(a) It shall be unlawful for any person who is the new lessee or purchaser of a residential housing unit to occupy the same until a certificate of housing inspection without any deficiencies has been issued for the subject unit, within the prior three (3) months.
(b) The certificate of housing inspection shall be provided by the owner of the housing unit. At the time of inspection, the owner must provide the building commissioner a copy of all paid bills showing no arrearages, including sewer, water and garbage bills. No certificate shall be issued until all such bills have been paid.
(c) For the purpose of this section, the following words shall have the meanings set forth below:
Lease: The transfer of occupancy rights of real property for consideration even if no written agreement is entered into.
Owner: The titleholder of the real property, including, but not limited to, the beneficiaries of a land trust, all partners in a partnership, the officers of a corporation or any agent thereof, and the owner of shares in a cooperative association.
Sale: The transfer for consideration of the title to real estate and includes the purchase of a condominium unit or the share in a cooperative apartment association or a corporation.
(d) All applications for a certificate of housing inspection shall be made on such forms as prescribed by the building commissioner. The building commissioner shall issue a report within fourteen (14) days after gaining access to the subject property, whether by consent or by warrant, and after the payment of the following inspections fees:
(1) For a single-family dwelling as set forth in section 13-1 of this code.
(2) For cooperative apartment or condominium as set forth in section 13-1 of this code per apartment unit.
(3) For buildings containing more than one dwelling unit as set forth in section 13-1 of this code per apartment unit.
(e) The building commissioner may order additional inspections, including, but not limited to, plumbing, electrical, health and fire protection. Each such inspection will be made after payment of a fee as set forth in section 13-1 of this code, for each inspection. All deficiencies shall be noted on the report.
(f) All deficiencies shall be corrected prior to occupancy.
(g) Upon all inspections being passed, the building commissioner shall issue a certificate of inspection.
(h) No evidence obtained in a consented inspection of real property pursuant to this section shall be used in the prosecution of any criminal or ordinance violation against the owner of the property when inspection was made.
(i) Where no consent has been given to enter or inspect any property, no entry or inspection shall be made without procurement of a warrant from the circuit court of the county. The court may consider any of the following factors along with such other matters as it deems pertinent in its decision as to whether a warrant shall issue:
(1) Eyewitness account of violation;
(2) Citizen complaints;
(3) Tenant complaints;
(4) Plain view violations;
(5) Violations apparent from village records;
(6) Property deterioration;
(7) Age of property;
(8) Nature of alleged violation;
(9) Similar properties in the area;
(10) Documented violations of similar properties in the area;
(11) Passage of time since last inspection;
(12) Previous violations on the property.
Cause for issuance of a warrant shall be deemed to exist in light of reasonable legislative and administrative standards which show that there is reason to believe that a condition of nonconformity exists with respect to a particular property in violation of a village ordinance.
(j) If the lessee or purchaser occupies the property without the certificate of inspection, the village does not guarantee the condition of the subject property and is not responsible for any claims arising out of the subject property or the condition thereof. The village does not warrant that all deficiencies are listed in a certificate and does not warrant anything as to the condition of the property or the habitability thereof.
(Ord. 86-27, § 1, 8-11-1986; Ord. 93-45, § 1, 12-13-1993; Ord. 98-6, § 2, 2-9-1998; Ord. 98-12, § 2, 3-23-1998; Ord. 2016-20, § 1, 5-23-2016)