door and basement hatchway shall be reasonably weathertight, watertight and rodent-proof; and shall be kept in sound working condition and good repair.
(3) Every inside and outside stair, every porch and every appurtenance thereto shall be so constructed as to be safe to use and capable of supporting any load that normal use may cause to be placed thereon; and shall be kept in sound condition and good repair.
(4) Every plumbing fixture and water waste pipe shall be properly installed and maintained in good sanitary working condition, free from defects, leaks and obstructions.
(5) Every water closet compartment floor surface and bathroom floor surface shall be constructed and maintained so as to be reasonably impervious to water and so as to permit the floor to be easily kept in a clean and sanitary condition.
(6) Every supplied facility, piece of equipment or utility which is required under this Minimum Housing Code shall be so constructed or installed that it will function safely and effectively, and shall be maintained in satisfactory working condition.
(7) No owner, operator or occupant shall cause any service facility, equipment or utility which is required under this Minimum Housing Code to be removed or shut off from or discontinued for any occupied dwelling let or occupied by him or her, except for a temporary interruption as may be necessary while actual repairs or alterations are in process, or during temporary emergencies or when discontinuance of service is approved by the Health Officer or Building Commissioner.
(8) No owner shall occupy or let to any other occupant any vacant dwelling unit unless it is clean, sanitary and fit for human occupancy.
(9) Every roof of a dwelling or dwelling unit shall be equipped with adequate gutters and downspouts capable of carrying off normal rainfall and be connected to a storm sewer where available, and the gutters and downspouts shall be kept in good repair and free from obstruction.
(B) Plumbing, garbage disposal and egress from building. No persons shall occupy as owner-occupant or let to another for occupancy and dwelling or dwelling unit, for the purpose of living, sleeping, cooking or eating therein, which does not comply with the following requirements.
(1) Every dwelling unit shall contain a kitchen sink in good working condition and properly connected to a water and sewer system.
(2) Every dwelling unit, except as otherwise permitted under division (B)(4) below, shall contain a room which affords the privacy to a person within the room and which is equipped with a flush water closet and a lavatory in good working condition and properly connected to a water and sewer system.
(3) In all buildings in which the whole or part of the building drain or plumbing system thereof lies below the crown level of the main sewer, that part of the sewage or building wastes discharging from the lines shall be lifted by approved mechanical means and discharged into the building sewer.
(4) The occupants of two or more dwelling units, but not to exceed ten persons in total number, may share a single flush water closet, a single lavatory basin and a single bathtub or shower.
(5) At the expiration of a period of five years from the effective date of this Minimum Housing Code, every kitchen sink, lavatory basin and bathtub or shower required under the provisions of divisions (B)(1) through (B)(4) above shall be properly connected with a water line.
(6) Every dwelling unit shall be supplied with adequate rubbish storage facilities.
(7) Every dwelling unit shall have adequate garbage disposal facilities or garbage storage containers.
(8) Every dwelling unit shall have safe, unobstructed means of egress leading to safe and open space at ground level, as required by the laws of the state and ordinances of the town.
(9) Where public water supply and public sewer service are not available, the owner of a dwelling shall furnish a supply of safe water and a private disposal system.
(C) Light, ventilation and heat. No person shall occupy as owner-occupant or let to another for occupancy any dwelling or dwelling unit, for the purpose of living therein, which does not comply with the following requirements.
(1) Every dwelling shall have heating facilities which are properly installed, are maintained in safe and good working condition, and are capable of safely and adequately heating all habitable rooms, bathrooms and water closet compartments in every dwelling unit located therein to a temperature of at least 70°F, at a distance of three feet above floor level, under ordinary minimum winter conditions.
(2) During that portion of each year when the Health Officer or Building Commissioner deems it necessary for protection against mosquitoes, flies and other insects, every door opening directly from a dwelling unit to outdoor space shall have supplied screens and a self-closing device; and every window or other device with openings to outdoor space, used or intended to be used for ventilation, shall likewise be supplied with screens; provided that the screens shall not be required during the period in rooms deemed by the Health Officer or Building Commissioner to be located high enough in the upper stories of buildings, as to be free from insects, and in rooms located in areas of the town which are deemed by the Health Officer or Building Commissioner to have so few insects as to render screens unnecessary.
(3) Every basement or cellar window used or intended to be used for ventilation, and every other opening to a basement which might provide an entry for rodents, shall be supplied with a screen or any other device as will effectively prevent their entrance.
(D) Cleanliness and sanitation.
(1) Every owner of a dwelling containing more than four dwelling units shall be responsible for maintaining in a clean and sanitary condition the shared or public area of the dwelling and premises thereof.
(2) Every occupant of a dwelling or dwelling unit shall keep in a clean and sanitary condition that part of the dwelling, dwelling unit and premises thereof which he or she occupies and controls.
