(A) Unless compliance with this article is deemed pursuant to § 154.05 of this chapter, it shall be unlawful for an owner to rent, to receive rental income from, or to offer for rent, any probationary rental residential dwelling required to be permitted under this part without first obtaining a permit for the dwelling under this part or when the permit issued under this part is revoked. The owner of a probationary rental residential dwelling shall hold a permit under this part for each probationary rental residential dwelling and shall abide by the Standards in § 154.04 of this chapter in order to be eligible to retain the permit. Each probationary rental residential dwelling is a separate dwelling for fee purposes and for the requirement to be permitted. When an apartment house or other structure consisting of multiple dwelling units is required to have a probationary rental occupancy permit as a result of a violation which applies to the building as a whole, a single permit will be required for the building as a whole and the permit will be issued to the owner of the building. However each dwelling unit within the building which separately qualifies as a probationary rental residential dwelling shall be subject to separate permit fees and the requirement to be permitted. The Department of Inspections shall assign violations in common areas of an apartment complex to the apartment building or structure nearest to the common area where the violation occurred.
(B) Every application for the probationary rental occupancy permit prescribed herein, or a permit amendment to add another probationary rental residential dwelling to the permit, shall be upon a form approved by the Director of the Inspections Department and shall be filed with the Inspections Department. Every application shall be made under oath and shall contain the information required to show the owner is eligible for a permit under this article and sufficient information to enable the Inspections Department to determine that the standards of § 154.04 are being, or will be, met at any probationary rental residential dwelling to be permitted. Within thirty (30) days of receipt of a complete application and a non-refundable application fee of fifty dollars ($50), the Inspections Department shall review each application and determine whether the application should be approved. The Inspections Department shall deny any application which does not satisfy the minimum requirements of this article and any application submitted by an owner during a period of permit revocation.
(C) Any person required to have a probationary rental occupancy permit shall be permitted for two (2) years. If a violation of the permit occurs, the permit requirement is extended for the probationary rental residential dwelling covered by the permit for two (2) years following the date of the violation. To be released from the requirement for a probationary rental occupancy permit, the owner must have had no violation of any of the code provisions listed in § 154.02 and the standards in § 154.04 for the two (2) year period immediately before the permit period ends and the dwelling must be approved as compliant with the code in a final inspection. Final inspections will be conducted only upon the request of the owner. When the owner fails to request an inspection within fifteen (15) days after the date the permit requirement was due to expire, the Department of Inspections, after written notice to the owner and tenant, shall inspect the permitted dwelling for compliance with the code provisions listed in § 154.02 of this chapter and the standards in § 154.04 of this chapter.
(D) The permit fee shall be one hundred fifty dollars ($150) for each year of the two year requirement. If an additional two years is added to the permit, the fee shall be increased to three hundred dollars ($300) for each year. Such fee shall be due and payable when the permit issues with annual fees for subsequent years due and payable annually.
(E) Any person taking title to a probationary rental residential dwelling not previously holding a permit shall apply for a probationary rental occupancy permit. Any person taking title to a permitted probationary rental residential dwelling shall be the holder of a temporary probationary rental permit and shall apply for a permit in the new owners name within thirty (30) days of taking title to the dwelling. The new owner of the dwelling, who is not a prior owner or related by marriage or within the fifth degree of kinship to the seller, may request that the Director of the Inspections Department remove the requirement that the dwelling have a probationary rental occupancy permit. For the request to be eligible for consideration, the new owner must:
(1) Have paid all outstanding fees and civil penalties for the dwelling;
(2) Have no violations or pending violations of this article issued to the new owner;
(3) Obtain from the Inspections Department a determination that the dwelling complies with the standards in § 154.04 of this chapter; and
(4) Submit an affidavit which shows proof of title transfer, that the new owner is not a prior owner, not related by marriage or within the fifth degree of kinship to the seller, is not a business affiliate of the prior owner, and that the lease for the dwelling includes a provision making violations of the code by the tenant grounds for eviction.
(F) An application shall be accompanied by a notarized statement identifying and appointing a process service agent for receipt of a notice of violation or order from the city for all violations at the dwelling or other notices required pursuant to this chapter. The refusal of service by the process service agent of a notice of violation or order, or a notice of violation or orders returned undelivered, shall be grounds to revoke the permit. Failure by the owner to maintain a duly appointed process service agent, or to appoint a process service agent within thirty (30) days of being so ordered, shall be grounds to deny or revoke the Probationary Rental Occupancy Permit.
(G) The Inspections Department shall maintain a list of all dwellings and dwelling units which are probationary rental residential dwellings and subject to the permit requirements of this article. The Inspections Department shall send a copy of the list of probationary rental residential dwellings, which shows whether each listed dwelling is permitted, to the Office of the City Clerk, for public inspection, at least once every thirty (30) days. The Inspections Department shall use other reasonable means to make the list publicly available including the information systems for public access to City information.
(Ord. O-2009-24, passed 7-21-09)