(A) The Administrator may order the inspection of the interior and/or exterior of a rental property if any of the following circumstances exist:
(1) The city receives a written or oral complaint from a tenant, neighbor, code officer, public works employee, police officer, or other interested party concerning a rental property indicating a current violation of the Godley Code of Ordinances, any of the standards and codes adopted by the city under this chapter,state law, or federal law or where the premises appear to be unsafe, dangerous, or hazardous to the public health or safety;
(2) Upon the first-time registration of a rental property with the city required by this subchapter;
(3) The failure of an owner to register rental property as required by this subchapter; or
(4) At any time the rental property is vacant, or without a tenant.
(B) When an inspection is ordered, a preliminary inspection shall be conducted by the Public Works Director or building inspector working at the direction of the city. This preliminary inspection is to identify issues of substantial concern that affect the habitability of the property involved, not merely aesthetic or surface level concerns. Dangerous electrical problems, water leaks, structural damage/insufficiencies, plumbing/sewer blockages, gas leaks, and other major problems will be the type of issues the city will be assessing.
(C) The preliminary inspection shall be conducted within ten days of the Administrator's order.
(D) A written report of the preliminary inspection shall be served on both the Administrator, the occupants of the home and owner/landlord or local contact within two days of the preliminary inspection. Actual notice must be achieved on the owner/landlord and/or local contact. This report shall contain a comprehensive list of any issues that require repair/remedy/correction with citation to the applicable law, regulation, and/or code offended. If no actionable issues are present, a written report detailing the preliminary inspection findings and passing performance shall be served on all parties as well, to close out the inspection.
(E) If actionable dangerous issues exist in the preliminary inspection report, the owner/landlord has five business days to remedy the issues and provide the Administrator proof of such compliance. The cost of any remedy is the responsibility of owner/landlord and not the tenant(s) or the city.
(F) Proof of compliance may be achieved by photos, receipts of materials/work, affidavits of compliance, and/or a second inspection by the Public Works Director or inspector working at the direction of the city.
(G) Failure to remedy a dangerous issue identified in the preliminary inspection within five business days, and/or the failure to provide proof of a remedy to all of the dangerous issues identified in the preliminary report, is a violation of this chapter and may result in the issuance of a criminal citation for the failure to comply. Additionally, a noncompliant owner/landlord, will also face a citation for each and every specific code, regulatory, and or state law violation present at the time. The preliminary inspection report shall serve as a warning to the owner/landowner.
(H) An owner/landlord of rental property, that wishes to contest the findings of a preliminary inspection report, may, at their own expense, seek an independent inspection of the rental property. A written report of this independent inspection shall be filed with the Administrator before the expiration of the five-day period for compliance. Such inspection must be conducted by a licensed building inspector, registered and licensed through the Texas Real Estate Commission. If this written independent inspection report conflicts in a substantial way with the preliminary inspection report, no citations may be issued for an offense under this subchapter, until the matter is heard before the governing body of the municipality - the City Council. The owner/landlord shall be notified of the date and time of the meeting and be allowed to present their position to the full Council. The Administrator shall be responsible fordetermining whether the independent inspection report and preliminary inspection report are substantially in conflict and invoke a hearing before the City Council. The decision before the City Council on such an issue is whether to authorize the issuance of citations, to designate a period for compliance, and/or to close out an ordered inspection file.
(I) The owner/landlord of the rental property shall permit the Public Works Director, Administrator, and/or building inspector working at the direction of the city, to enter the rental property (exterior and interior) when necessary to review compliance with this subchapter for the purposes of performing an inspection and/or to follow-up on a previous inspection. If the property to be inspected is occupied by a tenant or tenants, consent must be achieved of at least one occupant of legal age and authority to provide consent. If no consent of the occupants may be achieved, the city shall be responsible for seeking and obtaining a valid administrative search warrant issued by a court of competent jurisdiction to allow the designated building inspector, Public Works Director, and/or Administrator access to perform the inspection. The time period for inspection completion shall toll during any days where a warrant is being sought to allow entry, and shall not be held against the owner/landlord for purposes of this subchapter.
(Ord. 02032015-RENT, passed 2-3-2015; Ord. 11012016-BUILDING, passed 11-1-2016)