When a structure or equipment is found by the code official to be unsafe, or when a structure is found unfit for human occupancy, or is found unlawful, such structure shall be condemned pursuant to the provisions of this code.
108.1.1 Unsafe structures.
An unsafe structure is one that is found to be dangerous to
the life, health, property or safety of the public or the occupants of the structure by not providing minimum safeguards
to protect or warn occupants in the event of fire,
or because such structure contains unsafe equipment or is so damaged,
decayed, dilapidated, structurally unsafe or of such faulty construction
or unstable foundation, that partial or complete collapse is possible.
108.1.2 Unsafe equipment.
Unsafe equipment includes any boiler, heating equipment, elevator,
moving stairway, electrical wiring or device, flammable liquid containers
or other equipment on the premises or within the
structure which is in such disrepair or condition that such equipment
is a hazard to life, health, property or safety of the public or occupants of the premises or structure.
108.1.3 Structure unfit for human occupancy.
A structure is unfit for human occupancy whenever
the code official finds that such structure is unsafe,
unlawful or, because of the degree to which the structure is in disrepair
or lacks maintenance, is insanitary, vermin or rat infested, contains
filth and contamination, or lacks ventilation, illumination,
sanitary or heating facilities or other essential equipment required
by this code, or because the location of the structure constitutes
a hazard to the occupants of the structure or to
the public.
108.1.4 Unlawful structure.
An unlawful structure is one found in whole or in part to be
occupied by more persons than permitted under this code, or was erected,
altered, or occupied contrary to law.
108.1.5 Dangerous structure or premises.
For the purpose of this code, any structure or premises that has any or all the conditions or defects described below shall
be considered dangerous:
1. Any door,
aisle, passageway, stairway, exit or other means of egress that does
not conform to the approved building or fire code
of the jurisdiction as related to the requirements for existing buildings.
2. The walking
surface of any aisle, passageway, stairway, exit or other means of
egress is so warped, worn loose, torn or otherwise unsafe as to not
provide safe and adequate means of egress.
3. Any portion
of a building, structure or appurtenance that has been damaged by
fire, earthquake, wind, flood, deterioration, neglect, abandonment, vandalism or by any other cause to such an extent that
it is likely to partially or completely collapse, or to become detached or dislodged.
4. Any portion
of a building, or any member, appurtenance, or ornamentation on the
exterior thereof that is not of sufficient strength or stability,
or is not so anchored, attached or fastened in place
so as to be capable of resisting natural or artificial loads of one
and one-half the original designed value.
5. The building
or structure, or part of the building or structure, because of dilapidation, deterioration, decay, faulty construction, the removal,
or movement of some portion of the ground necessary for the support,
or for any other reason, is likely to partially or completely collapse,
or some portion of the foundation or underpinning of the building
or structure is likely to fail or give way.
6. The building
or structure, or any portion thereof, is clearly unsafe for its use
and occupancy.
7. The building
or structure is neglected, damaged, dilapidated,
unsecured or abandoned so as to become an attractive nuisance to children
who might play in the building or structure to their danger, becomes
a harbor for vagrants, criminals, or immoral persons, or enables persons
to resort to the building or structure for committing a nuisance or
an unlawful act.
8. Any building
or structure has been constructed, exists, or is maintained in violation
of any specific requirement or prohibition applicable to such building
or structure provided by the approved building or
fire code of the jurisdiction, or of any law or ordinance to such
an extent as to present either a substantial risk of fire, building
collapse or any other threat to life and safety.
9. A building
or structure, used or intended to be used for dwelling purposes, because
of inadequate maintenance, dilapidation, decay, damage, faulty construction
or arrangement, inadequate light, ventilation, mechanical
or plumbing system, or otherwise, is determined by the code
official to be unsanitary, unfit for human habitation or
in such a condition that is likely to cause sickness or disease.
10. Any
building or structure, because of a lack of sufficient or proper fire-resistance-rated
construction, fire protection systems, electrical system, fuel connections,
mechanical system, plumbing system or other cause, is determined by
the code official to be a threat to life or health.
11. Any
portion of a building remains on a site after the demolition or destruction
of the building or structure or whenever any building or structure
is abandoned so as to constitute such building or portion thereof
as an attractive nuisance or hazard to the public.
12. Any premises which because of physical condition, use or occupancy is considered an attractive nuisance to children,
including but not limited to abandoned wells, shafts, excavations,
and unsafe fences or structures.
