[Adopted 6-7-2011 by Ord. No. 2-11]
A.
Purpose; scope; declaration of policy; findings.
(1)
It is the purpose of this article and the policy of the Council of
the City of New Kensington, in order to protect and promote the public
health, safety and welfare of its citizens, to establish rights and
obligations of owners relating to the rental of certain dwelling units
in the City of New Kensington and to encourage owners and occupants
to maintain and improve the quality of rental housing within the community.
It is also the policy of the City those owners, managers and occupants
share responsibilities to obey the various codes adopted to protect
and promote public health, safety and welfare.
(2)
This article shall be liberally construed and applied to promote
its purposes and policies.
(3)
In considering the adoption of this article, the City of New Kensington
makes the following findings:
(a)
There is a greater incidence of violations of various codes
of the City at residential properties where owners of rental property
do not reside in the City than at owner-occupied residential properties
or family-occupied residential rental properties.
(b)
There is a greater incidence of problems with the maintenance
and upkeep of residential properties where owners do not reside in
the City than at owner-occupied residential properties or family-occupied
residential rental properties.
(c)
There is a greater incidence of disturbances which adversely
affect the peace and quiet of the neighborhood at residential properties
where owners do not reside in the City than at owner-occupied residential
properties or family-occupied residential rental properties.
B.
CITY
CODE
CODE ENFORCEMENT OFFICER
COMMON AREA
DISRUPTIVE CONDUCT
DISRUPTIVE CONDUCT REPORT
DWELLING
DWELLING UNIT
GUEST
LANDLORD
MANAGER
MULTIPLE-UNIT DWELLING
OCCUPANT
OWNER
OWNER-OCCUPIED DWELLING UNIT
PERSON
POLICE
PREMISES
REGULATED RENTAL UNIT
RENTAL AGREEMENT
TENANT
Definitions. As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have
the meanings indicated:
The City of New Kensington, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania.
Any code or ordinance adopted, enacted and/or in effect in
and for the City of New Kensington concerning fitness for habitation
or the construction, maintenance, operation, occupancy, use or appearance
of any premises or dwelling unit. Included within, but not limited
by, this definition are the following which are in effect as of the
date of enactment of this article: BOCA Basic Building Code; BOCA
Basic Property Maintenance Code; BOCA Basic Fire Prevention Code;
National Electrical Code; Floodplain Management Ordinance; Weed and
Vegetation Control Ordinance; Sidewalk Maintenance and Ice Removal
Ordinance; Solid Waste and Recycling Ordinance; Zoning Ordinance;
and any duly enacted amendment or supplement to any of the above and
any new enactment falling within this definition.
The duly appointed Code Enforcement Officer(s) having charge
of the Office of the Code Enforcement of the City of New Kensington,
and any assistants or deputies thereof.
In multiple unit dwellings, space which is not part of a
regulated rental unit and which is shared with other occupants of
the dwelling whether they reside in regulated dwelling units or not.
Common areas shall be considered as part of the premises for purposes
of this article.
Any form of conduct, action, incident or behavior perpetrated,
caused or permitted by any occupant or visitor of a regulated dwelling
unit that is so loud, untimely (as to the hour of the day), offensive,
riotous, or that otherwise disturbs other persons of reasonable sensibility
in their peaceful enjoyment of their premises such that a report is
made to police and/or to the Code Enforcement Officer complaining
of such conduct, action, incident, or behavior. It is not necessary
that such conduct, action, incident or behavior constitutes a criminal
offense or that criminal charges be filed against any person in order
for a person to have perpetrated, caused or permitted the commission
of disruptive conduct as defined herein; provided, however, that no
disruptive conduct shall be deemed to have occurred unless the Code
Enforcement Officer or police shall investigate and make a determination
that such did occur, and keep written records, including a disruptive
conduct report, of such occurrence.
A written report of disruptive conduct on a form to be prescribed
therefor, to be completed by the Code Enforcement Officer or police,
as the case may be, who actually investigates an alleged incident
of disruptive conduct, and which shall be maintained by the Code Enforcement
Officer.
