Article 4 — ENFORCEMENT

(A) Unless otherwise exempt under this chapter, every rental dwelling unit is subject to physical inspection by the Community Development Director or designee to determine whether any substandard conditions exist at a rental dwelling unit or its premises.

(B) Inspections under this chapter will occur on a periodic basis. The Community Development Director will establish procedures specifying the frequency of inspections of rental dwelling units. Inspections may also be complaint based.

(C) All properties initially registering will be inspected. Properties that pass their initial inspection will be eligible for self-certification one year from their initial inspection. All properties that had violations that were corrected on the first re-inspection will also be eligible for self-certification one year from the initial inspection.

(D) Any property that does not correct the violation(s) after the first inspection will not be eligible for self-certification until the property is inspected and free of violations at the city's next inspection cycle and will be subject to renewal inspection fees.

(E) Any property that receives more than one complaint where a violation was confirmed by staff during the self-certification period or the period leading up to the first self certification period will not be eligible for self-certification for the upcoming cycle and will be subject to the renewal inspection fees.

(Ord. 1099-C-S, passed 8-14-07)

Before an inspection occurs under this chapter, a notice of intent to inspect a rental dwelling unit will be mailed by first class mail to the property owner at the property owner's last known address as it appears on the latest equalized tax assessment roll of the county or the contact information in the registration packet, as applicable. In the case of multiple property owners, notice to any of the property owners is sufficient notice. The notice will state the date and time of the inspection. Periodic or annual inspections will be scheduled at least 30 days after the date the notice of inspection is mailed. Complaint driven inspection notice will be in determined by the severity of the complaint.

(Ord. 1099-C-S, passed 8-14-07)

The property owner must notify the individual tenants of the date and time of the inspection.

(Ord. 1099-C-S, passed 8-14-07)

If the occupant of the rental dwelling unit or property owner does not consent to the entry for inspection, the Community Development Director or designee is authorized to seek an inspection warrant from a court of competent jurisdiction to cause the inspection to take place. Costs to obtain such a warrant, including attorneys' fees, shall be the responsibility of the property owner pursuant to Chapter 2 of Title 1 of this code.

(Ord. 1099-C-S, passed 8-14-07)

(A) If, upon inspection, any substandard condition exists within the rental dwelling unit or its premises, the Community Development Director or designee will provide the property owner with a written "notice and order to correct" describing the substandard condition(s) and the location of the substandard condition(s). The notice will specify a reasonable time for correction of the substandard condition or conditions that ranges, depending on the severity of the condition, from 24 hours to 60 days from the date of the notice.

(B) The notice and order to correct will be mailed by first class mail to the property owner at the property owner's last known address as it appears on the latest equalized tax assessment roll of the

county, or if the property is already registered in the rental program the information from the registration packet will be used. In the case of multiple property owners, service by mail of the notice and order to correct on any of the property owners is sufficient.

(C) If the condition is not corrected within the time limits provided in the notice, the city may abate the condition, issue administrative citations or take any other action authorized by the municipal code.

(D) This program does not preclude the city from taking any actions to address a substandard condition as authorized by the municipal code.

(Ord. 1099-C-S, passed 8-14-07)

Before initiating any correction of the substandard condition or conditions identified in the notice and order to correct, the property owner of the rental dwelling unit shall obtain all necessary permits and pay all required fees including, but not limited to, any penalty imposed by this code by reason of any repair, improvement or maintenance which had been done in the past without a required permit, inspection or final approval.

(Ord. 1099-C-S, passed 8-14-07)

(A) One or more re-inspections will be conducted to verify that the substandard condition(s) identified in the notice and order to correct has been corrected, subject to any fees established by the city as set forth in the master fee schedule. The notice and order to correct will include a follow-up inspection date and invoice for payment for re-inspections when applicable.

(B) The property owner shall provide notice to any tenants of the re-inspections. If the Community Development Director or designee appears at the rental dwelling unit for the re-inspection as scheduled and access is denied, the owner shall pay an additional re-inspection fee for each subsequent scheduled re-inspection as well as the costs, including attorneys' fees, for securing an inspection warrant if necessary. Violations not noted on the initial inspection report but discovered on re-inspection must be corrected by the property owner as set forth in this chapter.

(Ord. 1099-C-S, passed 8-14-07)

(A) Unless the property is subject to an annual physical inspection for non-compliance with this chapter, all property owners of rental dwelling units within the city can conduct a self-certification inspection annually if they meet the requirements of § 5-20.401.

(B) Self-certification shall occur as follows:

(1) Eligible properties for the self-certification program will be sent a self-certification package from the city by first class mail to the property owner according to the contact information in the

registration packet.

(2) Using a City of Antioch self-certification checklist, the property owner shall conduct a self-inspection of all rental dwelling units and the premises, and certify that the conditions at the property

meet the standards listed on the self-certification checklist.

(3) The completed self-certification checklist for each rental property and payment of the self-certification fee shall be submitted to the Community Development Director each year no later than 30

days after the certification package is sent.

(4) In addition to annual self-certification, rental units are subject to a physical inspection by the City of Antioch on a periodic basis as previously described in §5-20.401.

(5) If the package or payment is not returned or completed within 30 days, then the property will no longer be eligible for self-certification and will be subject to an inspection of the property and

renewal and inspection fees.

(Ord. 1099-C-S, passed 8-14-07)

If after a notice and order to correct a property owner fails to correct the substandard condition(s) within the time allowed, the city may seek code compliance by any remedy allowed under this code, including but not limited to misdemeanor or infraction prosecution (Chapter 2 of Title 1 of the Municipal Code), administrative citations and fines (Chapter 5 of Title 1 of the Municipal Code), abatement (Chapter 1 of Title 5 of the Municipal Code), and any other remedy allowed by law, including notification to the Franchise Tax Board of the property owner's noncompliance for purposes of disallowance for state income tax purposes of interest, depreciation, taxes, or amortization deductions, derived from the property ownership of substandard rental housing as set forth in Cal. Rev. and Tax. Code § 24436.5.

(Ord. 1099-C-S, passed 8-14-07)

The property owner may appeal any determination of the Community Development Director made under this chapter in the time allowed and in the manner prescribed in Article 3, Chapter 1 of Title 5 of this code.

(Ord. 1099-C-S, passed 8-14-07)