(a) Regardless of a boarding home facility's licensing status, a person who violates any provision of this chapter, or who fails to perform a duty required by this chapter, commits an offense.
(b) A licensee, owner, operator, employee, or other person in control of a licensed or unlicensed boarding home facility commits an offense if he or she knowingly operates an unsafe facility that represents an immediate threat to the health or safety of a resident, including a situation that has caused, or is likely to cause, serious injury, harm, impairment, or death to a resident.
(c) A licensee, owner, operator, employee, or volunteer shall not operate a boarding home facility in a manner that results in illegal or nuisance activities including, but not limited to, disturbance of the peace, illegal drug activity, harassment of passers-by, public urination, theft, assault, vandalism, littering, illegal parking, loud noise, disorderly conduct, lewd conduct, or police detention or arrests.
(d) An offense under this chapter is punishable by a fine not to exceed:
(1) $2,000 and/or up to 180 days in jail in accordance with Section 260.0051 of the Texas Health and Safety Code, as amended, if a person operates a boarding home facility in the city without a valid license in violation of Section 8A-4;
(2) $2,000 if the provision violated governs fire safety, public health, or sanitation; or
(3) $500 for all other offenses.
(e) An offense under this chapter is punishable by a fine of not less than $250 for a first conviction of a violation of this chapter.
(f) The minimum fine established in Subsection (e) will double for the second conviction of the same offense within any 24-month period and treble for the third and subsequent convictions of the same offense within any 24-month period. At no time may the minimum fine exceed the maximum fine established in Subsection (d).
(g) A separate offense occurs each day or part of a day the violation is committed, continued, or permitted.
(h) Emergency closing order.
(1) If the director finds a licensed or unlicensed boarding home facility operating in violation of the standards prescribed by this chapter and the violations create an immediate threat to the health and safety of a resident in the facility, the director may order the immediate closing of all or part of the facility.
(2) The order of immediate closure under Paragraph (1) is effective immediately on providing written notice of the order to the owner or operator by facsimile, e-mail, or hand-delivery.
(3) The order of closure of all or part of a boarding home facility is valid for 10 days after its effective date.
(4) If the licensee, owner, or operator does not promptly relocate the residents of the boarding home facility upon receiving the order of closure for that facility, the city shall provide for the relocation of those residents. If possible, the city will relocate those residents to a boarding home facility in the city for which there is a current valid license. The relocation may not be to a facility with a more restrictive environment unless all other reasonable alternatives are exhausted. The director is authorized to seek to recover the cost of relocating the residents from the owner and operator of the closed facility.
(5) An emergency closing order may be appealed to the permit and license appeal board in accordance with Section 2-96 as if it were a permit. The director and the permit and license appeal board shall expedite any hearing or decision involving an emergency closing order issued under this section. An appeal to the permit and license appeal board does not stay enforcement of an emergency closing order.
(i) The city attorney may petition a district court or a county court at law for civil penalties and for injunctive relief to restrain a continuing violation of the standards or licensing requirements for a boarding home facility under this chapter if the violation creates an immediate threat to the health or safety of the facility residents.
(j) The remedies and procedures in this section and in other laws are cumulative law, and the use of any particular remedy or procedure does not prevent the enforcement of any other law.
(a) An operator commits an offense if the operator raises a resident's rent, diminishes services to a resident, or attempts eviction of a resident within six months after:
(1) the resident files a valid complaint with the director complaining of a violation of this chapter on property occupied by the resident; a complaint is considered valid if it results in an action described in Paragraphs (2), (3), or (4) of this subsection;
(2) the director issues to the operator or the operator's agent a written notice or citation listing any violation of this chapter that exists on property occupied by the resident;
(3) the city attorney files an action under Article V of this chapter, Chapter 54 of the Texas Local Government Code, or Chapter 260 of the Texas Health and Safety Code relating to any violation of this chapter that exists on property occupied by the resident;
(4) the resident, after filing a complaint with the director and the operator or the operator's agent, files a written complaint with the city attorney complaining of a violation of this chapter on property occupied by the resident, unless the complaint is later withdrawn by the resident or dismissed on the merits; or
(5) repairs are completed on property occupied by the resident in compliance with either a written notice or citation issued by the director or a court order.
(b) It is a defense to prosecution under Subsection (a) that:
(1) rent was increased pursuant to an escalation clause in a written lease which provided for changes in costs of utilities, taxes, and insurance;
(2) rent was increased, services were reduced, or notices to vacate were issued as part of a pattern of rent increases, service reductions, or evictions for an entire boarding home facility;
(3) the resident was delinquent in rent when the operator gave notice to vacate or filed an eviction action;
(4) the resident was responsible for or caused a violation of this chapter that existed on property occupied by the resident;
(5) the resident's written lease fixing the rent, services, or term of occupancy had expired, unless, at the time an action described in Subsection (a)(1), (2), or (3) occurred, a violation of this chapter that was reasonably dangerous to the physical health or safety of the resident or another person existed on property occupied by the resident;
(6) the resident holds over after giving notice of termination or intent to vacate;
(7) the resident holds over after the operator gives notice of termination at the end of the rental term and, at the time the notice of termination was given, the operator or the operator's agent had not received actual notice that a valid complaint had been filed with the city complaining of violations of this chapter on property occupied by the resident;
(8) before filing a complaint with the city complaining of a violation of this chapter on property occupied by the resident, other than a violation that is reasonably dangerous to the physical health or safety of the resident or another person, the resident fails to comply with a written lease provision requiring the resident to:
(A) notify the operator or the operator's agent, in writing, of the violation; and
(B) allow the operator 15 days to correct the violation; or
(9) the operator proves that the rent increase, service reduction, or attempted eviction was for good cause and not for purposes of retaliation against the resident.
(c) An offense under this section may be prosecuted upon the filing of a written complaint by the resident with the city attorney. (Ord. 32397)