A building having one or more dwelling units.
A room or group of rooms within a dwelling and forming a
single unit and used for living and sleeping purposes, having its
own cooking facilities and a bathroom with a toilet and a bathtub
or shower.
A person on the premises with the actual or implied consent
of an occupant.
One or more persons, jointly or severally, in whom is vested
all or part of the legal title to the premises, or all or part of
the beneficial ownership and a right to present use and enjoyment
of the premises, including a mortgage holder in possession of a regulated
rental unit (same as "owner").
An adult individual designated by the owner of a regulated rental unit under § 165-15, Subsection B. The manager shall be the agent of the owner for service of process and receiving notices or demands and to perform the obligation of the owner under this article and under rental agreements with occupants. The manager shall have the credentials as set forth in the Pennsylvania Real Estate Licensing and Registration Act[1] and comply with the rules and regulations of the Pennsylvania
Real Estate Commission.
A building containing two or more independent dwelling units,
including, but not limited to, double houses, row houses, townhouses,
condominiums, apartment houses, and conversion apartments.
An individual who resides in a regulated rental unit, whether
or not he or she is the owner thereof, with whom a legal relationship
with the owner/landlord is established by a written lease or by the
laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
One or more persons, jointly or severally, in whom is vested
all or part of the legal title to the premises, or all or part of
the beneficial ownership and a right to present use and enjoyment
of the premises, including a mortgage holder in possession of a regulated
rental unit.
A dwelling unit in which the owner resides on a regular,
permanent basis.
A natural person, partnership, corporation, unincorporated
association, limited partnership, trust, or any other entity.
The Police Department of the City of New Kensington or any
properly authorized member or officer thereof or any other law enforcement
agency having jurisdiction within the City of New Kensington.
Any parcel or real property in the City of New Kensington,
including the land and all buildings and appurtenant structures or
appurtenant elements, upon which one or more regulated rental units
are located.
A dwelling unit occupied by any person under a rental agreement.
A written agreement between owner/landlord and occupant/tenant
embodying the terms and conditions concerning the use and occupancy
of a specified regulated rental unit or premises.
An individual who resides in a regulated rental unit, whether
or not he or she is the owner thereof, with whom a legal relationship
with the owner/landlord is established by a written lease or by the
laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (same as "occupant").
[1]
Editor's Note: See 63 P.S. § 455.101 et seq.
A.
General.
(1)
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 other applicable state laws and regulations and local ordinances
and to keep such property in good and safe condition.
(2)
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 regulated rental unit which he,
she or it owns in the City, which conduct or activity takes place
at such regulated rental unit or its premises.
(3)
In order to achieve those ends, every owner of a regular rental unit
shall regulate the conduct and activity of the occupants thereof,
both contractually and through enforcement, as more fully set forth
below.
(4)
This section shall not be construed as diminishing or relieving,
in any way, the responsibility of 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.
(5)
This article is not intended, nor shall its effect be, to limit any
other enforcement remedies which may be available to the City against
an owner, occupant, or guest thereof.
B.
Designation of manager. Every owner who is not a full-time resident
of the City of New Kensington or a resident elsewhere within 15 miles
from New Kensington shall designate a manager who shall reside within
15 miles of the City of New Kensington. If the owner is a corporation,
a manager shall be required if any officer of the corporation does
not reside within the aforesaid distance. 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 aforesaid distance.
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
notices and demands, as well as for performing the obligations of
the owner under this article and under rental agreements with occupants.
The identity, address and telephone number(s) of a person who is designated
as manager hereunder shall be provided by the owner or the manager
to the City, and such information shall be kept current and updated
as it changes.
D.
Maintenance of premises.
(1)
The owner shall maintain the premises in compliance with the applicable
codes of the City 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
specified repairs, maintenance tasks, alterations, or remodeling.
In such case, however, such agreement between the owner and occupant
must be in writing. Such an agreement may be entered into between
the owner and occupant only if:
(3)
In no case shall the existence of any agreement between owner and
occupant relieve any owner of any responsibility under this article
or other ordinances or codes for maintenance of premises.
