Apple Valley Municipal Code Ch. 8.34 Regulation of Rental Housing Units

It is the purpose and intent of this Chapter to establish a standard of maintenance for all rental housing units in the Town of Apple Valley; to provide for a system of continued regulation for the maintenance, sanitation, ventilation, use, occupancy, and safety of rental housing units within the Town of Apple Valley.

The provisions of this Chapter shall be enforced by the Town Manager of Apple Valley or his or her designee.

Except as otherwise provided in this Section, all terms used in this Chapter which are defined in the California Health and Safety Code, Division 13, Part 1.5, Section 17920 et seq.; and the California Code of Regulations, Title 25, Chapter 1, Article 2, and the applicable articles adopted pursuant thereto, are used in this Chapter as so defined.

(a) Multi-family housing shall include apartment houses, hotels and motels.

(b) Dwelling unit shall mean any building or portion thereof, including a manufactured home or portion thereof, which contains living facilities, including provisions for sleeping, eating, cooking and sanitation as required by the Uniform Building Code, for not more than one family, including domestic employees of such family.

(c) Rental housing unit shall mean a dwelling unit which is rented, leased, or subleased or offered or intended to be offered for rent, lease, or sublease as a residence and shall not include a dwelling unit intended for accommodation of transients.

(d) Apartment shall mean a rental dwelling unit.

(e) Apartment house shall mean any building or portion thereof containing two or more apartments or rental dwelling units.

(f) Motel/hotel shall mean a building or buildings each containing one or more guest rooms or dwelling units or combinations thereof designed, used, and intended wholly or part, for the accommodation of transients. A motel/hotel does not include any jail, hospital, asylum, sanitarium, orphanage, prison, or other building in which human beings are housed and detained under legal restraint.

(g) Premises include all buildings located on contiguous parcels of land under common ownership.

(h) Property maintenance certificate is a certificate issued to owners of rental housing units which allows them to have tenants and/or clients occupy the buildings. The Town of Apple Valley will issue this certificate to owners and operators after said facilities pass appropriate inspections conducted by the Town.

(i) Single family residential rental housing shall include any and all residential units other than multi-family units, hotels and motels, which are not owner-occupied.

(j) Short-term rental shall mean any dwelling unit in which overnight accommodations are provided to guests for compensation that is rented, leased, or subleased for 30 consecutive days or less.

(Ord. No. 561, § 5, 2-14-2023)

(a) No person or entity shall allow the occupancy of any rental housing unit, without possessing an unexpired, unrevoked, property maintenance certificate for each facility and paying the inspection fee and any additional fees for follow-up inspections to the Town of Apple Valley in those amounts set forth in the Schedule of Fees as adopted by the Town of Apple Valley.

(b) Each property maintenance certificate issued shall expire one year after issuance. The property maintenance certificate shall be renewed and all fees paid on or before the expiration date.

(c) Fees as set forth in the Schedule of Fees adopted by the Town of Apple Valley shall be charged upon any of the following:

(1) Change of all or a part of the occupancy classification of a building;

(2) Change in the number of rental units;

(3) Change in ownership of the apartment house, single family residential rental housing, hotel or motel;

(4) Any subsequent follow-up inspections in addition to the annual inspections which are required to bring the facilities up to Town standards.

Each premises to which an annual property maintenance certificate is to be issued shall be inspected by the Town of Apple Valley to assure compliance with the provisions of the Town of Apple Valley Municipal Code. If after a second inspection the premises have not been brought into compliance with the provisions of this Code, the property maintenance certificate shall be revoked. No property maintenance certificate, once revoked, shall be reissued without required payment of an additional reinspection fee and all administrative costs incurred by the Town of Apple Valley.

Any person who violates any provision or who fails to comply with any of the requirements of this Chapter shall be subject to the provisions, penalties and punishments as provided in Sections 1.01.200 through 1.01.260 of the Town of Apple Valley Municipal Code.

The amount of any inspection fees and penalties imposed by the provisions of this Chapter shall be deemed a debt to the Town. An action may be commenced in the name of the Town in any court of competent jurisdiction for the amount of any delinquent inspection fee, penalties and administrative costs incurred in connection therewith, including attorney's fees.

(Ord. 156; Ord. 161; Ord. 176, 2-11-97; Ord. 327, 11-14-06)

(a) Operators of short-term rentals shall be subject to the Property Maintenance Certificate requirements and obligated to pay fees as set forth in Section 8.34.040.

(b) Operators of short-term rentals shall be subject to the inspection requirements set forth in Section 8.34.050.

(c) Occupancy limitations. Occupancy for any short-term rental is limited to two occupants per bedroom, as defined in the California Building Code. An additional two occupants are allowed in short-term rentals that provide a separate living space. In no instance can a short-term rental provide a total occupancy that is greater than the capacity of the number of vehicles which can be accommodated by the off-street parking requirements of subsection (d).

(d) Off-street parking requirements. Properties offered as short-term rentals must provide sufficient designated and easily identified off-street parking spaces to meet the occupancy level offered by the short-term rental. If multiple short-term rentals are offered concurrently on the same property, separate designated off-street parking spaces must be provided for each short-term rental offered. In no instance can the total occupancy of a short-term rental exceed the vehicle capacity of the designated off-street parking available. For the purposes of this section, vehicle capacity is considered as four individuals per vehicle.

(i) Properties with privately maintained shared vehicle access. For short-term rentals where vehicle access to the property is shared with multiple owners and is privately maintained, a "Parking Plan" shall be submitted. The "Parking Plan" documents the methods in which the presence of a short-term rental will avoid encumbering parking. These methods may include:

(1) Existing variances;

(2) Shared maneuvering diagrams or conditions;

(3) Signage identifying designated off-street parking spaces;

(4) Agreements indicating designated off-street parking spaces.

Additionally, the "Parking Plan" shall include instructions to be provided to guests of the short-term rental outlining the location of designated off-street parking spaces and instructions for maintaining clear access to shared maneuvering areas. The Town will consider blocked access to shared maneuvering areas or guest parking outside of designated off-street parking spaces to be violations.

(e) Operators of short-term rentals shall ensure payment of Transient Occupancy Tax in accordance with Chapter 3.24.

(f) In addition to being subject to the penalty provisions set forth in Section 8.34.060, operators of short-term rentals who violate the provisions of this Chapter shall be considered a public nuisance and shall be subject to any other judicial and administrative penalties and remedies available to the Town under Chapter 6.30 of this Code, or under state law. Operators of short-term rentals may be issued an administrative fine in the amount of two times the rental value for the first night's violation, three times the rental value for the second night's violation, four times the rental value for the third night's violation, and continuing at the same ratio for each and every additional night's violation.

(Ord. No. 561, § 6, 2-14-2023)