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(a) Every owner of a dwelling containing two or more dwelling units shall be responsible for maintaining in a clean and sanitary condition the shared or public areas of the dwelling and premises thereof.
(b) Every occupant of a dwelling or dwelling unit shall keep in a clean and sanitary condition that part of the dwelling, dwelling unit and premises thereof which he or she occupies and controls.
(c) Every occupant of a dwelling or dwelling unit shall dispose of all of his or her rubbish in a clean and sanitary manner by placing it in the rubbish containers required by Section 1488.05(f).
(d) Every occupant of a dwelling or dwelling unit shall dispose of all of his or her garbage and other organic waste which might provide food for rodents, in a clean and sanitary manner, by placing it in the garbage disposal facilities or garbage storage containers required by Section 1488.05(g). The owner shall supply such facilities or containers for all dwelling units in a dwelling containing more than four dwelling units and for all dwelling units located on premises where more than four dwelling units share the same premises. In all other cases the occupant shall furnish such facilities or containers.
(e) Every occupant of a dwelling or dwelling unit shall be responsible for hanging all screens and double or storm doors and windows whenever the same are required under this chapter or, any rule or regulation adopted pursuant hereto, except where the owner has agreed to supply such service.
(f) Every occupant of a dwelling containing a single dwelling unit shall be responsible for the extermination of any insects, rodents or other pests therein or on the premises, and every occupant of a dwelling unit in a dwelling containing more than one dwelling unit shall be responsible for such extermination whenever his or her dwelling unit is the only one infested. Notwithstanding this subsection, whenever infestation is caused by failure of the owner to maintain a dwelling in a rat-proof or reasonably insect-proof condition, extermination shall be the responsibility of the owner. Whenever infestation exists in two or more of the dwelling units in any dwelling, or in the shared or public parts of any dwelling containing two or more dwelling units, extermination shall be the responsibility of the owner.
(g) Every occupant of a dwelling unit shall keep all plumbing fixtures therein in a clean and sanitary condition and shall be responsible for the exercise of reasonable care in the proper use and operation thereof.
(Ord. 18-87. Passed 11-24-87.)
(b) No person shall operate a rooming house unless he or she holds a valid rooming house permit issued by the Health Officer in the name of the operator for the specific dwelling or dwelling unit. The operator shall apply to the Health Officer for such permit, which shall be issued by the Health Officer upon compliance by the operator with the applicable provisions of this chapter and any rules and regulations adopted pursuant hereto. Such permit shall be displayed in a conspicuous place in the rooming house at all times. No such permit shall be transferable. Every person holding such a permit shall give notice in writing to the Health Officer within twenty-four hours after having sold, transferred, given away or otherwise disposed of ownership of, interest in or control of any rooming house. Such notice shall include the name and address of the person succeeding to the ownership or control of such rooming house. Every rooming house permit shall expire at the end of one year following its date of issuance, unless sooner suspended or revoked as hereinafter provided.
(c) Any person whose application for a permit to operate a rooming house has been denied may request and shall be granted a hearing on the matter before the Board of Health under the procedure provided in Section 1488.04.
(d) Whenever, upon inspection of any rooming house, the Health Officer finds that conditions or practices exist which are in violation of any of the provisions of this chapter or any rule or regulation adopted pursuant hereto, the Health Officer shall give notice in writing to the operator of such rooming house that unless such conditions or practices are corrected within a reasonable period, to be determined by the Health Officer, the operator's rooming house permit will be suspended. At the end of such period the Health Officer shall reinspect such rooming house and if he or she finds that such conditions or practices have not been corrected, he or she shall give notice in writing to the operator that the permit has been suspended. Upon receipt of notice of suspension, such operator shall immediately cease operation of such rooming house , and no person shall occupy for sleeping or living purposes any rooming unit therein.
(e) Any person whose permit to operate a rooming house has been suspended, or who has received notice from the Health Officer that his or her permit is to be suspended unless existing conditions or practices at his or her rooming house are corrected, may request and shall be granted a hearing on the matter before the Board of Health under the procedure provided in Section 1488.04. However, if no petition for such hearing is filed within ten days following the day on which such permit was suspended, such permit shall be deemed to have been automatically revoked.
