[HISTORY: Adopted by the Borough Council of the Borough of East Greenville 10-2-1989
by Ord. No. 13-89. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Property maintenance — See Ch. 73.
No person shall let to another for occupancy any dwelling or dwelling
unit, and no person shall operate a rooming house or let to other for occupancy
any room in a rooming house unless he shall first apply for and obtain a permit
issued by the Code Enforcement Officer. Permits for rental dwellings and dwelling
units shall require renewal every three years, and rooming house permits shall
require annual renewal.
The Code Enforcement Officer shall charge to every person, firm or corporation
owning a rental unit within the Borough of East Greenville, before making
such inspection as will be necessary for the issuance or renewal of a permit,
the following fees, which shall defray the expenses of and compensate the
Code Enforcement Officer for his time in conducting such inspections:
|
Permit Category
|
Permit Fee
|
|---|---|
|
Each rented dwelling or dwelling unit
|
$25.00 (every 3 years)
|
|
Each rented room in a rooming house
|
$5.00 (annually)
|
No permit shall be required of an owner or operator who is one of the
following:
A.
The United States government, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,
the Borough of East Greenville or any agency thereof.
B.
The owner of rooms, motel units, dwelling units or efficiency
apartments utilized by transients, who, for the purpose of this chapter, shall
be defined as any person who occupies or is entitled to occupy a dwelling
unit for a period of less than 15 consecutive calendar days or a room in a
rooming house for less than seven consecutive calendar days.
The exemptions set forth in the previous section shall, nevertheless,
not exempt such owner's or operators from compliance with the provisions
of the BOCA National Existing Structures Code, Second Edition, 1987, adopted
by the Borough Council of the Borough of East Greenville by Ordinance No.
8-88 on December 5, 1988, and all other rules and regulations issued in connection
therewith.[1]
A.
Rental dwelling and dwelling unit permits shall be issued
according to the inspection schedule of the Code Enforcement Officer and shall
continue in effect for 3 calendar years after the date of inspection or until
the date of reinspection by the Code Enforcement Officer, whichever such date
shall last occur. Upon the expiration of any dwelling unit permit, a new permit
shall be required for the further period of three years.
B.
Rooming house permits shall be issued according to the
inspection schedule of the Code Enforcement Officer and shall continue in
effect for one calendar year after the date of inspection or until the date
of reinspection by the Code Enforcement Officer, whichever such date shall
last occur. Upon the expiration of any rooming house permit, a new permit
shall be required for a further period of one year.
Every permit issued hereunder shall be maintained upon the premises,
and every permit issued hereunder pertaining to multiple dwelling units and
rooming houses shall be posted in a conspicuous place where it may be seen
at all times.
Any permit issued under the provisions hereof shall terminate upon the
transfer of ownership of the property, and the new owner or owners shall apply
for a renewal thereof within 30 days of such transfer of ownership. Such renewal
period shall run only until the date upon which the permit issued to the previous
owner would have terminated. In the instance of a rental dwelling or dwelling
unit permit, should the renewal period be for a term of less than 18 months,
the fee for such permit shall be $12.50, while in the instance of a room permit,
should the renewal period be for a term of less than six months, the fee for
such permit shall be $2.50 per room. Any owner of a dwelling house, dwelling
unit or rooming house who transfers his interest therein to a new owner shall
have no right to a reimbursement from the borough of all or any part of his
last paid permit fee upon transfer.
The Code Enforcement Officer is authorized and directed to make inspections
to determine the condition of the dwelling, dwelling unit, rooming house or
rooming unit and premises offered for rent located within the Borough of East
Greenville in order to safeguard the health and safety of the occupants thereof
and the general public. He or she is further authorized to enter, for the
purpose of examining and surveying, all areas of the habitable premises at
reasonable time. Every occupant of any such premises or operator in charge
thereof shall extend to the Code Enforcement Officer access to such premises
for the purpose of making any inspection, examination or survey.
If permission to enter any premises for the purpose of inspection is
denied, the inspecting officer may apply for a search warrant to the District
Magistrate serving the district within which the Borough of East Greenville
is located. He shall supply all necessary affidavits containing personal knowledge
of probable cause for the issuance of a search warrant. "Probable cause" shall
mean:
A.
That inspection of said dwelling unit is part of a routine
area inspection being conducted as a part of a systematic or concentrated
codes enforcement program;
B.
That the affiant has knowledge of a violation of borough
codes that may endanger or otherwise affect the health and safety of the citizens
of the Borough of East Greenville; or
C.
That said entry is for the purpose of reinspecting a
previous violation where no prior warrant was issued.
Warrants shall not be required for entry:
The Code Enforcement Officer may reinspect any property for which a
permit has been issued upon receiving complaints from the tenants thereof
or from third parties.
Should an inspection, as provided for herein, reveal the existence of
a violation of The BOCA National Existing Structures Code, Second Edition,
1987, adopted by the Borough Council of the Borough of East Greenville by
Ordinance No. 8-88 on December 5, 1988,[1] then the Code Enforcement Officer shall serve upon the owner or
operator a violation notice in the form set forth in Section 107.2 of that
code. He shall also schedule a reinspection for a date and at a time subsequent
to the expiration of the reasonable compliance time set forth in the violation
notice. If the violation existing at the time of the initial inspection remains
outstanding at the time of the reinspection, the owner or operator shall,
upon conviction, become liable to those fines and penalties set forth in Section
110.2 of the code.
