[HISTORY: Adopted by the Borough Council of the Borough of
Pine Grove as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where
applicable.]
[Adopted 6-21-1990 by Ord. No. 305]
The following words when used in this article shall have the
meaning ascribed to them in this section, except where the context
clearly indicates or requires a different meaning:
That person or persons who has the use of real estate of
a lessor and is responsible for the giving of any type of consideration
therefor, but excluding those who are lessees for a period of less
than 30 days.
Any person who grants a lease or otherwise permits the use
of his real estate or portion thereof for a consideration, monetary
or otherwise.
Any natural person, partnership, association, firm or corporation.
All lessors, within 30 days after the effective date of this
article, or in case of real estate thereafter acquired or thereafter
rented or becoming available for rental, within 30 days after the
acquisition, rental or availability for rental thereof, as the case
may be, shall report to the Borough Secretary, in writing, addressed
to her at the Borough Office, the number of parcels or units of real
estate presently or hereafter rented and available for rental, a description
(by address, number and/or some other meaningful method) of the said
parcels or units, and the names of its lessees at the time of such
report, together with a designation as to which unit or parcel is
occupied by each.
Any change in the occupancy of real estate rented or leased or in the identity of the lessee from that shown in the report of the lessor as required in § 139-2 hereof shall be reported by lessor to the Borough Secretary within 10 days after such change. It is intended hereby that lessors shall report a new lessee or a lessee who rents or leases a different unit or parcel of lessor's real estate and when a unit or parcel of their real estate becomes vacant.
The Borough Secretary may prepare a form report entitled "Status
of Occupancy Report" which form report may require that information
set forth above and such other pertinent information that the Council
by resolution may direct the Borough Secretary to incorporate into
the said report form. The failure to have such report forms, however,
shall not excuse the obligation of lessors to provide the information
required herein.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. I)]
Any lessor violating any of the provisions of this article or
who furnishes false information to the Borough or who uses a false
name or address in any report required by this article shall be punishable
for each offense by a fine of not less than $25 nor more than $1,000,
plus costs of prosecution, and, in default of payment of such fine
and costs, by imprisonment for not more than 30 days.
[Adopted 7-20-2017 by Ord. No. 402]
The following terms shall have the following meanings in this
article unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.
A natural person retained by the owner to be responsible
for one or more rental units within the Borough.
The Borough of Pine Grove, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania.
The person or other legal entity appointed by Pine Grove
Borough Council as its Code Enforcement Officer or as its assistant
Code Enforcement Officer.
Any state, federal, county or local statute, regulation or ordinance adopted, enacted or in effect in and for the Borough, including, but not limited to, Chapter 88, Construction Codes, Uniform; Chapter 133, Property Maintenance; Chapter 136, Quality of Life; and the Zoning Ordinance for Schuylkill County.
A person that is an individual human being, as opposed to
a legal person, which may be a private or public organization or entity
such as but not limited to an association, partnership, limited liability
company, fictitious name or corporation.
Any person or other legal entity having a legal or equitable
interest in a parcel of real property; or any person or other legal
entity holding title to a parcel of real property as recorded in the
official records of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania or Schuylkill
County; or any person or legal entity having control over a parcel
of real property, including the guardian of the estate of a person,
or the executor or administrator of the estate of a person. If more
than one person or other legal entity owns the rental unit as joint
tenants, tenants in common, tenants by the entireties, or tenants
in copartnership, each such person or legal entity shall be considered
an owner and shall have all of the duties and responsibility of an
owner under this regulation.
A document issued by the Borough Secretary to the owner of
a rental unit.
Each structure or separately secured portion thereof offered
by the owner of the real property on which such structure stands to
a person or persons who is/are not the owner thereof for residential
purposes in return for the payment of rent or some other consideration.
The term does not include a tenancy which lasts for less than 30 days.
The building located on a parcel of real property in which
a tenant will reside, or in which a tenant will reside in a separately
secured portion thereof.
A.
The owner of each rental unit in the Borough, within 30 days after
the effective date of this article, or, in case of a rental unit thereafter
acquired or determined, within 30 days after the acquisition or availability
for rental thereof, shall apply to the Borough Secretary, on a form
approved by the Borough from time to time by resolution, for a rental
occupancy permit. On the application form, in addition to all other
information requested, the owner shall list the names of all prospective
tenants at the time of such application. This application shall be
supplemented with the names of tenants if such names were not available
at the time of the application, but become available thereafter.
B.
