(a) Inspection Required Prior to Transfer. The owner of any dwelling or building or land upon which such dwelling or building is located, hereinafter referred to as the “premises”, who enters into an agreement to sell or otherwise convey an interest therein, shall obtain from the Building Commissioner a Certificate of Inspection, and present such certificate or an exact copy thereof to the transferee, including, but not limited to the vendee or grantee or purchaser, of such interest prior to the time of transfer of title thereto and within reasonably sufficient time for any escrow agent or transferee to comply with these provisions. This section shall not apply to transfers to heir(s) of a decedent through legal probate of the decedent's estate or transfers due to legal divorce proceedings.
(b) Application for Certificate of Inspection.
(1) Application for the Certificate of Inspection shall be made by the owner or an agent of representative of the owner, provided that the authority of such agent or representative is affixed or attached to the application.
(2) Form of application. The application form shall be prescribed by and available from the Building Commissioner and shall contain the following information:
A. The street address, permanent parcel number, or other characteristics to identify the location of the premises;
B. The name and address and, if available, the phone number of the owner;
C. The authorized use and occupancy of the premises; and
D. A list of any violations not confirmed by the Village to have been corrected.
(3) Consent. If the applicant consents in writing to the inspection, the parties shall agree upon a mutually agreeable time when the inspection shall be made during regular business hours of the Building Commissioner.
(4) Refusal to Consent. Upon affidavit signed by the Building Commissioner and filed in the Garfield Heights Municipal Court declaring that the owner objects or refuses to apply for or consent to any inspection in writing or otherwise has acted to interfere with any inspection then:
A. No transfer of title to an interest in such premises shall be valid until the inspection has been completed and the correction of all violations has been made or secured as herein provided; and
B. The Building Commissioner shall procure a search warrant as provided by law to gain entry to thereupon conduct an inspection thereof.
(c) Inspection: Certificate of Inspection.
(1) The completed application described in division (b) hereof, together with the fee required as set forth in Chapter 1442, shall be submitted to the Building Commissioner who, within ten working days after receipt thereof, shall cause an inspection of the premises to be made.
(2) Within ten working days, ("working days" excludes Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays), after such inspection, the Building Commissioner shall issue a Certificate of Inspection in accordance with division (d) hereof.
(d) Content of Certificate of Inspection; Term; Transferability.
(1) The Certificate of Inspection shall include all of the information referred to in division (b)(2) hereof and shall list therewith and order the correction of all known violations of building and/or zoning codes determined from the inspection as well as such other informational material as may be deemed relevant by the Building Commissioner.
(2) The date of issuance of the Certificate of Inspection shall be not less than 30 days prior to any transfer of an interest in the premises, unless a shorter period is approved by the Building Commissioner.
(3) The Certificate of Inspection shall be valid for a period of one year from the date of issuance.
(4) In the case of resale of the same property within such one year period the Certificate of Inspection nevertheless shall remain valid for any remaining part of the period.
(e) Corrections.
(1) All violations shall be corrected within 30 calendar days of the issuance of the Certificate of Inspection as required therein, except as any extension may be granted for cause by the Building Commissioner.
(2) If the transferor does not correct the violations contained in the Certificate of Inspection prior to the transfer of title then the purchaser or transferee of the premises will be required to correct the violations contained in the Certificate of Inspection within the time allotted herein or within any extension of time permitted by the Building Commissioner.
(f) Compliance Documents. A status letter shall be issued by the Building Commissioner upon a request by or on behalf of the owner, after all or any part of the corrections listed in the Certificate of Inspection have been performed to the satisfaction of the Building Commissioner.
(Ord. 2007-103. Passed 10-10-07; Ord. 2014-98. Passed 9-10-14.)