(f) At least one flush water closet, lavatory basin and bathtub or shower, properly connected to a water and sewerage system approved by the Health Officer and in good working condition, shall be supplied for each eight persons or fraction thereof residing in a rooming house, including members of the operator's family wherever they share the use of such facilities, provided that in a rooming house where rooms are let only to males, flush urinals may be substituted for not more than one-half of the required number of water closets. All such facilities shall be so located in the dwelling as to be reasonably accessible from a common hall or passageway to all persons sharing such facilities. Every lavatory basin and bathtub or shower shall be supplied with hot water at all times. No such facilities shall be located in a basement except by written approval of the Health Officer.
(g) The operator of every rooming house shall change supplied bed linen and towels therein at least once each week and prior to the letting of any room to any occupant. The operator shall be responsible for the maintenance of all supplied bedding in a clean and sanitary manner.
(h) Every room occupied for sleeping purposes by one person shall contain at least seventy square feet of floor space, and every room occupied for sleeping purposes by more than one person shall contain at least fifty square feet of floor space for each occupant thereof.
(i) Every rooming unit shall have a safe, unobstructed means of egress leading to a safe and open space at ground level, as required by the laws of the State and the City.
(j) The operator of every rooming house shall be responsible for the sanitary maintenance of all walls, floors and ceilings and for the maintenance of a sanitary condition in every other part of the rooming house. Further, he or she shall be responsible for the sanitary maintenance of the entire premises where the entire structure or building is leased or occupied by the operator.
(k) Every provision of this chapter which applies to rooming houses shall also apply to hotels, motels and boarding houses, except to the extent that any such provision may be found in conflict with the laws of the State or with the lawful regulations of any State board or agency.
(Ord. 18-87. Passed 11-24-87.)
The designation of dwellings or dwelling units as unfit for human habitation and the procedure for the condemnation and placarding of such unfit dwellings or dwelling units shall be carried out in compliance with the following requirements:
(a) Any dwelling or dwelling unit that is found to have any of the following defects shall be condemned as unfit for human habitation and shall be so designated and placarded by the Health Officer:
(1) One which is so damaged, decayed, dilapidated, unsanitary, unsafe or vermin-infested that it creates a serious hazard to the health or safety of the occupants or of the public;
(2) One which lacks illumination, ventilation or sanitation facilities adequate to protect the health or safety of the occupants or of the public; or
(3) One which, because of its general condition or location, is unsanitary or otherwise dangerous to the health or safety of the occupants or of the public.
(b) Any dwelling or dwelling unit condemned as unfit for human habitation and so designated and placarded by the Health Officer shall be vacated within a reasonable time as ordered by the Health Officer.
(c) No dwelling or dwelling unit which has been condemned and placarded as unfit for human habitation shall again be used for human habitation until written approval is secured from, and such placard is removed by, the Health Officer. The Health Officer shall remove such placard whenever the defects upon which the condemnation and placarding action were based have been eliminated.
(d) No person shall deface or remove the placard from any dwelling or dwelling unit which has been condemned as unfit for human habitation and placarded as such, except as provided in subsection (c) hereof.
(e) Any person affected by any notice or order relating to the condemnation and placarding of a dwelling or dwelling unit as unfit for human habitation may request and shall be granted a hearing on the matter before the Board of Health under the procedure set forth in Section 1488.04.
(Ord. 18-87. Passed 11-24-87.)
To facilitate public understanding and better administration of this chapter, the following supplementary regulations detail the requirements of this chapter more specifically:
(a) Plumbing and Plumbing Fixtures. No dwelling or dwelling unit shall be deemed to comply with this chapter unless:
(1) All plumbing is designed and installed so as to prevent contamination of the water supply through backflow, back-siphonage and any other method of contamination.
(2) All plumbing is so designed and installed that no potable water supply line or plumbing fixture is directly connected to a nonpotable water supply.
(3) Every water supply line is so constructed that there is no possibility of a cross-connection between a potable and nonpotable water supply.
(4) Every water supply line is in good working condition and every valve therein is in good working condition.
(5) Every water supply inlet is located above the flood level of any installed sink, lavatory, bathtub, automatic washing machine and similar water-using fixture, or above some unobstructible overflow thereof, and there are no submerged inlets, except submerged inlets installed with a vacuum breaker of a type approved by the Health Officer.
(6) The waste line of every water-using fixture is trapped.
(7) Every waste line drains freely without obstruction or leaks.