The owner of each rental unit in the Borough, having obtained a rental occupancy permit following application pursuant to Subsection A, shall submit a new application with the Borough Secretary within 30 days following the expiration of the rental occupancy permit.
C.
Any change in the occupancy (such as a previously rented rental unit becoming vacant) of the rental unit, or in the identity of the tenants thereof from that stated on the application required by Subsections A or B, shall be reported by the owner of the rental unit to the Borough Secretary, in writing, within 10 days after such change.
D.
Any owner of a rental unit who is not a natural person shall name an agent, who shall be a natural person, with an address and phone number, on the application required by Subsections A or B, who may be contacted by the Borough to deal with issues pertaining to the rental unit, and who may be subject to being cited for any violations of this article. Any such agent shall sign the application form and thereby acknowledge his/her legal obligations under this article.
E.
The Borough may charge an application fee, which shall be determined
from time to time by resolution, which must be paid in order for the
application to be considered complete.
F.
Utilities. No rental occupancy permit will be issued if there are
any delinquent property taxes or assessments, water and sewer utilities
on the residential rental unit or any other residential rental unit
in which the same owner has an interest.
G.
Each owner who is not an owner-occupant, or who does not reside in
the Borough of Pine Grove or within a 20 mile air radius of the Borough
limits, shall appoint an agent, who shall reside in the Borough or
within a 20 mile air radius of the Borough limits. No rental occupancy
permit shall be issued to any owner residing more than 20 miles from
the municipal limits of the Borough unless the owner provides the
Borough Secretary with the name, mailing address and telephone number
of the agent residing within the twenty-mile radius, authorized to
accept service of process on behalf of the owner. For the purpose
of this subsection, a post office box is not acceptable for the agent's
address.
H.
If the owner has appointed an agent, the agent shall be jointly responsible
to fulfill all of the obligations set forth in this article. No owner
may relieve himself of the responsibility to perform the duties set
forth in this article by appointing an agent.
A.
The owner of each rental unit shall allow an inspection of the rental unit and the structure in which it is located to occur within 30 days of the date of the owner either applied for a rental occupancy permit under § 139-7 of this article or should have applied under § 139-7 of this article. The inspection shall be conducted by the Code Enforcement Officer or other designee of the Borough, and the purpose of the inspection shall be to ensure compliance with the building and property maintenance codes of the Borough and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
B.
If the Code Enforcement Officer or other designee of the Borough
determines that the rental unit and the structure in which it is located
are in compliance with all applicable codes, the officer/designee
shall issue a rental occupancy permit to the owner. The rental occupancy
permit will be valid for a period of two years from the date of issuance.
The rental occupancy permit shall be on a form established by the
Borough from time to time by resolution.
C.
If the Code Enforcement Officer or other designee of the Borough
determines that the rental unit or the structure in which it is located
is not in compliance with all applicable codes and/or this article,
the Officer/designee shall issue a certificate of noncompliance to
the owner. The certificate of noncompliance can be on a form determined
by the officer/designee, but shall be in writing, contain the words
"certificate of noncompliance" and a reference to this article, state
the condition or conditions which are in violation of an applicable
code, state the code which is being violated, and give the owner a
reasonable number of days to cure the condition(s). The Code Enforcement
Officer or other designee of the Borough may declare any violations
to constitute an emergency condition and require immediate action
to mitigate the danger if the violations are of a serious enough character
to constitute a danger to the public health.
D.
If a certificate of noncompliance has been issued, the owner shall make the rental unit and the structure in which it is located available for an inspection within 30 days of a request by the Code Enforcement Officer or other designee of the Borough after the expiration of the days given the owner to cure the condition(s) on any certificate of noncompliance issued pursuant to Subsection C. After the inspection mandated by this subsection, the Officer/designee shall either issue a rental occupancy permit pursuant Subsection B or a certificate of noncompliance pursuant to Subsection C. If the latter, the procedure of this subsection repeats itself until the violations are cured or the owner removes the rental unit form consideration for lease.
E.
Following the expiration of the rental occupancy permit after two years, the owner shall follow the procedures of § 139-8B of this article and allow an inspection of the rental unit and the structure in which it is located to occur within 30 days of a request by the Code Enforcement Officer or other designee of the Borough. The procedures of Subsections A through D are thereafter repeated.
F.
A fee schedule for charges due to the Borough by the Owner for the inspections required by this section can be adopted from time to time by resolution. Any fee charged for an inspection shall apply not only to the inspection pursuant to Subsection A, but also to any followup inspection pursuant to Subsection D, and also to any inspection(s) pursuant to Subsection E.