(3) Every occupant of a dwelling or dwelling unit shall dispose of all his or her rubbish in a clean and sanitary manner by placing it in the rubbish container required by division (B)(6) above.
(4) Every occupant of a dwelling or dwelling unit shall dispose of all his or her garbage, and any other organic waste which might provide food for rodents, in a clean and sanitary manner, by placing it in the garbage disposal facilities or garbage storage containers required by division (B)(7) above. It shall be the responsibility of the owner to supply those facilities or containers for all dwelling units in a dwelling containing more than four dwelling units and for all dwelling units located on premises where more than four dwelling units share the same premises. In all other cases it shall be the responsibility of the occupant to furnish these facilities or containers.
(5) Every occupant of a dwelling or dwelling unit shall be responsible for hanging all screens whenever the same are required under the provisions of this Minimum Housing Code or of any rule or regulation adopted pursuant thereto, except where the owner has agreed to supply the service.
(6) Every occupant of a dwelling containing a single-dwelling unit shall be responsible for the extermination of any insects, rodents or other pests therein or on the premises; and every occupant of a dwelling unit in a dwelling containing more than one dwelling unit shall be responsible for the extermination whenever his or her dwelling unit is the only one infested. Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this division, whenever infestation is caused by failure of the owner to maintain a dwelling in a ratproof or reasonable insectproof condition, extermination shall be the responsibility of the owner.
(7) Every occupant of a dwelling unit shall keep all plumbing fixtures therein in a clean and sanitary condition and shall be responsible for the exercise of reasonable care in the proper use and operation thereof.
(E) Rooming house. No person shall operate a rooming house, or shall occupy or let to another for occupancy any rooming unit in any rooming house, except in compliance with the provisions of every section of this Minimum Housing Code except the provisions of divisions (B) and (D) above.
(1) No person shall operate a rooming house unless he or she holds a valid rooming house license issued by the office of the Clerk-Treasurer in the name of the operator and for the specific dwelling unit. The operator shall apply to the office of the Building Commissioner for a permit for the license, which shall be issued by the office of the Clerk-Treasurer upon compliance by the operator, to the satisfaction of the Building Commissioner, with the applicable provisions of this Minimum Housing Code. This license shall be displayed in a conspicuous place within the rooming house at all times. No license shall be transferable. Every person holding a license shall give notice in writing to the office of the Clerk-Treasurer and the Building Commissioner within 24 hours after having sold, transferred, given away or otherwise disposed of ownership of, interest in or control of any rooming house. This notice shall include the name and address of the person succeeding to the ownership or control of the rooming house. Every rooming house license shall expire at the end of one year following its date of issuance, unless sooner suspended or revoked as hereinafter provided.
(2) Any person whose application for a permit to obtain a license to operate a rooming house has been denied may request and shall be granted a hearing on the matter, under the procedure provided by § 150.017(C).
(3) Whenever upon inspection of any rooming house the Health Officer or Building Commissioner finds that conditions or practices exist which are in violation of any provision of this Minimum Housing Code, the Health Officer or Building Commissioner, as the case may be, shall give notice in writing to the operator of the rooming house that unless these conditions or practices are corrected within a reasonable period, to be determined by the Health Officer or Building Commissioner, respectively, the operator’s rooming house license will be suspended. At the end of that period the Health Officer or Building Commissioner, as the case may be, shall reinspect the rooming house, and
if he or she finds that the conditions or practices have not been corrected, he or she shall give notice in writing to the operator that the latter’s license has been suspended. Upon receipt of notice of suspension, the operator shall immediately cease operation of the rooming house, and no person shall occupy for sleeping or living purposes any rooming unit therein.
(4) Any person whose license to operate a rooming house has been suspended, or who has received notice from the Health Officer or Building Commissioner that his or her license is to be suspended unless existing conditions or practices at his or her rooming house are corrected, may request and shall be granted a hearing on the matter before the Town Council, under the procedure provided by § 150.017(C); provided that if no petition for a hearing is filed within ten days following the day on which the license was suspended, the license shall be deemed to have automatically revoked.
(5) The operator of every rooming house shall change supplied bed linen and towels therein at least once each week, and prior to the letting of any room to any occupant. The operator shall be responsible for the maintenance of all supplied bedding in a clean and sanitary manner.
(6) Every rooming unit shall have safe, unobstructed means of egress leading to safe and open space at ground level, as required by the laws of the state and the town.
(7) The operator of every rooming house shall be responsible for the sanitary maintenance of all walls, floors and ceilings, and for maintenance of a sanitary condition in every other part of the rooming house; and shall be further responsible for the sanitary maintenance of the entire premises where the entire structure or building is leased or occupied by the operator.
(8) Every provision of this Minimum Housing Code which applies to rooming houses shall also apply to hotels, except to the extent that any provision may be found in conflict with the laws of the state or with the lawful regulations of any state board or agency.
(Prior Code, § 177.11) (Ord. 2000-17, passed 10-2-2000)