Subject to § 138-06(D), the Director or the Director's designated inspector may, with the consent of the tenant or the consent of the owner in the case of an unoccupied dwelling unit, or pursuant to a lawfully issued warrant, enter any dwelling unit(s), building, structure or premises to perform any duty imposed by this chapter. Unless a tenant elects not to have their dwelling unit inspected pursuant to § 138-06(F), upon obtaining a lawful right of entry, the Director shall seek to inspect all residential rental property in accordance with this section and § 138-08. The tenant or owner in the case of an unoccupied dwelling unit may contact the Department to schedule an inspection.
(B) The Director shall use reasonable efforts to accommodate the schedule of the owner or the tenant, as the case may be, in scheduling and conducting inspections. In no event, however, shall the city be required to conduct inspections on weekends, holidays, or outside of normal business hours. Once scheduled, for good cause, the Director may reschedule the inspection at the request of the owner, managing agent or tenant provided the rescheduled appointment can occur within 30 days.
(C) During an inspection, the inspector shall note any violations of the Housing Code and, if any violations are found, serve a Correction Notice to the owner or managing agent. The Correction Notice shall direct the owner or managing agent to correct any violation(s) within a time set forth in the notice. A reasonable time for correcting violation(s) shall be determined by the inspector depending on the nature of the violation(s), but shall not exceed 60 days. Upon request by the owner or managing agent, the Director may extend the time for correcting violation(s) not to exceed an additional 60 days.
(D) When the Director or the Director's designated inspector seeks to enter any property through consent, such consent shall be obtained from the appropriate person in accordance with the following:
(1) The Director shall seek the consent of any tenant residing within the particular dwelling unit(s) subject to this chapter prior to inspecting such dwelling unit(s).
(2) The Director shall seek the consent of the owner or managing agent of residential rental property to inspect that portion of the residential rental property which no tenant or other occupant residing within any dwelling unit(s) has access, including any vacant dwelling unit(s).
(3) The Director shall seek the consent of the owner or any tenant to inspect any common areas.
(E) It shall be unlawful for the owner or managing agent to threaten or coerce any tenant of any dwelling unit(s) to deny consent to the Director or the Director's designated inspector to conduct an inspection pursuant to this chapter.
(F) Any tenant may elect to not have their dwelling unit(s) inspected by notifying the Department in writing of such decision. Such notice shall identify the dwelling unit by street address, shall state that the party executing the notice is the tenant of the dwelling unit, the date on which the tenant shall vacate the premises (if known), shall state that the tenant does not want their premises inspected by the city pursuant to this chapter, and shall be signed by the tenant. The Director may designate a form for use of such tenant elections. The Director or the Director's designated inspector will not seek a warrant to inspect dwellings of tenants who, pursuant to this subsection, have elected not to have their dwelling unit(s) inspected unless there is probable cause to believe that a violation of the Housing Code exists in the dwelling(s) sought to be inspected.
(Ord. O2002-15, passed 3-6-02; Ord. O2003-06, passed 2-19-03; Ord. O2015-058, passed 11-18-15)