(a) General. It shall be the duty of every owner to keep and maintain all regulated rental units in compliance with all applicable codes and provisions of all applicable state laws and regulations and local ordinances and to keep such property in good and safe conditions.
It is the owner’s duty to provide the Borough with written notification of tenants in the owner’s regulated rental units.
As provided for in this article, every owner shall be responsible for regulating the proper and lawful use and maintenance of every dwelling which he, she or it owns. As provided for in this article, every owner shall also be responsible for regulating the conduct and activities of the occupants of every one which he, she or it owns in the Borough, which conduct or activity takes place at such regulated rental unit or its premises.
In order to achieve those ends, every owner of a regulated rental unit shall regulate the conduct and activity of the occupants thereof, both contractually and through enforcement, as more fully set forth below.
This section shall not be construed as diminishing or relieving, in any way, the responsibility of the occupants or their guests for their conduct or activity; nor shall it be construed as an assignment, transfer, or projection over or onto any owner of any responsibility or liability which occupants or their guests may have as a result of their conduct or activity under any private cause of action, civil or criminal enforcement proceeding, or criminal law; nor shall this section be construed so as to require an owner to indemnify or defend occupants or their guests when any such action or proceeding is brought against the occupant based upon the occupant’s conduct or activity. Nothing herein is intended to impose any additional civil/criminal liability upon owners other than that which is imposed by existing law.
This article is not intended to, nor shall its effect be, to limit any other enforcement remedies which may be available to the Borough against the owner, occupant or guest thereof.
(b) Designation of Manager. Every owner who is not a full-time resident of the Borough of White Oak or within a twenty-five (25) mile radius of the Borough of White Oak shall designate a manager who shall reside in an area that is a local call from the Borough of White Oak. If the owner is a corporation, a manager shall require if an officer of the corporation does not reside in the aforesaid calling area. The officer shall perform the same function as a manager. If the owner is a partnership, a manager shall be required if a partner does not reside in the aforementioned call area. Said partner shall perform the same function as a manager. The manager shall be the agent of the owner for service of process and receiving of notices and demands, as well as for performing the obligations of the owner under this article and under rental agreement with occupants. The identify, address and telephone number(s) of a person who is designated as manager hereunder shall be provided by owner or manager to the Borough, and such information shall be kept current and updated as it changes.
(c) Disclosure.
(1) The owner or manager shall disclose to the occupant in writing on or before the commencement of the tenancy:
A. The name, address and telephone number of the manager, if applicable; and
B. The name, address and telephone number of the owner of the premises.
(2) Before an occupant initially enters into or renews a Rental Agreement for a regulated rental unit, the owner or manager shall furnish the occupant with the most recent inspection report relating to the property.
(d) Maintenance of Premises.
(1) The owner shall maintain the premises in compliance with the codes of the Borough and shall regularly perform all routine maintenance, including lawn mowing and ice and snow removal and shall promptly make any and all repairs necessary to fulfill this obligation.
(2) The owner and occupant may agree that the occupant is to perform specific repairs, maintenance tasks, alterations, or remodeling. In such case, however, such agreement between the owner and the occupant must be in writing. Such an agreement may be entered into between the owner and occupant only if:
A. The agreement of the parties is entered into in good faith and not for the purpose of evading the obligations of the owner or occupant; and
B. The agreement does not diminish or affect the obligation of the owner to other occupants in the premises.
(3) In no case shall the existence of any agreement between the owner and occupant relieve an owner of any responsibility under this article or other ordinances or codes for maintenance of premises.
(e) Written Rental Agreement.
(1) All agreements for regulated dwelling units shall be in writing and shall be supplemented with an Addendum as may be adopted by Borough Council from time to time. No oral leases and no oral modifications thereof are permitted. All disclosures and information required to be given to occupants by the owner shall be furnished before the signing of the rental agreement. The owner shall provide occupant with copies of the Rental Agreement and Addendum upon execution.