E.
Written rental agreement.
(1)
Written rental agreement required.
(a)
All rental agreements for regulated dwelling units shall be
in writing and shall be supplemented with the addendum attached hereto
as an appendix.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Said addendum is included at the end of this chapter.
(b)
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. The owner shall further secure a written
acknowledgment from the occupants that they have received the disclosures
and information required by this article.
(c)
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.
(d)
Prohibited provisions. Except as otherwise provided by this
article, no rental agreement may provide that the occupant or owner
agrees to waive or to forgo rights or remedies under this article.
A provision prohibited by this subsection included in a rental agreement
shall be unenforceable.
(e)
Upon oral or written request by the police or Code Enforcement
Officer, the owner shall, within 10 days of such request, furnish
to the City copies of acknowledgment that the occupants have received
the disclosures and information required to be given and acknowledged
as required by this article.
(f)
Upon oral or written request by the police or Code Enforcement
Officer, the owner shall, within 10 days of such request, furnish
to the City for inspections purposes, copies of the leases the owner
has entered into for regulated rental units.
F.
Complaints. The owner shall reply promptly to reasonable complaints
and inquiries from occupants.
H.
Common areas. Where an owner does not regulate the use of 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 an occupant.
I.
Enforcement.
(1)
Within 10 days after receipt of written notice from the Code Enforcement
Officer that 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 20 days after receipt of a notice of violation, the owner
shall file with the Code Enforcement Officer a report, on a form provided
by the City, setting forth what action 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, on his or her
initiative, enforce the plan, and failure to do so shall be a violation
of this article.
(4)
In the event that a second violation occurs within a license year
involving the same occupant or occupants, the Code Enforcement Officer
may direct the owner to evict 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 unit pursuant this
article, he or she shall not be eligible to rent any other regulated
unit within the City of New Kensington.
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.
City can make repairs. In case the owner of premises shall neglect,
fail or refuse to comply with any notice from the City 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 City may cause the violation to be corrected.
There shall be imposed upon the owner a charge of the actual costs
involved, plus 10% of said costs for each time the City shall cause
a violation to be corrected, and the owner of the premises shall be
billed after 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 judgment and enforced
and collected as provided by law, together with interest at the legal
rate and court costs. The remedies provided by this subsection are
not exclusive, and the City 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 premises as unfit for habitation or
suspension, revocation, or nonrenewal of the license issued hereunder.
L.
The owner shall permit inspections of any premises by the Code Enforcement
Officer at reasonable times upon reasonable notice.
A.
General. The occupant shall comply with all obligations imposed upon
occupants by this article, all applicable codes and ordinances of
the City and all applicable provisions of state law.
B.
Health and safety regulations.
(1)
The maximum number of persons permitted in any regulated rental unit
at any time shall not exceed one person for each 50 square feet of
habitable floor space in said regulated rental unit. The maximum number
of persons permitted in the commons area of any multi-unit dwelling
at any time shall not exceed one person for each 15 square feet of
common area on the premises.
C.
Peaceful enjoyment. The occupant shall conduct himself or herself
and require the other persons, including, but not limited to, guests
on the premises and within his or her regulated rental unit with his
or her consent, to conduct themselves in a manner that will not disturb
the peaceful enjoyment of the premises by others and that will not
disturb the peaceful enjoyment of adjacent or nearby dwellings by
the persons occupying the same.
D.
Residential use. The occupant shall, unless otherwise permitted by
applicable law or ordinance, occupy or use his or her regulated rental
unit for no other purpose than as a residence.
E.
Illegal activities. The occupant shall not engage in, nor tolerate
nor permit others on the premises to engage in, any conduct declared
illegal under the Pennsylvania Crimes Code (18 Pa.C.S.A. § 101
et seq.) or Liquor Code (47 P.S. § 1-101 et seq.) or the
Controlled Substance, Drug, Device and Cosmetic Act (35 P.S. § 780-101
et seq.).
F.
Disruptive conduct.
(1)
The occupant shall not engage in, nor tolerate nor permit others
on the premises to engage in, disruptive conduct, or other violations
of the article.
