Opinion ID: 2814318
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: ripla

Text: ¶3. The City adopted RIPLA on July 15, 2008, and amended it on May 18, 2010. RIPLA states that its purpose is to “preserve and promote the public health, safety, and general welfare of the City’s residents and of the public generally, and to assure the proper 2 maintenance of the City’s residential rental housing stock.” RIPLA’s preamble further illuminates its purpose: WHEREAS, the City of Madison, Mississippi (“City”) finds that certain of its residential neighborhoods could experience declining property values, a concomitant loss of City property tax revenue, and a decline in health, safety, and quality of life due to a lack of inspection and preventive and ongoing maintenance for an increasing number of rental properties owned by absentee landlords; ... WHEREAS, the City has a duty and need to enact regulations that establish safe standards related to preventive and ongoing rental property maintenance, and enable the City to effectively license, inventory, inspect, and, if necessary, repair rental properties, in order to protect the overall health, safety, and welfare of the City’s residents . . . . NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE MAYOR AND BOARD OF ALDERMEN OF THE CITY OF MADISON, MISSISSIPPI, THAT THIS ORDINANCE SHALL GOVERN THE LICENSING, INSPECTION, MAINTENANCE, AND REPAIR OF RENTAL PROPERTIES WITHIN THE CORPORATE LIMITS OF THE CITY. ¶4. RIPLA makes it a misdemeanor to rent property without both a rental license and a certificate of compliance for each dwelling unit, and each offense is punishable by a fine of $300 per day of noncompliance. A “dwelling unit” is defined as “[a] room or group of rooms occupied or intended to be occupied as a separate living quarters for one (1) Household.” The building official is the City official designated to administer and enforce RIPLA. ¶5. To obtain a rental license, the owner must give advance consent to allow the building official to inspect the property to ensure compliance with RIPLA. The owner also must submit a written application, pay annual licensing fees of $100 per dwelling unit and $100 per dwelling as a whole, and post a $10,000 bond, collateral, or letter of credit per dwelling 3 unit. The bond serves as a surety for the costs of performing any correction orders issued by the building official. ¶6. An owner obtains a certificate of compliance after the building official inspects the property and certifies that it complies with RIPLA’s requirements, including city housing codes, technical codes, zoning, subdivision, landscape, and environmental ordinances, state and federal housing laws, and applicable judicial and administrative decrees. The owner’s advance consent to inspection allows the building official to make inspections “when and as needed” of all portions of a dwelling unit and common areas, whether occupied or unoccupied. If a violation is noted, the building official issues a notice of the violation with a time set for correcting the violation. If correction is not made by the deadline, the City may authorize the building official “to complete the necessary repairs, alterations, or improvements and charge the expenses incurred therfor [sic] to the Owner.” If this occurs, the owner must reimburse the City, or forfeit the bond, collateral, or letter of credit. If the repairs exceed the owner’s surety, the City will have a privileged lien on the property to secure its expenses. ¶7. The building official must give the owner reasonable advance notice of the date and time of each inspection, with the owner to notify the tenants of any occupied dwelling units slated for inspection. RIPLA states that the building official is authorized “to enter, inspect, repair, alter, and improve” all property subject to RIPLA. It further states that, by the terms of the rental license, owners and tenants consent to the building official entering the property at reasonable times for inspection and repair to ensure compliance with RIPLA. It also states: 4 Should a Tenant or Owner refuse entry, the Building Official shall be authorized by virtue of the terms of the Rental License to secure a judicial warrant authorizing entry by the terms of the Rental License, lease, or rental agreement.