Source: http://greensborolandlord.com/index.php/company-blog/item/ruco-overview?category_id=1
Timestamp: 2018-01-22 02:08:55
Document Index: 418635631

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 160', '§ 10', '§ 1', '§ 1', '§ 2', '§ 1', '§ 1', '§ 1']

RUCO Overview - Greensboro Landlords Association
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RUCO Overview
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RUCO ORDINANCE
The material below is the city ordinance instituting the RUCO program. The highlighted material addresses questions asked by association members when Dan Reynolds, Code Enforcement Manager, spoke at our November, 2007 meeting.
Sec. 11-40. Rental unit certificate of occupancy.
(a) In addition to those conditions set forth in subsections 11-40(a) and (c) of this chapter, it shall be unlawful for any owner or the agent of any owner to rent or offer for rent as a dwelling any vacant structure or part thereof upon which a notice or order to repair, alter or improve, or to vacate and close, has been issued and is outstanding without said owner or agent first filing application for and securing a rental unit certificate of occupancy from the building inspector.
Existing rental units otherwise in compliance with prior building codes may continue to be rented and may be issued a rental unit certificate of occupancy by the city following an initial, no fee, inspection by the building inspection department determining compliance with the 2000 International Property Maintenance Code.
With regard to new construction, the building inspector shall inspect the rental unit and shall issue a rental unit certificate of occupancy, with no initial fee, if the rental unit is found to comply with the conditions set forth in the 2000 International Property Maintenance Code as adopted and made part of this chapter. If the unit is found to be out of compliance, no rental unit certificate of occupancy shall issue until the owner meets the minimum requirements set forth in this chapter. When, after examination and inspection, it is found that the repairs, alterations and improvements have been made (in accordance with the 2000 International Property Maintenance Code) and that the structure conforms with the provisions of this chapter a rental unit certificate of occupancy shall be issued.
The owner shall have an initial period of five (5) years from the date of implementation of this section, (January 1, 2004), to bring the rental unit into compliance with this chapter, however, as of January 1, 2009 all rental units must have a rental unit certificate of occupancy or a certificate of sample compliance as provided for in subsection 11-40(b) of this chapter before the unit may be offered for rent.
Rental unit certificates of occupancy shall be valid for a period of five (5) years from the date of issuance. If no violations are reported and confirmed within this period then a renewal rental unit certificate of occupancy shall be issued, with no fee, after the satisfactory completion of a sampling of the units to be renewed. If during the five-year period violations are reported and confirmed per subsection, repairs must be made within a thirty-day period following confirmation. Failure to repair in thirty (30) days will result in revocation of the rental certificate of occupancy and the imposition of a two hundred fifty dollars ($250.00) fee per unit for re-inspection and issuance of a new certificate. If a second violation is reported and confirmed for the unit within twelve (12) months of the first confirmed violation, repairs must be made within a thirty-day period following confirmation, and a renewal fee of five hundred dollars ($500.00) per unit confirmed to be in violation shall be charged and paid before the rental unit certificate of occupancy will be issued. Upon the reporting and confirmation of the third violation, within twelve (12) months of the first violation, repairs must be made within a thirty-day period, and a daily fine of twenty-five dollars ($25.00) per day shall be imposed, in addition to the five hundred dollar ($500.00) fee required to obtain a new certificate.
Exemption(s):
(1) Thirty-day rentals or less (e.g., furniture market rentals).
(2) Upon change of ownership, current certificate passes with the purchase or sale of property.
(3) Property under contract for "lease/purchase" when the effective date of the lease purchase agreement does not exceed one hundred twenty (120) days.
(4) Installment contract sales.
The building inspector shall maintain rental unit certificate of occupancy records for a period of twenty-five (25) years. Rental unit certificates of occupancy shall be reissued automatically if there have been no reported and confirmed violations for the unit in issue.
Current Section 8 certifications issued by the Greensboro Housing Authority shall be considered as rental unit certificates of occupancy for purposes of this section.
(b) When an owner requests and submits a multi-unit dwelling structure or an apartment complex on a single premise or campus with fifty (50) or more individual rental units to sampling inspection, a certificate of sample compliance authorizing occupation shall be issued for the structure or complex if it passes the sampling inspection. If the structure or complex fails the initial sampling inspection, subsequent inspections may be allowed in accordance with the standard sampling procedure.
