The requirements of this section shall be applicable to any registrant who owns a vacant residential building or files a complaint for foreclosure on a vacant residential building or a vacant residential building that has an outstanding housing, building, health or zoning order or orders, no matter how long the residential building shall have been vacant. The registrant shall within thirty (30) days after the structure first becomes vacant, within thirty (30) days of receiving notice that a structure is vacant, or within thirty (30) days after the effective date of this Chapter, whichever is later, file a vacant residential building registration statement for each such building with the Department of Neighborhoods on form prescribed or approved by the Director of the Department of Neighborhoods for such purposes and pay a vacant residential building registration fee of two hundred dollars ($200.00) at the time of filing of the vacant residential building registration statement, (except registrants of vacant residential buildings who received a waiver of vacant building registration fee pursuant to provisions of Section 1767.04 of this chapter. The registration and fee shall be valid for one (1) calendar year or the remaining portion of the calendar year in which the registration was initially required. Subsequent registration and fees are due January 1st of each year and must be received no later than January 31st of the year due. Registration fees will not be prorated or refunded. Obtaining a waiver of vacant residential building registration fee does not relieve a registrant of a property covered by this Chapter of the requirement to file a vacant residential building registration statement.)
The vacant residential building registration statement shall remain valid for one year. A vacant residential building registration fee, as required by Section 1767.03 of this chapter, is due on January 1st to the Department of Neighborhoods and shall be paid no later than January 31st. A vacant residential building registration statement shall be deemed prima facie proof of the statements therein contained in any administrative enforcement proceeding or court proceeding instituted by the city against the registrant or registrants of the building.
For purposes of this section, a vacant residential building registration statement shall include the following on a form prescribed by the Director of the Department of Neighborhoods:
(a) If the registrant is a corporation, the vacant residential building registration statement shall include the names, addresses, and working phone numbers of all officers and directors of the corporation and the Statutory Agent for the corporation;
(b) If the registrant is an estate, the vacant residential building registration statement shall include the names, addresses, and working phone numbers of the executor, administrator or commissioner of the estate;
(c) If the registrant is a trust, the vacant residential building registration statement shall include the names, addresses, and working phone numbers of all trustees, grantors, and beneficiaries;
(d) If the registrant is a partnership, the vacant residential building registration statement shall include the names, addresses, and working phone numbers of all partners with an interest of ten percent (10%) or greater;
(e) If the registrant is a limited liability corporation, the vacant residential building registration statement shall include the names, addresses, and working phone numbers of all officers and directors of the corporation and the statutory agent of the corporation;
(f) If the registrant is any other form of unincorporated association, the vacant residential building registration statement shall include the names, addresses, and working phone numbers of all principals with an interest of ten percent (10%) or greater; and
(g) If the registrant is a natural person or persons, the vacant residential building registration statement shall include the names, addresses, and working phone numbers of each person listed as owner of record.
If a complaint for foreclosure has been filed, a copy of the complaint seeking the foreclosure of the vacant building shall be submitted with the registration at the time of filing.
The addresses listed on the vacant residential building registration statement must include a street number, street name, city, state/province, country and zip code of the location where the registrant resides or where his or her place of business is located. Post office addresses are not acceptable as addresses for the purpose of this chapter.
In addition to other information required by the Department of Neighborhoods, the vacant residential building registration statement shall include the name, address, and a working telephone number of a natural person twenty-one (21) years of age or older, designated by the registrant as the authorized agent for receiving notices of code violations and for receiving process, in any court proceeding or administrative enforcement proceeding, on behalf of such registrant in connection with the enforcement of this Code. Post office addresses are not acceptable as addresses for the purpose of this chapter. The agent must maintain an office in Lucas County, Ohio or any county adjacent to Lucas County, Ohio, or must actually reside within Lucas County, Ohio or any county adjacent to Lucas County, Ohio. An owner who is a natural person and who meets the requirements of this subsection as to location of residence or office may designate himself as agent for purposes of this chapter. By designating an authorized agent under the provisions of this subsection, the registrant is consenting to receive any and all notices of code violations concerning the registered vacant residential building and all process in any court proceeding or administrative enforcement proceeding brought to enforce code provisions concerning the registered vacant residential building by service of the notice or process on the authorized agent. Any registrant who has designated an authorized agent under the provisions of this subsection shall be deemed to consent to the continuation of the agent's designation for the purposes of this subsection until the registrant notifies the Director of the Department of Neighborhoods of a change of authorized agent or until the registrant files a new annual vacant residential building registration statement. Any registrant who fails to register a vacant residential building under the provisions of this subsection shall further be deemed to consent to receive, by posting at the vacant residential building, any and all notices of code violations and all process in an administrative proceeding brought to enforce code provisions concerning the building.
In no instance shall the vacant residential building registration of a vacant residential building and the payment of vacant residential registration fees be construed to exonerate the person filing the vacant residential building registration statement, an owner, agent or responsible party from responsibility for compliance with any other health code, zoning code, building code or housing code requirements.
Registrants with more than one vacant residential building shall file a separate vacant residential building statement for each vacant residential building.
(Ord. 138-15. Passed 3-31-15.)