(8) All plumbing and plumbing fixtures are maintained in good working condition and all plumbing fixtures are kept clean.
(9) Water pressure is adequate to permit a proper flow of water from all water faucets at all times.
(10) Every water closet is of the trap type, with facilities for safe and clean flushing.
(11) No water closet is of the so-called "flush hopper," "frostproof hopper" or similar type.
(b) Rubbish Storage and Disposal. No dwelling or dwelling unit shall be deemed to comply with this chapter unless:
(1) Rubbish stored outdoors is stored in one or more rubbish storage boxes or containers which are flytight, rodentproof, nonflammable and reasonably waterproof.
(2) Rubbish stored in the basement or cellar or in an enclosed structure, such as a shed, is stored in nonflammable containers.
(3) No loose rubbish is placed upon or strewn about the floor of any basement, cellar or other part of any dwelling or on the ground surrounding any dwelling.
(c) Garbage Storage and Disposal. No dwelling or dwelling unit shall be deemed to comply with this chapter unless:
(1) Garbage is disposed of in a garbage incinerator located in the dwelling and installed and operated in a sanitary manner; garbage is disposed of in one or more flytight and watertight metal garbage storage containers equipped with tightly fitting metal covers, no one of which is smaller than fifteen gallons in capacity or larger than thirty gallons in capacity; or garbage is disposed of in a garbage grinder which grinds garbage finely, and is discharged into the kitchen sink drain in a sanitary manner.
(2) Every outside garbage storage container is so maintained and located on the premises that no odors will permeate any dwelling or dwelling unit.
(3) Every garbage storage container is cleaned at least weekly.
(4) No loose garbage is placed upon or strewn about on the floor of any basement, cellar or other part of any dwelling or on the ground surrounding any dwelling.
(d) Gas Facilities. No dwelling or dwelling unit shall be deemed to comply with this chapter unless:
(1) All gas-burning hot water heaters and space heaters are properly vented to a chimney or duct leading to an outdoor space.
(2) Every gas pipe is sound and tightly put together with no leaks.
(3) No gas pipe is corroded or obstructed so as to reduce gas pressure or volume.
(4) Every gas appliance is connected to a gas line with solid metal piping.
(5) Gas pressure is adequate to permit a proper flow of gas from all open gas valves at all times.
(e) Electric Wiring and Facilities. No dwelling or dwelling unit shall be deemed to comply with this chapter unless:
(1) Every exposed electric wire has insulation which is in good condition
(2) Every switch plate and outlet plate is properly fastened in position.
(3) No short circuit or break exists in any electric line.
(4) Every fixture and outlet functions properly and is properly fastened in place.
(5) No obvious shock hazard exists.
(6) No temporary wiring is used, except extension cords which run directly from portable electric fixtures to convenience outlets and which do not lie underneath floor-covering materials or extend through doorways, transoms or similar apertures through structural elements.
(7) No electric circuit is overloaded as a result of connecting appliances which operate at high wattage to outlets supplied with wire of inadequate size.
(f) Heating and Heating Facilities. No dwelling or dwelling unit shall be deemed to comply with this chapter unless:
(1) When the dwelling or dwelling unit is heated by a central heating system:
A. The central heating unit is in good operating condition;
B. Every heat duct, steam pipe and hot water pipe is free of leaks and functions so that adequate heat is delivered where intended; and
C. Every seal between the sections of a hot air furnace is in good repair.
(2) When the dwelling or dwelling unit is heated by space heaters:
A. Every space heater burning solid, liquid or gaseous fuels is properly vented to a chimney or duct leading to an outdoor space;
B. Every coal-burning space heater has a fire-resistant panel beneath it;
C. Every space heater located close to a wall is equipped with insulation sufficient to prevent overheating of the wall; and
D. Every space heater smoke pipe is equipped with guards made of metal or other nonflammable material at the point where the pipe goes through a wall, ceiling or partition.
(3) There are no portable heaters burning solid, liquid or gaseous fuels.
(4) Every smoke pipe and chimney is adequately supported, reasonably clean and maintained in such condition that there will be no leakage or backing up of noxious gases.
(g) Lighting. No dwelling or dwelling unit shall be deemed to comply with this chapter unless every public hall, stairway and foyer has sufficient lighting through windows or from electric lights to provide illumination of at least one foot-candle on every part of such area at all times of the day and night, except as otherwise provided in Section 1488.06(f).