A certificate of sample compliance permits all individual units in the structure or complex to be occupied for the period of time stated on the certificate, exempting the owner from the requirement that each unit be physically inspected and issued a rental unit certificate of occupancy prior to renting or offering to rent. The owner of a multi-unit dwelling structure or an apartment complex on a single premise or campus for which a certificate of sample compliance is issued must keep the certificate on file and make it available upon request of the city or any member of the public.
A sampling inspection occurs when the building inspector inspects a pool of representative units in the structure or complex using a standard sampling procedure approved by the superintendent of building inspections and adopted by the RUCO Appeals and Advisory Board. A certificate of sample compliance is evidence that a representative sample of units in the structure or complex has been inspected and meets the Minimum Housing Code Standard and shall not be construed as a certification that any given individual unit of a structure or complex has passed inspection. The issuance of a certificate of sample compliance does not exempt any unit in the structure or complex from physical inspection as otherwise provided for in Chapter 11 of this Code when a complaint or petition alleging non-compliance is filed or when the building inspector finds that probable cause for such an inspection exists. If an inspection of an individual unit confirms a violation of the Minimum Housing Code Standard, a certificate of sample compliance may be revoked, thereby subjecting all individual units in the structure or complex to the requirement that each unit be physically inspected and issued a rental unit certificate of occupancy prior to renting or offering for rent, unless the violations are cured as provided for in section 11-40 of this Code. If a certificate of sample compliance is revoked, the building inspector shall be required to inspect all units in the structure or complex within ninety (90) days of the revocation.
(c) An inspection fee of twenty-five dollars ($25.00) shall be charged by the city for any type of courtesy inspection requested for a rental unit certificate of occupancy for the purpose of a loan closing. Multi-family rental units shall be charged an inspection fee of twenty-five dollars ($25.00) per building for courtesy inspections. This subsection shall cease to exist and shall not apply after the implementation period of the rental unit certification program (forty-two (42) months after January 1, 2004).
(d) All laws and clauses of laws in conflict with the provisions of this section with regard solely to the issuance of rental unit certificates of occupancy are hereby repealed to the extent of such conflict. All other provisions of the Greensboro Housing Code shall remain in full force and effect.
(e) Nothing in this section or in the 2000 International Property Maintenance Code adopted shall be construed to affect any suit or proceeding pending in any court, or any rights acquired, or liability incurred, or any cause or causes of action acquired, or existing, under any act or ordinance hereby repealed by this section, nor shall any legal right or remedy of any character be lost, impaired or affected by this section.
(f) Advisory and appeals board.
(1) There is hereby created a board to be known as the "rental unit certificate advisory board".
(2) The board shall be composed of fifteen (15) members serving three-year terms and representative of the following: Five (5) members (one (1) from each council district); one (1) council member, two (2) inspections staff; two (2) citizens at large; a representative of TAA; TREBIC; HCD; Greensboro Housing Coalition; Greensboro Neighborhood Congress. All members shall have one (1) vote except for staff appointments who shall serve in an advisory capacity and be appointed by the city manager to serve at his discretion.
(3) Members of the advisory board shall be appointed by the city council for terms to expire on January 1. Said terms shall be for three (3) years except for the council representative who shall be appointed for a one-year term. The board appointments shall be staggered with four (4) members of the initial board serving three (3) years; four (4) serving two (2) years and three (3) serving one (1) year. The clerk shall conduct a drawing to determine the terms of the initial board members.
(4) The powers and duties of the advisory board shall be as follows:
a. Hear and determine appeals from decisions of the building inspector with regard to rental unit certificates of occupancy and certificates of sample compliance. All appeals shall be in compliance with G.S. § 160A-446 and all other applicable local, state and federal laws.
b. Make recommendations to city council on any changes to the rental unit certification ordinance.
c. Perform other duties as may be assigned to it from time to time by the city council.
(5) Appeals from decisions of the advisory board shall be made to the minimum housing standards commission in the nature of certiorari.
(g) This section [as amended by Ordinance No. 03-113] shall become effective on and after January 1, 2004.
(Code 1961, §§ 10-18(h), 10-19; Ord. No. 91-59, §§ 1, 2, 5-6-91; Ord. No. 03-113, §§ 1--6, 5-20-03; Ord. No. 04-167, §§ 2--6, 9-7-04; Ord. No. 05-07, § 1, 1-18-05; Ord. No. 07-12, § 1, 1-16-07; Ord. No. 07-49, § 1, 3-20-07)
Tags: RUCO