(A) Rental residential buildings, properties, and rental units shall be inspected in their entirety every three years prior to issuing or renewing an annual rental registration. Multi-family rental residential buildings with shared common areas within a building shall be subject to an annual Fire Code inspection. Buildings, units, and properties shall also be inspected following any violation of this chapter, this code, Building Code or the Fire Code and thereafter at the property owner’s expense.
(B) Such inspections shall confirm compliance with Building, Fire, Property Maintenance Codes as well as § 117.09 of this chapter. Buildings, units and properties not in compliance will not be granted a registration. Rental units that meet this inspection standard with no deficiencies or repairs noted and have received the highest inspection rating as determined by the City Administrator, will be eligible for self-inspection during the next inspection cycle provided the applicant certifies they inspected the rental unit and it meets all of the compliance requirements as established by the City Administrator. A self-inspection is only valid for a period of three years and at no time will a rental unit be allowed to be registered for a period of more than six years without an inspection conducted by the City Administrator.
(C) Any deficiencies or repairs noted in the inspection must be remedied in a timely fashion by the property owner and re-inspected for compliance by the city. The applicant is responsible for reinspection costs as noted in § 117.08 of this chapter.
(D) The City Administrator or designee is authorized to make inspections reasonably necessary to enforce this chapter. All authorized inspectors have the authority to enter any rental dwelling or unrented and unoccupied rental dwelling unit at all reasonable times. The city will notify the registration holder to schedule the inspection; however, it is the responsibility of the registration holder to work with the city to ensure the inspection is scheduled and satisfactorily completed. The registration holder is responsible for notifying any existing tenant of the inspection at least 24 hours in advance. The city will make reasonable efforts to notify the registration holder. The registration holder must provide access to the property to the requesting city official at the date and time of the scheduled inspection. Failure to provide access for any reason may result in a reinspection fee, in addition to any other sanctions imposed for noncompliance. The city will not charge a reinspection fee if the owner/manager cooperates with gaining access to occupied units if refused by the tenant. If any owner, owner’s agent, registration holder, property manager or tenant fails or refuses to permit entry to a rental dwelling under its control for an inspection pursuant to this section, the City Administrator or designee may pursue any remedy at law or under the city code, including, but not limited to, securing an administrative search warrant for the rental dwelling, issuing an administrative citation, denying a rental registration application, revoking or suspending a rental registration, or denying a renewal registration. The city will use its best efforts to coordinate inspections with other governmental agencies when appropriate.
(E) (1) Rental units registered as a standard rental unit prior to November 15, 2018, are exempt from mandatory inspections as required in this section until the first of the following occurs:
(a) A call to service to the unit regarding a health or safety issue and the unit fails an inspection;
(b) The unit fails an inspection based on a complaint generated inspection for code violations;
(c) The unit fails an inspection based on a complaint generated from a tenant or neighbor; or
(d) The unit is visibly in need of substantial repair based upon a complaint or observation.
(2) If any of these conditions occur, the unit will no longer be exempt from mandatory inspections and the City Administrator may require an immediate inspection of the rental unit, issue compliance orders, and/or suspend or revoke the rental registration as provided in this chapter. This exemption from mandatory inspections of this division (E) does not apply to any rental units or real property that: receives tax abatement, tax increment financing, public assistance, or any other form of public subsidy; or is sold, transferred or conveyed. All rental units that are exempt from mandatory inspections shall pay a standard registration fee as set by the City Council. Rental units that are exempt from inspections must comply with all other provision of this chapter.
(Ord. 86, Seventh Series, passed 10-7-2019)