(A) No person shall operate a rooming house or dormitory or shall occupy or let to another for occupancy any dormitory room and/or rooming unit in any rooming house or dormitory, which is not in compliance with the appropriate provisions of every section of this chapter. No owner or other person shall occupy or let to another person any rooming unit or dormitory room unless it is clean and sanitary, and complies with all applicable requirements of Boone County.
(B) Whenever upon inspection of any rooming house, the Health Officer finds that conditions or practices exist which are in violation of any provision of this chapter, the Health Officer shall give notice in writing that unless the conditions or practices are corrected within a reasonable period, to be determined by the Health Officer, the operation of the premises as the rooming house shall be discontinued, and, if the constituted governmental agency, a recommendation that such license be revoked, for the protection of public health, shall be given to the licensing governmental body or agency by the Health Officer. At the end of the period, the Health Officer 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 operations shall cease, and, if the rooming house, operation is licensed by any duly constituted governmental agency, the Health Officer shall recommend the immediate revocation of the license by the issuing agency. Upon receipt of the notice from the Health Officer, the operator shall immediately cease operation of the rooming house, and no person shall occupy, for sleeping or living purposes, any rooming unit therein.
(C) At least one flush water closet, lavatory basin and bathtub or shower, properly connected to a water and sewer system approved by the Health Officer and in good working condition, shall be supplied for each six persons or fraction thereof residing within a rooming house, including members of the operator’s family wherever they share the use of the facilities provided:
(1) That in a rooming house where rooms are let only to males, flush urinals may be substituted for not more than one-half the required number of water closets and provided that there shall be at least one water closet.
(2) That all such facilities shall be so located within the dwelling as to be reasonably accessible to all persons sharing the facilities and from a common hall or passageway and provided that the facilities are not located more than one floor above or below the rooming unit or units served.
(3) That every lavatory basin and bathtub or shower shall be supplied with heated and unheated water under pressure at all times.
(4) That, if the rooming house has only one bathroom for use by the occupants of the rooming units, the bathroom shall not be located below grade.
(D) The following provisions shall apply in all rooming houses and dormitories.
(1) Cooking in dormitory rooms and rooming units is prohibited.
(2) Communal cooking and dining facilities in a rooming house are prohibited, except as approved by the Health Officer in writing.
(3) All food service and dining facilities provided in a rooming house or dormitory for the occupants of same shall comply with applicable food service legislation.
(4) Access doors to rooming units, dormitory rooms, shall have operating locks to insure privacy.
(E) Unless exempted by the Health Officer in writing, the operator of every rooming house shall change supplied bed linen and towels therein at least once a week, and prior to the letting of any room to any occupant, and the operator shall be responsible for the maintenance of all supplied bedding in a clean and sanitary manner.
(F) Every rooming unit shall comply with all requirements of this chapter pertaining to a habitable room.
(G) Every rooming unit occupied by one person shall contain at least 80 square feet of floor space and every rooming unit occupied by more than one person shall contain at least 60 square feet for each occupant thereof.
(H) Every rooming unit shall have immediate access to two or more approved means of egress, with minimum head room of six feet, six inches, appropriately marked, leading to a safe and open space at ground level or a required by the appropriate statutes, ordinances, and regulations of Boone County and the State of Indiana.
(I) Structurally sound handrails shall be provided on any steps containing four risers or more. Porches, patios and/or balconies located more than three feet higher than the adjacent areas shall have structurally sound protective guard rails or hand rails.
(J) Access to or egress from each rooming unit shall be provided without passing through any other rooming unit.
(K) 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.
(L) Every provision of this chapter which applies to rooming houses shall also apply to hotels, except to the extent that any such provision may be found in conflict with the laws of this state or with the lawful regulations of any state board or agency.
(Ord. 91-4, passed 7-15-1991) Penalty, see § 10.99