(2) Terms and conditions. Owner and occupant may include in a Rental Agreement terms and conditions not prohibited by this article or other applicable ordinances, regulations, and laws, including rent, term of the agreement, and other provisions governing the rights and obligations of the parties.
(3) Prohibited provisions. Except as otherwise provided by this article, no Rental Agreement may provide that the occupant or owner agrees to waive or to forego rights or remedies under this article. Any provision prohibited by this subjection included in a Rental Agreement is unenforceable.
(4) Attachment of article to rental agreement. Following the effective date of this article, a summary hereof in a form provided to owner by the Borough at the time of licensing or the article itself, shall be attached to each rental agreement delivered by or on behalf of an owner when any such agreement is presented for signing to an occupant. If a most recent summary has been provided when the rental agreement was first executed, a summary does not have to be provided upon renewal. Where a rental agreement has been entered into prior to the effective date of this article, the owner shall provide the occupants with a copy of the summary within sixty (60) days after enactment of this article.
(f) Complaints. The owner shall reply promptly to reasonable complaints and inquiries from occupants.
(g) Landlord/Tenant Act. The owner shall comply with all provisions of this Landlord/Tenant Act of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
(h) Common Areas. Where an owner does not regulate the use of the common areas and the behavior of occupants and guests in the common areas, the owner shall be directly responsible for the behavior of occupants and guests in the common area as if the owner were and occupant.
(i) Enforcement.
(1) Within ten (10) days after receipt of written notice from the Code Enforcement Officer than an Occupant of a regulated rental unit has violated a provision of this article, the Owner shall take immediate steps to remedy the violation and take steps to assure that there is not a reoccurrence of the violation.
(2) Within twenty (20) days after receipt of a notice of violation, the Owner shall file with the Code Enforcement Officer, or other designee of the Borough, a report, on a form provided by the Borough, setting forth what actions the owner has taken to remedy the violation and what steps he or she has taken to prevent a reoccurrence of the violation. The report shall also set forth a plan as to steps the owner will take in the future if the violation recurs.
(3) The Code Enforcement Officer shall review the report, and, if adequate steps have been taken and the plan is adequate to address the future violations, shall approve the plan. The Owner shall, in his or her initiative, enforce the plans and failure to do so shall be a violation of this article.
(4) In the event that a second violation occurs within a year involving the same occupant or occupants, the Code Enforcement Officer may direct the owner to evict in accordance with the Landlord Tenant Act the occupants who violated this article and to not permit the occupant to occupy the premises during the subsequent licensing period.
(5) If an occupant has been evicted from a regulated rental unit pursuant to this article, he or she shall not be eligible to rent any other regulated rental unit within the Borough of White Oak.
(j) Code Violations. Upon receiving notice of any code violation from the Code Enforcement Officer, the owner shall promptly take action, or cause the necessary action to be taken, to abate the offending condition and eliminate the violation.
(k) Borough Can Make Repairs. In case the owner of premises shall neglect, fail or refuse to comply with any notice from the Borough or its Code Enforcement Officer to correct a violation relating to maintenance and repair of the premises under any code within the period of time stated in such notice, the Borough may cause the violation to be corrected. There shall be imposed upon the owner a charge of the actual costs involved for each time the Borough shall cause a violation to be corrected; and the owner of the premises shall be billed after the same has been completed. Any such bill which remains unpaid and outstanding after the time specified therein for payment shall be grounds for the imposition of a municipal lien upon the premises as provided by law. Such a lien may be reduced to a judgment and enforced and collected as provided by law, together with interest at the legal rate and court costs. The remedies provided by this paragraph are not exclusive and the Borough and its Code Enforcement Officer may invoke such other remedies available under this article or other applicable codes, ordinances or statutes, including, where appropriate, condemnation proceedings or declaration of the premises as unit for habitation; or suspension, revocation, or non-renewal of the Licenses issued hereunder.
(l) The owner shall permit inspections of any premises by the Code Enforcement Officer at reasonable times upon reasonable notice.
(Ord. 4063. Passed 8-17-15.)
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