(a) Upon presentation of proper credentials, the Director of Building and Housing and his or her duly authorized agents or inspectors; the Director of Public Health and his or her duly authorized agents or inspectors; or the Fire Chief or his or her duly authorized agents or inspectors may enter at reasonable times, or at such other times as may be necessary in an emergency, any dwelling, building, structure or premises in the City to perform any duty imposed on him or her by this Housing Code, the Fire Code, or the Health Code.
(b) The Director of Building and Housing or Fire Chief or Director of Public Health, or their representatives, when seeking to gain entry to a dwelling, building or structure, shall consider, before seeking a search warrant, the advisability of first seeking the consent of the occupants where a dwelling, building or structure is occupied, or first seeking the consent of the owner or person in control of the property where a dwelling, building or structure is not occupied, with the Directors and Fire Chief presuming that, in most circumstances, it is advisable to make a good faith effort to seek the consent of occupants of a dwelling, building or structure or the consent of the owner or person in control of a dwelling, building or structure that is not occupied. The Directors or Fire Chief may, as part of that good faith effort, knock and request the right to enter, and, if there is no answer, may leave a written notice indicating that consent is being sought.
(c) The Directors and Fire Chief may, in the case of a dwelling, building, or structure that is not occupied, seek the consent of the owner or person in control by attempting to contact the owner by telephone, email, or certified or regular mail. The sources of information used to attempt contact by telephone, email, or certified or regular mail, may include:
(1) Information the owner provided to the City, such as rental registration information or the address used on an appeal or an application; or
(2) Information that a City representative, such as an inspector, has discovered during the performance of his or her duties; or
(3) Information from common and readily available sources such as printed or online directories, utility records, credit bureaus, county property records, board of election records, motor vehicle records, court records or other state, county, municipal or federal records.
(d) The Directors or Fire Chief shall not be required, as part of a good faith effort to seek consent, to use all of these methods and shall not be not required to use any particular one of them; the good faith obligation shall be to use whatever combination of them the Directors or Fire Chief judge to be reasonably likely to be successful, with the Directors or Fire Chief having the discretion to decide when to stop continuing to seek consent when it appears that continued efforts are not reasonably likely to be successful. As part of that consideration, the Directors or Fire Chief may consider the likelihood of obtaining consent when the information examined as part of the good faith effort to seek consent indicates that the owner is deceased, such likelihood depending on factors such as the existence of an executor or administrator of the deceased person’s estate or the existence of a surviving spouse or other potential heir or legatee who has indicated that they are seeking to obtain ownership of the dwelling, building or structure or that they are asserting control over it.
(e) The Director of Building and Housing or Fire Chief or Director of Public Health may seek a search warrant to enter, observe and inspect a dwelling, building, or structure, or to allow their duly authorized agents or inspectors to enter, observe and inspect a dwelling, building or structure. Nothing in this section shall limit, or enlarge, the City’s legal right to seek a search warrant under state and federal law based on probable cause or a valid administrative program supporting requests for administrative search warrants based on the criteria necessary to support such administrative warrants, subject to review by a judge of a court authorized to issue the warrants and to the rights of persons under the Ohio and U.S. Constitutions. Nothing in this section shall limit or enlarge the rights of persons under the Ohio or U.S. Constitutions to be free from searches made without a warrant.
(f) No person shall in any way obstruct, hinder, delay or otherwise interfere with such entrance under this section.
(Ord. No. 1039-2023. Passed 2-5-24, eff. 2-6-24)