(A) Rental permit required. All residential property within the City of Logan owned for rental purposes or occupied by a party other than the owner (hereinafter, a "rental dwelling"), shall require a rental dwelling permit from the office of code enforcement. Traditional motels and hotels are excluded from the definition of rental dwelling. Nontraditional (long-term) rentals in hotels and motels are not excluded from the definition of rental dwelling.
(B) Application.
(1) To obtain a rental dwelling permit, the owner or agent of a rental dwelling, as defined in this Chapter, shall apply to the Chief Code Official of the City of Logan or his/her designee. A rental dwelling permit shall be issued by the Chief Code Official once a completed application is submitted to the Chief Code Official. Incomplete or inaccurate application submission will result in a denial notification.
(2) Any permit granted or issued under the terms of this section may be revoked at any time by the Chief Code Official upon satisfactory proof of unabated violation of any provision pursuant to this code or which could have been grounds for failure to issue the original permit. Any person who feels aggrieved by such revocation or denial may pursue the remedies as outlined in Section 111 of the International Property Maintenance Code, said permit shall be surrendered to the Code Enforcement office within five days of notification of such revocation.
(C) Zoning. If a property is not properly zoned, the application for a rental dwelling permit shall be denied.
(D) Maximum occupancy. The rental dwelling permit shall state the maximum number of persons who may occupy the rental dwelling as determined by this Chapter and other ordinances of the City of Logan.
(E) Authorized agent. If the applicant does not reside in Hocking County or a contiguous county, no rental dwelling permit shall be issued or received unless the applicant designates, in addition to himself, an agent for the receipt of process pursuant to this section. Said agent must be designated in writing on the application for said permit. Such agent must reside within Hocking County.
(F) Notice of change of ownership. Any person selling or otherwise relinquishing ownership or control of a rental dwelling for which a rental dwelling permit has been issued shall notify the Chief Code Official of said change in ownership within 30 days of the effective date of the transfer. Such notice shall be in writing and shall include:
(1) The name and address of the new owner;
(2) The name and address of the previous owner; and
(3) If applicable, the agent for the new owner as required under the provisions of § 153.11(E) herein.
(G) Expirations and renewals. Every rental dwelling permit shall be renewed annually on January 2. A late fee, established by ordinance, will be assessed for each rental dwelling permit fee unpaid on February 1.
(H) Fees.
(1) The annual fee for a rental dwelling permit shall be established by ordinance. Nothing herein contained shall prohibit the owner of a dwelling used for rental purposes from treating all the required inspection fees as a normal business expense incidental to the renting of property and, therefore, an appropriate consideration in the determination of debt. A permit issued after July 1 shall pay half of the annual fee for that year.
(2) Failure to pay a rental dwelling permit renewal fee by March 1 shall result in the cancellation of the rental dwelling permit.
(3) A cancelled rental dwelling permit shall be reinstated upon payment of all past due amounts, plus interest at the rate of 5% per annum, along with a reinstatement fee of $100 per unit.
(I) Display of occupancy permit and compliance form. It is the responsibility of the owner or agent of any transient rental dwelling (a dwelling rented for less than 30 consecutive days) or multiple unit rental dwellings to post the City of Logan Occupancy Permit and Compliance Form on the back of the main entrance door or on the wall next to the door. This posted form is part of the rental inspection requirements. Failure to post said form is a minor misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $150. All other rental dwellings are required to have the form on the premises and readily available for inspection.
(J) Suspension and reinstatement. At the end of the time allowed for correction of violations cited, the Chief Code Official, lacking sufficient documentary evidence of compliance, shall re-inspect the rental dwelling. If he/she determines that such conditions have not been corrected, he/she may issue an order suspending the operating permit. Any person whose permit to operate a rental dwelling has been suspended shall be entitled to a reconsideration of the order by the appeals process described in Section 111 of the International Property Maintenance Code. If no request for reconsideration or appeals reaches the housing appeals board within 14 days following receipt of an order of suspension, the permit shall be revoked, except that prior to revocation any person whose permit has been suspended may request re-inspection, upon a showing that the violation or violations cited in the notice have been corrected. When the owner or agent has been ordered by the Chief Code Official to correct violations that may exist in a dwelling, the inspector shall re-inspect the property to verify compliance with the original order. If additional inspections are required, due to noncompliance, a fee to be established by ordinance shall be assessed to the owner for each additional inspection.
(K) Violations. Failure to obtain a rental dwelling permit within 90 days of January 1 and/or within 90 days of change of ownership and/or within 90 days of change of use shall result in a $1,000 per unit fine. In addition, any violation of this section shall be prosecuted pursuant to Section 106 and 107 of the International Property Maintenance Code.
(Ord. 19-2022, passed 6-14-22)