[HISTORY: Adopted by the Borough Council of the Borough of Wilkinsburg 6-12-2013 by Ord. No. 2905; amended in its entirety 10-21-2015 by Ord. No. 2942. Subsequent amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Property maintenance — See Ch. 200.
Rental property — See Ch. 210.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meaning indicated:
AUTHORIZED AGENT
Any person responsible for a property, such as a property manager, property management company, and/or any agent acting on behalf of the owner. This shall include but shall not be limited to persons who complete and submit an application for occupancy on behalf of the property owner.
COMMERCIAL PREMISES
Any building or portion of any building that is designed or used for business, storage or any purpose other than a place of residence for a person or family.
DWELLING UNIT
Any house, building, premises, apartment or portion of any building, including any apartment building, boarding home or condominium development, that is designed or used as a place of residence for one person or family and which contains a facility for cooking.
MULTIFAMILY DWELLING UNIT
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.
OWNER
The legal owner of real estate, including the owner as reflected in deed or document recorded in the Office of the Recorder of Deeds of Allegheny County or any other county office.
A. 
Those portions of the following codes as adopted by the Borough shall be the standards for maintenance of dwelling units and commercial premises in the Borough of Wilkinsburg: That the basic codes published by the International Code Council, Inc., designated as the "International Property Maintenance Code" and "International Fire Code" and future supplements and amendments, and new editions, are hereby adopted by reference, with the same effect as if fully and at large set forth herein, by the Borough of Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania, as hereinafter amended by this chapter.
(1) 
International Property Maintenance Code, 2015 Edition.
(2) 
International Fire Code, 2015 Edition.
B. 
The above-referenced codes and sections shall apply equally to single-family, two-family, multifamily dwelling units and commercial premises regardless of construction type and design and shall be the basis for which all residential dwelling units and commercial premises are inspected.
A. 
All dwelling units and commercial premises, whether owner-occupied or rental units, single-family, two-family dwelling units or multifamily dwelling units, shall be bound by these requirements. Each unit in any dwelling and each separate commercial premises shall be treated separately by this chapter and each shall require its own occupancy permit.
B. 
All residential dwelling units and commercial premises must be inspected by the Borough of Wilkinsburg and brought up to the required standards prior to a change in the person or persons occupying the dwelling unit or commercial premises.
C. 
The property owner or authorized agent for the property owner shall make application to the Borough of Wilkinsburg on the Borough of Wilkinsburg-supplied form(s) and return it to the Borough, along with the required application fees.
D. 
The Borough of Wilkinsburg shall conduct an inspection of the premises and shall make note of all deficiencies from the applicable codes and standards adopted in this chapter. If the dwelling unit or commercial premises is found to be in compliance with the aforementioned codes and standards, then the property owner or agent shall be issued an occupancy permit for the dwelling unit or commercial premises.
E. 
If deficiencies are found, the Borough of Wilkinsburg shall reinspect the property after notification that all deficiencies are corrected by the owner or agent. If all deficiencies are found to be corrected, the owner or agent shall be issued a certificate of occupancy for the unit.
F. 
No dwelling unit or commercial premises may be reinhabited prior to the issuance of an occupancy permit after any tenants legally residing in the premises vacate the premises.
A. 
All multifamily residential dwelling units shall be bound by these requirements. Each unit in a multifamily dwelling shall be treated separately by this chapter, and each shall require its own occupancy permit.
B. 
All residential multifamily dwellings must be inspected by the Borough of Wilkinsburg and brought up to the required standards prior to a change in the person or persons occupying the dwelling unit or commercial premises.
C. 
The property owner or authorized agent for the property owner shall make application to the Borough of Wilkinsburg on a supplied Borough form and returned to the Borough along with the required fees prior to the required inspection.
D. 
The Borough of Wilkinsburg shall conduct an inspection of the dwelling unit and shall make note of all deficiencies from the applicable codes and standards adopted in this chapter. If the dwelling unit is found to be in compliance with the aforementioned codes, then the property owner or agent shall be issued an occupancy permit for the dwelling unit.
E. 
Interior corridors, basements and/or subbasements of all multifamily dwellings whose units share a common interior corridor, basement and/or subbasements are subject to inspection and code compliance at the same time as a dwelling unit is inspected.
A. 
Fees for occupancy permits for one- and two-family dwelling units, multifamily units and commercial premises shall be set by the most recent fee schedule adopted by the Borough of Wilkinsburg.
B. 
The Borough of Wilkinsburg shall reserve the right to charge a reinspection fee after two visits to the same dwelling or dwelling unit as set by the most recent fee schedule adopted by the Borough of Wilkinsburg.
C. 
Fees shall be due and payable at the time of application for an occupancy permit.
[Amended 2-19-2020 by Ord. No. 20-001]
Any individual, firm or corporation who shall violate a provision of this chapter or shall fail to comply with any of the requirements thereof shall be guilty of a summary offense, punishable by a fine of not more than $1,000 or by imprisonment not exceeding 30 days, or both such fine and imprisonment. Each day that a violation continues after due notice has been served shall be deemed a separate offense. The fines and penalties may be collected by suit instituted in the name of the Borough of Wilkinsburg before the District Magistrate in the like manner as debts of like amounts may be sued for by existing laws.
If any provision of this chapter or the application thereof to any person or circumstances is held invalid, such holding shall not affect the other provisions or applications of this chapter which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end, the provisions of this chapter are declared severable.
All ordinances or parts of ordinances which are inconsistent herewith are hereby repealed to the extent of such inconsistency.
This chapter shall become immediately effective upon the date of execution.