13. Any
premises which because of neglect or lack of maintenance
has become a place for accumulation of trash and debris, or a haven
for rodents or other vermin.
14. Any
unoccupied property which has been tax delinquentor a period of two
years prior to the effective date of this act, and those in the future
having a two-year tax delinquency.
15. Any
property which is vacant, but not tax delinquent, and which identified
defects have not been eliminated within one year of the receipt of
notice to rehabilitate from the Department of Code Compliance.
16. Any
abandoned structure or premises. Abandoned shall
be defined as:
(a) A vacant or unimproved lot or parcel of ground on which a municipal
lien for the cost of demolition of any structure located on the property
remains unpaid for a period of six months;
(b) A vacant property or vacant or unimproved lot or parcel of ground
on which the total sum of municipal liens on the property for taxes
or any other type of municipal claim exceed 150% of the fair market
value of the property as established by anybody with legal authority
to determine the taxable value of the property;
(c) A property declared abandoned by the owner, including
an estate that is in possession of the property;
(d) A property which has defective or unusual conditions of title or
no known owners, rendering title unmarketable; or
(e) A property which has environmentally hazardous conditions, solid
waste pollution or contamination in a building or on the land which
poses a direct and immediate threat to the health, safety, and welfare
of the community.
If the structure is vacant and unfit for human habitation and occupancy, and is not in danger of structural collapse,
the code official is authorized to post a placard
of condemnation on the premises and order the structure
closed so as not to be an attractive nuisance. Upon failure of the owner or owner's authorized agent to close
up the premises within the time specified in the
order, the code official shall cause the premises to be closed and secured through any available
public agency or by contract or arrangement by private persons and
the cost thereof shall be charged against the real estate upon which
the structure is located and shall be a lien upon such real estate
and shall be collected by any other legal resource.
108.2.1 Authority to disconnect service utilities.
The code official shall have the authority
to authorize disconnection of utility service to
the building, structure or system regulated by this code and the referenced
codes and standards set forth in Section 102.7 in case of emergency
where necessary to eliminate an immediate hazard to life or property
or where such utility connection has been made without approval. The code official shall notify the serving utility and, whenever
possible, the owner or owner's authorized
agent and occupant of the building, structure, or
service system of the decision to disconnect prior to taking such
action. If not notified prior to disconnection, the owner, owner's authorized agent or occupant of the building structure or service system shall be notified in
writing as soon as practical thereafter.
Whenever the code official has condemned a structure or equipment under the provisions of this section, notice
shall be posted in a conspicuous place in or about the structure affected
by such notice and served on the owner, owner's authorized
agent or the person or persons responsible for the structure or equipment
in accordance with Section 107.3. If the notice pertains to equipment,
it shall be placed on the condemned equipment. The
notice shall be in the form prescribed in Section 107.2.
Upon failure of the owner, owner's authorized
agent or person responsible to comply with the notice
provisions within the time given, the code official shall post on the premises or on defective equipment
a placard bearing the word "Condemned" and a statement of the penalties
provided for occupying the premises, operating the
equipment, or removing the placard.
108.4.1 Placard removal.
The code official shall remove the condemnation
placard whenever the defect or defects upon which the condemnation
and placarding action were based have been eliminated. Any person
who defaces or removes a condemnation placard without the approval
of the code official shall be subject to the penalties
provided by this code.
Any occupied structure condemned and placarded
by the code official shall be vacated as ordered
by the code official. Any person who shall occupy
a placarded premises or shall operate placarded equipment,
and any owner, owner's authorized agent or person
responsible for the premises who shall let anyone
occupy a placarded premises or operate placarded
equipment shall be liable for the penalties provided by this code.
The owner, owner's authorized agent, operator or occupant of a building, premises or equipment deemed unsafe by the code official shall abate or cause to be abated or corrected
such unsafe conditions either by repair, rehabilitation, demolition,
or other approved corrective action. The owner, operator or occupant of a building, premises or equipment shall notify
the code official when the corrective action has
been completed. The code official shall then inspect
the building, premises, or equipment and shall notify the owner, operator, or occupant that the corrective action either does or does
not comply with this code. If not, the code official may take such other action as is provided by this code.
The code official shall cause a report to be
filed on an unsafe condition. The report shall state the occupancy of the structure and the nature of the unsafe condition.