[HISTORY: Adopted by the Village Board of the Village of
Port Chester 6-20-2023 by L.L. No. 8-2023. Amendments noted where applicable.]
The Village of Port Chester hereby creates a rental registry
for all two-family non-owner-occupied dwellings rented or leased within
the Village.
A.
An owner is required to make application for a rental registry certificate
for a two-family non-owner-occupied dwelling rented or leased within
the Village of Port Chester.
B.
An owner is not required to obtain a rental registry certificate
if one or both units of a two-family dwelling is owner-occupied or
vacant.
A.
Rental registry certificates expire two years after they are issued.
The expiration date shall be printed on each rental registry certificate.
B.
At least 45 days prior to the expiration of a rental registry certificate,
an owner must make application to renew the registration if he/she
wishes to continue renting or leasing to tenants.
C.
Rental registry certificates cannot be transferred from one owner
to another. A new owner of the premises that wishes to continue the
rental occupancy must obtain a new rental registry certificate on
the closing of title.
An application fee must be paid for each two-family non-owner-occupied dwelling that the owner(s) wishes to register to be submitted with the rental registry application form provided by the Department of Code Enforcement. The amount of the fee shall be as prescribed in Chapter 175, Fees.
To obtain a rental registry certificate, an owner of a two-family
non-owner-occupied dwelling must, at the time of registration:
C.
Have no open cases with the Department of Code Enforcement for the
property being registered; and
D.
Be current on all Village property taxes and special assessments
for the property being registered; and
E.
Have no pending administrative or court enforcement proceedings brought
by the Village involving the property being registered; and
F.
Submit to an exterior and interior inspection conducted by the Department of Code Enforcement under the terms and conditions set out in this chapter. Interior inspections shall be conducted with the consent of the property owner or property manager, and of tenant(s)/occupants(s) for rented or leased space, or if consent is not provided, pursuant to a warrant issued by a court of competent jurisdiction. Notwithstanding the foregoing, in lieu of an inspection by the Department of Code Enforcement an owner may provide for a New York State certified code official to certify on a form provided by the Department that the dwelling complies with the Property Maintenance Code. This section shall not be construed to require a person to consent to an inspection of the property in order to determine compliance with applicable code provisions. The Department of Code Enforcement shall make available a checklist of illustrative items that are the subject of inspection. A fee as set forth in Chapter 175, Fees, shall be prescribed for a reinspection(s) of the premises.
A.
The rental registry application is available at the Department of
Code Enforcement and may be accessed from the Village's website.
B.
A rental registry application form must be completed by an owner
for each two-family non-owner-occupied dwelling to be rented or leased
and submitted to the Department of Code Enforcement.
C.
The rental registration form shall request the following information:
(1)
The owner's name, domicile address, telephone number and email
address.
(2)
If the owner is a corporation, limited liability company, limited
liability partnership, professional service limited liability company
or a general or limited partnership, all information required by § 348-7
shall be provided.
(3)
If the owner employs or retains a property manager, the name, domicile
address, telephone number and email address of the property manager,
the duties and responsibilities of the property manager, whether the
property manager is a licensed real estate broker and if so the broker's
license number; and
(4)
No post office addresses will be accepted in lieu of the domicile
and/or the street addresses for any of the information required in
this chapter.
A.
An owner of a two-family non-owner-occupied dwelling that is a corporation,
limited liability company (LLC) limited liability partnership (LLP),
professional service limited liability company (PLLC) or a general
or limited partnership must provide the name, address, telephone number
and email address of each principal, partner, member and/or any other
party responsible for the contracts and obligations of the entity,
and submit that information with the rental registry registration
form.
B.
At the time of initial registration, such owner must attach the entity's
articles of incorporation, articles of organization or partnership
agreement, together with applicable operation agreement or similar
document.
C.
Such owner shall also identify and provide contact information for
its registered agent.
The owner of a two-family non-owner-occupied dwelling that has
a rental registry certificate shall immediately notify the Department
of Code Enforcement on a form prescribed by the Village of any change
in status, such as an impending sale of the premises or vacancy of
the unit(s).
An owner must conspicuously post the rental registration certificate
within a common space of the dwelling and must make the rental registry
certificate available to present to Department of Code Enforcement.
If there is no common space, then a copy of the rental registry certificate
must be conspicuously posted within the interior of each unit.
Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to require a person to consent to an inspection of a property in order to determine compliance with applicable Code provisions. However, nor shall this chapter be construed as relieving the obligation of an owner to apply for and secure a rental registry certificate for the premises. When applying for a rental registry certificate which calls for an inspection, an owner shall have the right to decline to consent to the inspection. In such instance, the Village may, without further notice to the applicant, apply for a search warrant to conduct the inspection. However, if the premises are occupied, notice to the occupant or other person with apparent right of possession in accordance with the procedure outlined in § 248-12 shall be required.
A.
Before an application may be made for a search warrant for a rental
registry inspection of occupied premises, the Director of the Department
of Code Enforcement must give prior notice of his or her intent to
conduct an inspection to the occupant or other person with apparent
right of possession. No notice is required to an applicant who has
declined to consent to an inspection when applying for a rental registry
certificate. No further notice is required before additional warrants
are sought to inspect a premises, including warrants to reinspect
a premises if cited violations have been corrected, or additional
warrant necessitated by the expiration of a warrant before an inspection
could be completed.
B.
The notice of intent to conduct an inspection shall contain the following:
(1)
The date and time at which the designated Department of Code Enforcement
personnel will be present to conduct the inspection;
(2)
Instructions on how to reschedule the inspection to a reasonable
date and time by contacting the Department of Code Enforcement before
the stated date of inspection;
(3)
Notice that if the inspection is not allowed to be conducted, the
Village reserves its right to make an application to a court of competent
jurisdiction for a search warrant to so inspect; and
(4)
Notice that a tenant may be protected against retaliation by the
lessor for making a good faith complaint of code violations pursuant
to § 223-b of the New York State Real Property Law.
C.
Service of the notice of intent to conduct an inspection must be
either sent by first class mail or personally delivered to the occupant
or person with apparent right of possession. The notice shall be addressed
to the occupants of record if their names are provided to the Village
by the owner in writing, otherwise notice shall be sufficient if addressed
to the occupant of a particular unit.
A.
The Director of the Department of Code Enforcement or his or her
designee may make an application for a search warrant after notice
of intent to conduct an inspection has been given or if the person
notified does not allow or fails to schedule or unduly delays the
inspection.
B.
The application for a warrant shall be in writing and contain the
following information:
(1)
The name of the court to which it is addressed;
(2)
The name of the Director of the Department of Code Enforcement;
(3)
The date of the making of the application;
(4)
Indicate that an inspection is required under this chapter for the
issuance of a rental registration certificate;
(5)
Provide probable cause to believe there exists an underlying violation
of law on the subject premises;
(6)
Describe the limited nature and purpose of the inspection and the
manner in which the inspection is to be conducted;
(7)
Identify the premises to be entered and inspected in sufficient detail
and particularity so that the Director of the Department of Code Enforcement
or the employee executing the warrant may readily ascertain the premises.
(8)
For cases where prior notice of intent to conduct an inspection is
required, the application should contain specific information showing
how and when the notice has been given, which most recent notice shall
have been given within 90 days of the application for a warrant, and
how the inspection has not been allowed, has not been scheduled or
has been unduly delayed by the person notified.
(9)
Request that the court issue a warrant directing an inspection of
the subject premises which may include the photographing or recording
of the physical conditions found on the property, subject to such
limitations and restrictions as may be provided by the court; and
(10)
The application shall be subscribed and sworn to by the applicant
before a Commissioner of Deeds or a notary public.
A.
In executing the search warrant, the code enforcement official authorized
by the court to execute the warrant shall, before entry, make a reasonable
effort to present his/her credentials, authority and purpose to an
occupant or person in possession of the premises designated in the
warrant and deliver a copy of the warrant to such person.
B.
When authorized in the warrant, a police officer may provide protection
to the code enforcement official during the execution of the warrant.
Absent such authorization, a police officer shall not accompany the
code enforcement official during the inspection of the interior portions
of a building not open to the public.
C.
A warrant shall be executed within the time specified in the warrant.
It shall be unlawful for any person to willfully deny or unduly
delay entry or access to a designated code enforcement official with
a search warrant authorizing inspection of said premises, to willfully
deny or interfere with the inspection authorized by the warrant or
after receiving a copy of a warrant regarding the scheduling of an
inspection, to willfully fail to schedule a reasonable date and time
for the inspection as set forth in the warrant. Any person who violates
this section shall be subject to an application to be found in contempt
of court pursuant to Article 19 of the Judiciary Law and punishment
as provided therein.
Any person in violation of this chapter shall be subject to
a fine in an amount no less than or $500 nor exceeding $5,000, or
imprisonment not greater than 15 days, or both.