(2)
When police or the Code Enforcement Officer investigate an alleged
incident of disruptive conduct, he or she shall complete a disruptive
conduct report upon a finding that the reported incident did, in his
or her judgment, constitute disruptive conduct as defined herein.
The information filled in on said report shall include, if possible,
the identity or identities of the alleged perpetrator(s) of the disruptive
conduct and all other obtainable information, including the factual
basis for the disruptive conduct requested on the prescribed form.
Where the police make such investigation, said police officer shall
then submit the completed disruptive conduct report to the Code Enforcement
Officer within seven working days. In all cases, the Code Enforcement
Officer shall mail a copy of the disruptive conduct report to the
owner or manager within 10 working days of the occurrence of the alleged
disruptive conduct, whether the person making the investigation on
behalf of the City is the Code Enforcement Officer or police.
G.
Compliance with rental agreement. The occupant shall comply with
all lawful provisions of the rental agreement entered into between
owner and occupant. Failure to comply may result in the eviction of
the occupant by the owner.
H.
Damage to premises. The occupant shall not intentionally cause, nor
permit nor tolerate others to cause, damage to the premises. Conduct
which results in damages in excess of $500 shall be considered a violation
of this article.
I.
Inspection of premises. The occupant shall permit inspections by
the Code Enforcement Officer of the premises at reasonable times,
upon reasonable notice.
A.
Basis for violation. It shall be unlawful for any person, as either
owner or manager of a regulated rental unit, to operate without compliance
with the terms and conditions of this article. It shall also be unlawful
for any person, either owner or manager, to allow the number of occupants
of a regulated rental unit to exceed the maximum limit as set forth
on the license or to violate any other provision of this article.
It shall be unlawful for any occupant to violate this article.
B.
Penalties. Any violation of this article shall constitute a summary
offense punishable, upon conviction thereof by a District Justice,
by a fine not to exceed $600 plus costs of prosecution or, in default
of payment of such fines and costs, by a term of imprisonment not
to exceed 30 days. Each day of violation shall constitute a separate
and distinct offense.
C.
Nonexclusive remedies. The penalty provisions of this article and
the license provided in this article shall be independent, nonmutually
exclusive separate remedies, all of which shall be available to the
City as may be deemed appropriate for carrying out the purposes of
this article. The remedies and procedures in this article for violation
hereof are not intended to supplant or replace, to any degree, the
remedies and procedures available to the City in the case of a violation
of any other code or ordinance of the City, whether or not such other
code or ordinance is referenced in this article and whether or not
an ongoing violation of such other code or ordinance is cited as the
underlying ground for a finding of a violation of this article.
A.
Notices.
(1)
For purposes of this article, any notice required hereunder to be
given to a manager shall be deemed as notice given to the owner.
(2)
There shall be a rebuttal presumption that any notice required to
be given to the owner under this article shall have been received
by such owner if the notice was given to the owner in the manner provided
by this article.
(3)
A claimed lack of knowledge by the owner of any violation hereunder
cited shall be no defense as long as all notices prerequisite to institution
of such proceedings have been given and deemed received in accordance
with the applicable provisions of this article.
B.
Charges in ownership occupancy. It shall be the duty of each owner
of a regulated dwelling unit to notify the Code Enforcement Officer
in writing of any change in ownership of the premises or of the number
of regulated rental units on the premises. It shall also be the duty
of the owner to notify the Code Enforcement Officer in writing of
any increase in the number of occupants in any regulated rental unit
or of the changing of a dwelling unit from owner-occupied to nonowner-occupied,
which thereby transforms the dwelling into a regulated rental unit
for purposes of this article.
C.
Owners severally responsible. If any regulated rental unit is owned
by more than one person, in any form of joint tenancy, as a partnership,
or otherwise, each person shall be jointly and severally responsible
for the duties imposed under the terms of this article and shall be
severally subject to prosecution for the violation of this article.
D.
When effective; applicability. This article shall become effective
30 days after passage and shall apply only to rentals occurring after
that date.
