Fillmore Municipal Code Ch. 5.10 Humane Living Standards Residential Property Inspection Program

The city council is authorized to require a report of humane living standards pursuant to the provisions of the Constitution of the State of California and California Government Code Section 38780, et seq. The city council finds that requiring a report of humane living standards will:

A. Reduce and prevent violations of building and zoning ordinances by providing the owner of residential property with information as to permitted and illegal construction;

B. Facilitate enforcement of building and zoning ordinances designed to protect the public health, safety and welfare; and

C. Provide the city with an opportunity, assuming consent by the property owner, to inspect property in an effort to identify potentially hazardous conditions.

This chapter will become effective as of January 1, 2016, and shall remain in effect until June 30, 2017, at which time this program shall automatically terminate unless otherwise extended by the adoption of an ordinance of the city council.

(Ord. No. 15-853, § 1, 11-10-2015)

[The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this chapter, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:]

"Agreement of sale" means any agreement or written instrument which provides for transfer of ownership of real property including, but not limited to, land sale contracts, exchange agreements, or lease purchase agreements.

"Owner" means any person, partnership, association, corporation or fiduciary having legal or equitable title in any residential building and the authorized agent thereof.

"Report of humane living standards" or "report" means a report issued by the city describing the zoning of the residential building, the number of dwelling units permitted pursuant to the zoning classification, and other information relevant to the construction of the residential building.

"Residential building" means any structure which contains a dwelling unit as that term is defined and shall include the buildings or structures accessory to the structure which contains the dwelling unit and the real property on which the residential building is located.

(Ord. No. 15-853, § 1, 11-10-2015)

The owner of any residential building shall obtain from the city a report of the residential building records upon entering into an agreement of sale. The owner or his or her agent shall file an application for such a report not later than three days after entering into an agreement of sale. The report will be completed by city staff. The report will seek to determine: (1) whether the property has been subdivided into multiple dwelling units without permits, (2) whether a garage or storage area has been built without permits and/or converted into a living space without permits, and (3) whether the property has any unpermitted additions.

(Ord. No. 15-853, § 1, 11-10-2015)

The report of humane living standards shall be issued by the city within fourteen days after the owner submits a completed application on the form provided by the city and pays the fee established by resolution of the city council. The owner shall indicate on the application if consent is given for an inspection of the residential building. If consent is not given by the owner for inspection of the residential building the report shall indicate the owner refused to consent to the inspection. If the report is not issued within the fourteen-day period specified above, the transfer may go forward without compliance with this chapter, and the city shall note this in the file for this property.

(Ord. No. 15-853, § 1, 11-10-2015)

Upon written consent of the property owner, the city shall cause a physical inspection of the residential building after research of the city records is completed. The report of humane living standards shall include evidence of the code violations identified in Section 5.10.030 observed during the inspection and shall identify the correction of those violations as determined by any re-inspections of the property.

(Ord. No. 15-853, § 1, 11-10-2015)

If the owner refuses to consent to an inspection, a copy of the application noting such refusal shall be delivered by the owner to the other parties or party to the agreement within ten days of filing the application with the city.

The completed report of humane living standards shall be delivered by the owner or his representative to all other parties to the agreement of sale prior to the completion of the transaction. It is the responsibility of the property owner to ensure that the other party or parties to the agreement of sale execute the acknowledgment of receipt on the report of humane living standards and file it with the city within thirty days after completion of the transaction. The filed report shall be proof of compliance with the provisions of this chapter.

(Ord. No. 15-853, § 1, 11-10-2015)

The provisions of this chapter shall not apply to:

A. The first sale of a residential building which has never been occupied;

B. Transfers pursuant to court order, including, but not limited to, transfers ordered by a probate court in administration of an estate, transfers pursuant to a writ of execution, transfers by a trustee in bankruptcy, transfers by eminent domain, or transfers resulting from a decree for specific performance;

C. Transfers to a mortgagee by a mortgagor in default, transfers to a beneficiary to a deed of trust by a trustor in default, transfers by any foreclosure sale after default, transfers by any foreclosure sale under default in an obligation secured by a mortgage, or transfers by sale under a power of sale after a default in an obligation secured by a deed of trust or secured by any other instrument containing a power of sale; transfers by deed in lieu of foreclosure and a transfer by a beneficiary who has acquired the property by foreclosure or deed in lieu of foreclosure;

D. Transfers by a fiduciary in the course of the administration of a guardianship, conservatorship, or trust;

E. Transfers from one co-owner to one or more co-owners;

F. Transfers between spouses resulting from a decree of dissolution of a marriage, a decree of legal separation, or from a property settlement agreement incidental to such decree;

G. Transfers by the State Controller in the course of administering the unclaimed property law;

H. Transfers to a governmental entity;

I. Transactions solely for the purposes of refinancing existing debt secured by the residential building;

J. Transfers by an owner or owners into a family or living trust, where the owner(s) is a beneficiary or trustee of the trust.

(Ord. No. 15-853, § 1, 11-10-2015)

A. City shall refund the fee accompanying an application for a report of humane living standards if a written request for refund is made prior to staff review of city records necessary to prepare the report. An administrative charge of twenty percent of the application fee shall be withheld from any refund granted pursuant to this section. No refunds will be made for a residential building report after the staff review or physical inspection of the property.

B. Owner shall pay an inspection or re-inspection cancellation fee in the amount established by resolution of the city council. This fee shall also be charged when an inspection or re-inspection appointment is made with the owner and the owner fails to appear at the time of the inspection or cancels the appointment.

(Ord. No. 15-853, § 1, 11-10-2015)

A report of humane living standards shall expire one year from the date of its issuance and may not be extended. No refund shall be made when the report is allowed to expire. Any outstanding violations at the time of expiration shall be followed until resolved by appropriate means.

(Ord. No. 15-853, § 1, 11-10-2015)

Any violation of the codes identified in Section 5.10.030 of this code must be repaired by the owner prior to the transfer of the property and within three months of the city's issuance of the report of human living standards unless: (A) unforeseen circumstances require an extension of time to complete the repairs and city staff provides the owner with a writing agreeing to and specifying the duration of an extension or (B) the buyer accepts responsibility for the repairs as described in Section 5.10.110.

(Ord. No. 15-853, § 1, 11-10-2015)

If a buyer agrees to accept the responsibility to make the required corrections, the buyer can deliver a completed transfer of responsibility agreement to the city's building department. Upon city's confirmation that the buyer has executed this agreement the buyer will have three months from the date of the agreement to repair any noted violations of the codes identified in Section 5.10.030 unless unforeseen circumstances require an extension and city staff provides the buyer with a writing agreeing to and specifying the duration of an extension of time to complete the repairs.

(Ord. No. 15-853, § 1, 11-10-2015)

A. Any owner violating the provisions of this chapter shall be guilty of an infraction and subject to the penalties, specified in Section 1.08.025 and of this code as well as the administrative remedies authorized in Chapter 1.09 of this code.

B. No sale or exchange of any residential building shall be invalidated solely because of the failure of the owner to comply with the provisions of this chapter.

(Ord. No. 15-853, § 1, 11-10-2015)

If any section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase of this chapter is for any reason, held to be invalid or unenforceable, such decision shall not affect the validity or enforceability of the remaining portions of this chapter. The city council declares that it would have passed the ordinance codified in this chapter and each section, subsection, clause or phrase hereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections, subsections, sentences, clauses, and phrases be declared invalid or unenforceable.

(Ord. No. 15-853, § 1, 11-10-2015)