(A) License requirement.
(1) Generally.
(a) A residential rental license shall be required for all occupied regulated rental units. Within 60 days after the effective date of this subchapter, the owner or his or her duly authorized agent shall be required to apply for a license for each regulated rental unit. A license is required to be in possession of the owner or manager within 90 days after the effective date of this subchapter for each regulated rental unit. For a rooming house, a single license is allowed for all units within a rooming house building.
(b) A residential rental license shall not be issued or renewed until the owner has provided information concerning a manager if applicable and has provided a list of names of occupants age 18 or older.
(2) Not regulated rental units. The following shall not be considered regulated rental units for the purposes of this subchapter:
(a) Owner-occupied dwelling units;
(b) Hotels and motels used for transient visitors to the area, but without units that serve the same purposes as rooming house units;
(c) Hospitals and state-licensed nursing homes and personal care homes;
(d) Bed and breakfast homes; and
(e) One dwelling unit that is on the same lot as a second dwelling unit, provided the two dwellings are only occupied by the owner and persons who are “related” to the owner.
(3) Housing authority. Dwelling units that are owned by the housing authority of the county shall be exempted from the requirements of this subchapter for a regularly scheduled borough inspection and for payment of a rental housing licensing fee if the Borough Codes Enforcement Administrator annually determines in writing that the housing authority’s inspection program is sufficient for serving the purposes of this subchapter. Dwellings owned by the housing authority shall be required to comply with requirements of this subchapter concerning evictions, disruptive conduct reports or and other provisions of this subchapter, unless such provision is specifically preempted by federal law.
(4) Form. The application for the license shall use a form provided by the borough.
(5) Owner or manager duties. The owner or manager shall:
(a) Maintain a current list of all occupants age 18 or older in each regulated rental unit, which shall include their name, address and telephone number;
(b) Furnish such list to the borough annually in writing before April 1 of each year; and
(c) Notify the borough in writing of any changes in the number or names of occupants age 18 or older within 30 days after a change.
(B) Licenses and fees.
(1) Each residential rental license shall have an annual term and each regulated rental unit shall be subject to not more than one inspection every year, based upon a schedule established by the Code Enforcement Officer in consultation with the Borough Manager. The borough is not obligated to complete all inspections within this schedule if the borough, through no fault of the owner, manager or tenant, was not able to complete an inspection in a regulated rental unit.
(2) The following time extensions shall apply for the requirements to have a rental unit inspection, unless there is evidence of a possible code violation on the property. These time extensions shall only apply if the property has not been subject of any code enforcement actions (other than items that were satisfactorily corrected within 30 days), and has no outstanding taxes, fines or fees due to the borough or a borough authority.
(a) If an owner or manager provides evidence that a rental unit has been occupied by the same occupants for the last three years, then a Code Enforcement Officer may allow an inspection to be delayed to once every three years.
(b) If a regulated rental unit was inspected by the borough for code compliance within the previous one year, then an inspection under this subchapter may be delayed to result in a minimum of one year until the next inspection.
(3) Upon application for a license and prior to issuance or renewal thereof, each applicant shall pay to the borough an annual license and inspection fee.
(a) The annual fee for a residential rental unit shall be $40 dollars per dwelling unit, $20 per each rooming house unit and $10 for each sleeping room in a fraternity or sorority. The fee for a calendar year shall be paid by June 1 of each year. If the annual fee is not paid by June 1, an additional fee of $20 shall apply for each subsequent month. This fee is intended to cover the borough’s actual costs for administering the program and for inspections and related vehicle, office, administrative and overhead expenses.
(b) If a second inspection is needed for a dwelling unit or rooming house unit because the unit was found to be in violation of borough codes during the initial inspection, then an additional fee of $25 shall apply. For each subsequent inspection that is needed in any within year period from the date of the last inspection, an additional fee of $75 shall apply.
(c) The fee to reinstate a revoked residential rental license shall be $100 per dwelling unit or $100 per rooming house building.
(d) The fees provided in this subchapter may be revised by written resolution of Borough Council.
(e) A residential rental license shall not be issued or renewed if the owner has not paid any fines and costs arising from enforcement of this subchapter or any codes of the borough relating to land use and/or code enforcement or if any licensing fees under this subchapter are past due to the borough.
(f) If a second or subsequent inspection is needed for a dwelling unit or rooming house unit because the Code Enforcement Officer was not able to enter the unit at the time that had been scheduled with the owner or manager, then an additional fee of $50 shall apply.
(4) A license or inspection by itself shall not warrant that a rental unit is lawful, safe, habitable or in compliance with all borough codes.
(C) Inspection.
(1) Each regulated rental unit shall be subject to inspection by the Code Enforcement Officer or another duly authorized agent of the borough under the schedule outlined in this subchapter.
(2) Borough Code Enforcement Officers are the officials authorized to enforce this subchapter and to take appropriate measures to abate violations hereof, for and on behalf of the borough.
(3) This subchapter shall not be construed as to limit the Code Enforcement Officer’s authority to conduct inspections or enforcement actions under other borough codes or to require that a property be made available for inspection whenever there is probable cause that a violation of borough codes may be present.
(4) To minimize disruption to occupants, owners and managers are encouraged to ask to attempt to schedule inspections during times when a rental unit is unoccupied between tenants.
(D) Warrant. Within the limitations of federal and state law, a Code Enforcement Officer may apply to a district justice having jurisdiction for an administrative search warrant to enter and inspect a regulated rental unit and the premises. Such warrant is only required where access to a regulated rental unit or common areas is denied to the Code Enforcement Officer after a request.
(Ord. 1060, passed 4-15-2008)