[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Commissioners of the Township
of Muhlenberg as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted
where applicable.]
[Adopted 2-16-2004 by Ord. No. 391 (Ch.
110, Art. I, of the 1982 Code)]
Whenever the following words and phrases appear
in this article, they shall be attributed the following meanings:
A building or portion thereof providing one or more rooms
arranged for the use of one or more individuals living together as
a single housekeeping unit and having no cooking or sanitary facilities
in common with any other unit.
A building or group of buildings arranged, designed and intended
to be occupied exclusively by more than one family as a residence.
Individual dwelling units may share up to three party walls with other
units and either have common outside access areas or have individual
outside access areas.
[Amended 9-17-2007 by Ord. No. 440]
A building arranged, intended or designed to be occupied
exclusively as a residence for one family.
[Amended 9-17-2007 by Ord. No. 440]
The Township of Muhlenberg, Berks County, Pennsylvania.
[Amended 8-17-2009 by Ord. No. 474]
No existing multiple-family dwelling or single-family
dwelling shall be occupied by a tenant or new owner after the transfer
of title by deed or other legal means until an inspection has been
completed by the Township Code Enforcement Officer or other designated
agent of the Township and a use and occupancy permit issued, except
the following transfers or changes of ownership shall not be subject
to inspection under this section: transfers between parent and child,
grandparent and grandchild, and between siblings; new homes built
within the previous months; and transfers within 12 months after inspection
and approval under this section for a prior property transfer.
A use and occupancy permit shall be issued in
accordance with the following standards and procedures.
[Amended 8-17-2009 by Ord. No. 474]
Applications for issuance of a use and occupancy
permit shall be filed with the Muhlenberg Township Code Enforcement
Officer by the seller, buyer or agent for the seller or buyer of the
property at the time of signing the agreement of sale, but in any
event no later than 30 business days prior to settlement and/or transfer
of ownership between buyer and seller. Applications shall contain
such information as the Code Enforcement Officer or other designated
agent of the Township may require.
[Amended 8-17-2009 by Ord. No. 474]
A fee may be charged for each property inspected
or reinspected, and said fee must accompany the application form when
it is submitted. A fee schedule shall be established from time to
time by resolution of the Township Board of Commissioners.
A.
Upon receipt of
a completed application, the Code Enforcement Officer or other designated
agent of the Township shall, within 15 business days, conduct an inspection
of the property to determine compliance with minimum standards and
requirements, as follows:
(1)
Each dwelling
unit must have a smoke detector installed on each floor level and
in the bedroom area(s);
(2)
An existing
acceptable 60-ampere service or a minimum 100-ampere three-wire electric
service must be installed for the dwelling;
(3)
All kitchen
countertop receptacles and bathroom receptacles must be ground-fault
circuit-interrupter-protected;
(4)
All sidewalks
and curbs must be in good repair, free of large cracks and crevices,
missing bricks and tripping hazards;
(5)
All properties
must be supplied with numbers outside the property, in clear view
of the street, designating the street number of the property;
(6)
The property
must be in compliance with all other aspects of the International
Property Maintenance Code adopted by the Township.
B.
All hazardous
building, safety, fire, plumbing and electrical violations cited at
the time of inspection by the Code Enforcement Officer or other designated
agent of the Township shall be corrected in the time specified by
the Code Enforcement Officer or other designated agent of the Township.
[Amended 8-17-2009 by Ord. No. 474]
A.
Upon correction of all violations, the applicant
shall notify the Township in writing for a follow-up inspection, which
shall be conducted within 15 business days from notification. If following
the follow-up inspection the property is determined to be in compliance
with the standards, a use and occupancy permit will be issued to the
applicant. If additional follow-up inspections are required due to
the fact that the applicant did not comply with the violation report,
the applicant will be charged an additional reinspection fee as established
by resolution of the Board of Commissioners from time to time.
B.
If the inspection completed prior to the transfer of title discloses minor compliance violations, in the discretion of the Code Enforcement Officer, the buyer and seller may enter into a written agreement with the Township for the completion of the work required to bring the property into compliance, and a conditional use and occupancy permit may be issued to the applicant and transfer of title may proceed upon advance payment of the reinspection fee required in § 276-7A. Such agreement shall provide that all of the outstanding compliance items shall be completed to the satisfaction of the Code Enforcement Officer within 90 days after the execution of the agreement, the buyers shall be liable for any deficiency, and noncompliance will result in revocation of the conditional use and occupancy permit and penalties provided in § 276-9. (NOTE: See the property transfer agreement.)[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Said agreement form is available in the Township
offices.
The validity of the use and occupancy permit
is contingent upon compliance with applicable Township ordinances,
and it is revocable upon violation of those ordinances. The use and
occupancy permit does not warrant or guarantee on the part of the
Township or any officer, agent or employee of the Township the soundness,
fitness, safety or adequacy of the facilities inspected. The use and
occupancy permit shall not be deemed to give rise to any liability
on the part of the Township or any officer, agent, employee or designee
thereof. All such liability, and any remedy therefor, shall remain
that of the seller or transferor of any structure covered hereby.
[Amended 8-17-2009 by Ord. No. 474]
A.
Any person, firm or corporation who or which shall
violate any provision of this article shall, upon conviction thereof,
be sentenced to pay not less that $100 but not more than $1,000 and
costs of prosecution or, in default of payment of such fine and costs,
to undergo imprisonment for not more than 30 days, provided that each
day's violation shall constitute a separate offense and notice to
the offender shall not be necessary in order to constitute an offense.
B.
The Township may seek an injunction to delay settlement and/or transfer of ownership of property until an inspection occurs and violations are remedied to the satisfaction of the Code Enforcement Officer where there has been a failure to file an application pursuant to § 276-4 at least 30 business days prior to settlement and/or transfer of ownership.
C.
A failure to file an application pursuant to § 276-4 at least 30 business days prior to settlement and/or transfer of ownership is deemed a failure of all persons involved in the transaction, including the seller, buyer or agent for the seller or buyer of the property, who are each subject to the fines and penalties listed above.
This article shall have no application to a
valid agreement of sale for real estate entered into and dated prior
to the effective date of this article.