(h) Exclusion of Insects and Rodents. No dwelling or dwelling unit shall be deemed to comply with this chapter unless:
(1) From June 1 through September 30 in each year, every door opening directly from a dwelling unit to an outdoor space is supplied with a screen of not less than sixteen mesh per inch and a self-closing device in good operating condition, and very window or other device with openings to an outdoor space, used or intended to be used for ventilation, is supplied with a screen of not less than sixteen mesh per inch.
(2) Every basement or cellar window is supplied with a heavy wire screen of not larger than one-fourth inch mesh, which screen fits tightly and is securely fastened.
(i) Foundations, Floors, Walls, Ceilings and Rooms. No dwelling or dwelling unit shall be deemed to comply with this chapter unless:
(1) The foundation elements adequately support the building at all points.
(2) Every floor is free of holes and wide cracks which might admit rodents or which constitute a possible accident hazard.
(3) Every floor is free of loose, warped, protruding and rotting floor boards.
(4) Every exterior wall is free of holes, breaks, loose or rotting boards and timbers and other conditions which might admit rodents, rain or dampness to the interior portion of the wall or to the interior space of the dwelling.
(5) Every interior wall and ceiling is free of holes and large cracks.
(6) Every interior wall and ceiling is free of loose plaster and other structural material, the collapse of which plaster or other material might constitute an accident hazard.
(7) Plaster, paint and other surface materials are of such character as to be easily cleanable and are reasonably smooth, clean and tight.
(8) The roof is tight and has no defects which admit rain.
(j) Windows, Exterior Doors and Basement Hatchways. No dwelling or dwelling unit shall be deemed to comply with this chapter unless:
(1) Every window is fully supplied with window panes which are without open cracks or holes.
(2) Every window sash is in good condition and fits reasonably tight within its frame.
(3) Every window, other than a fixed window, is capable of being easily opened and held in open position by window hardware.
(4) Every exterior door, door hinge and door latch is in good condition.
(5) Every exterior door, when closed, fits reasonably well within its frame.
(6) All windows and doors and their frames are constructed and maintained in such relation to wall construction as to completely exclude rain and to substantially exclude wind from entering the structure.
(7) Eyery basement hatchway is so constructed and maintained as to prevent the entrance of rodents, rain and surface drainage water into the dwelling.
(k) Stairways and Porches. No dwelling or dwelling unit shall be deemed to comply with this chapter unless:
(1) Every flight of stairs and porch is free of holes, grooves and cracks which are large enough to constitute possible accident hazards.
(2) Every stairwell and every flight of stairs which is more than two risers high has rails of not less than two feet , six inches, measured vertically from the nose of the treads to the top of the rail, and every porch which is more than two risers high has rails of not less than three feet, six inches above the platform.
(3) Every rail and balustrade is firmly fastened and maintained in good condition.
(4) No flight of stairs has settled more than one inch out of its intended position or has pulled away from supporting or adjacent structures.
(5) No flight of stairs has rotting or deteriorating supports.
(6) The treads of every flight of stairs are uniform in height.
(7) Every stair tread is sound and is securely fastened in position.
(8) Every stair tread is strong enough to bear a concentrated load of at least 400 pounds without danger of breaking through.
(9) Every porch has a sound floor.
(10) No porch has rotting or deteriorating supports.
(l) Water Closet Compartment and Bathroom Floor. No dwelling or dwelling unit shall be deemed to comply with this chapter unless every water closet compartment floor and bathroom floor is made of terrazzo, tile, smooth concrete, dense hardwood with tightly fitting joints, rubber, asphalt tile, linoleum or other similar material providing a surface which is reasonably impervious to water and easily cleanable or such floor is made of one of the denser soft woods, with tightly fitting joints, and is covered with varnish, lacquer or other similar coating providing a surface which is reasonably impervious to water and easily cleanable.
(m) General Sanitation. No dwelling or dwelling unit shall be deemed to comply with this chapter unless:
(1) Every floor and floor covering is kept reasonably clean and is not littered with dirt, dust, garbage, human or animal fecal matter or any other unsanitary thing.
(2) Every wall and ceiling is reasonably clean and is not littered or covered with dust, dirt, cobwebs or greasy film.
(3) No stagnant water is allowed to accumulate or stand anywhere about the premises.
(Ord. 18-87. Passed 11-24-87.)
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