A.
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.
B.
As provided for in this chapter, 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 chapter,
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 Borough, which conduct or activity takes place
at such regulated rental unit or its premises.
C.
In order to achieve those ends, every owner of a regulated rental
unit shall regulate the conduct and activity of the occupants thereof,
both contractually and through enforcement, as more fully set forth
below.
D.
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.
E.
This chapter is not intended, nor shall its effect be, to limit any
other enforcement remedies which may be available to the Borough against
an owner, occupant, or guest thereof.
Every owner who is not a full-time resident of the Borough of
Munhall or a resident elsewhere within 15 miles from Munhall shall
designate a manager who shall reside within 15 miles of the Borough
of Munhall. 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
chapter 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 owner or manager to the Borough, and
such information shall be kept current and updated as it changes.
The owner or manager shall disclose to the occupant, in writing,
on or before the commencement of the tenancy:
A.
The owner shall maintain the premises in compliance with the applicable
codes of the Borough 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.
B.
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:
C.
In no case shall the existence of any agreement between owner and
occupant relieve any owner of any responsibility under this chapter
or other ordinances or codes for maintenance of premises.
A.
All rental agreements for regulated dwelling units shall be in writing
and shall be supplemented with the addendum attached hereto as Appendix
A.[1] 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 chapter.
[1]
Editor's Note: Appendix A is on file in the Borough office.
B.
Terms and conditions. Owner and occupant may include in a rental
agreement terms and conditions not prohibited by this chapter or other
applicable ordinances, regulations, and laws, including rent, term
of the agreement, and other provisions governing the rights and obligations
of the parties.
C.
Prohibited provisions. Except as otherwise provided by this chapter,
no rental agreement may provide that the occupant or owner agrees
to waive or to forego or remedies under this chapter. A provision
prohibited by this subsection included in a rental agreement shall
be unenforceable.
D.
Attachment of ordinance to rental agreement. Following the effective
date of this chapter, a summary hereby in a form provided to owner
by the Borough, at the time of licensing, shall be attached to each
rental agreement delivered by or on behalf of an owner when any such
agreement is presented for signing to any occupant. If a summary has
been provided when the rental agreement was first executed, a summary
does not have to be provided upon renewal. Where a rental agreement
has been entered into prior to the effective date of this chapter,
the owner shall provide the occupants with a copy of the summary within
60 days after enactment of this chapter.
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 Borough
copies of acknowledgment that the occupants have received the disclosures
and information required to be given and acknowledged as required
by ordinance.
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 Borough,
for inspection purposes, copies of the leases the owner has entered
into for regulated rental units.
The owner shall reply promptly to reasonable complaints and
inquiries from occupants.
The owner shall comply with all provisions of the Landlord and
Tenant Act of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See 68 Pa.C.S.A. § 250.101 et seq.
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.
A.
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 chapter, the owner shall take immediate steps to
remedy the violation and take steps to assure that there is not a
reoccurrence of the violation.
B.
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 Borough, 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 in the violation recurs.
C.
The Code Enforcement Officer shall review the report and, if adequate
steps have been taken and the plan is adequate to address 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
chapter.
D.
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 chapter
and to not permit the occupant to occupy the premises during the subsequent
licensing period.
E.
If an occupant has been evicted from a regulated unit pursuant to
this chapter, he or she shall not be eligible to rent any other regulated
unit within the Borough of Munhall.
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.
In case the owner of premises shall neglect, fail or refuse
to comply with any notice from the Borough or its Code Enforcement
Office 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 Borough 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 Borough 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 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 section are not exclusive, and
the Borough and its Code Enforcement Officer may invoke such other
remedies available under this chapter or other applicable codes, ordinances
or statures, including, where appropriate, condemnation proceedings
or declaration of premises as unfit for habitation; or suspension,
revocation, or nonrenewal of the license issued hereunder.
The owner shall permit inspections of any premises by the Code
Enforcement Officer at reasonable times upon reasonable notice.