G.
The Code Enforcement Officer shall deny and may revoke any rental
occupancy permit if the owner fails to comply with this article or
fails to cure any conditions of noncompliance at such time as all
tenants must vacate the rental unit.
A.
No owner shall lease or rent to a tenant without having filed an application with the Borough pursuant to § 139-7 of this article and having received a valid, current rental occupancy permit.
B.
No owner shall lease or rent a rental unit to a tenant without allowing an inspection of the rental unit and the structure in which it is located and obtaining a valid rental occupancy permit issued pursuant to § 139-8 of this article.
C.
In order to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the residents
of the Borough, it is hereby declared that the Borough shall require
hazard and general liability insurance for all property owners renting
property for occupancy in the Borough.
(1)
Minimum coverage; use of insurance proceeds. All owners shall be
required to obtain a minimum of $100,000 in general liability insurance,
and hazard and casualty insurance in an amount sufficient to either
restore or remove the building in the event of a fire or other casualty.
Further, the event of any fire or loss covered by such insurance,
it shall be the obligation of the owner to use such insurance proceeds
to cause the restoration or demolition or other repair of the property
in adherence to the Borough Code and all applicable ordinances.
(2)
Property owners to provide Borough with insurance information. Owners
shall be required to place their insurance company name, policy number
and policy expiration date on their rental property registration form,
to provide the Office with a copy of a certificate of insurance. A
rental occupancy permit shall not be issued to any owner or agent
unless the aforementioned information has been provided to the Office.
The Office shall be informed of any change in policies for a particular
rental property and rental unit within 30 days of said change or cancellation.
A rental occupancy permit shall not be transferred. In the case of rental units that are sold or transferred, the new owner shall secure a rental occupancy permit for each rental unit consistent with § 139-7. Failure to secure a rental occupancy permit within 30 days of the date of sale or transfer of ownership shall result in the revocation of the rental occupancy permit. If the owner of any rental unit who holds a rental occupancy permit from the Borough transfers legal title of the rental unit to another person or legal entity prior to the expiration of the rental occupancy permit, said owner/transferor shall notify the Borough Secretary, in writing, of the transfer within five business days following the transfer. Said notice shall include the name and contact information of the transferee.
This article may be enforced by, and citations for violations
of this article may be filed by any police officer employed by the
Borough, by the Mayor, Fire Chief, or by the person or legal entity
appointed by the Borough as its Code Enforcement Officer.
Nothing in this section shall preclude a Code Enforcement Officer
or other designee of the Borough from, simultaneously with enforcing
this article, issuing against the owner a notice of violation, citation
or any other document to enforce an applicable building or property
maintenance code of the Borough or the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
The issuance of a rental occupancy permit is not a representation
by the Borough that the rental unit and/or the Structure in which
it is located is in compliance with all building or property maintenance
codes of the Borough or the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. No tenant,
prospective tenant or any other person should view this article, or
any rental occupancy permit issued pursuant to this article, as a
warranty or representation by the Borough that the rental unit or
the structure in which it is located is free from any or all dangers,
whether known, unknown, obvious or hidden. Borough is not making any
warranty or representation to any person that the rental unit or the
structure in which it is located is safe or habitable. By this article,
the Borough is not assuming any liability not otherwise imposed upon
it by law.
A.
Any person violating any provision of this article is subject to
prosecution by action brought before a Magisterial District Judge
in the same manner provided for the enforcement of summary offenses
under the Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal Procedure. Any person found
in violation of any provision of this article shall pay a fine of
not less than $300 nor more than $1,000, plus court costs, and/or
may be imprisoned either for a violation of any provision of this
article or for failure to pay a fine or costs for a term not to exceed
90 days.
B.
A separate offense shall arise for each day or portion thereof in
which a violation of any provision of this article exists.
C.
The Borough may enforce this article through an action in equity.
If any section, part, sentence, clause or portion of this article
is found by a court of competent jurisdiction to be illegal or unenforceable,
the rest and remainder of this article shall be given full force and
effect as if adopted by the Borough without the section, part, sentence,
clause or portion found illegal or unenforceable.
All prior Borough ordinances or portions thereof which are inconsistent
with the provisions of this article are hereby repealed to the extent
necessary to give effect to this article.
This article shall be effective immediately upon enactment or
on the first day allowed by law thereafter, whichever comes first.
