Mendota Municipal Code Ch. 8.28 Landlord Accountability Act

Footnotes:

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Editor's note— Section 3 of Ord. No. 16-03, adopted March 22, 2016, repealed former Ch. 8.28, §§ 8.28.010—8.28.080, which pertained to public nuisance, and derived from Ord. 04-02, § 1, adopted in 2004; Ord. No. 09-05, §§ 1, 2, adopted March 24, 2009; Ord. No. 10-01, §§ 48, 49, adopted Feb. 23, 2010; Ord. No. 12-02, § 1, adopted Jan. 24, 2012. Subsequently, Ord. No. 17-09, § 1, adopted May 23, 2017, added new provisions to read as herein set out.

It is the purpose and intent of this chapter to protect the health, safety, and general welfare of Mendota residents by emphasizing the importance of maintaining residential rental properties free of substandard living situations and to provide the city programmatic procedures and resources to facilitate and ensure correction when such situations are present.

It is also the purpose of this chapter to provide a manner for residents within the city limits to report, receive assistance with, and follow up on situations within their dwelling that pose a health and safety risk, especially to the most vulnerable populations, such as children and the elderly.

(Ord. No. 17-09, § 1, 5-23-2017)

This chapter is not intended to, nor shall it be construed or given effect in a manner that causes it to conflict or supplant any federal, state or other law that applies to housing, to the extent that application of this chapter would conflict with such law or would unduly interfere with the achievement of federal or state regulatory purposes. It is the intention of the city council that this chapter shall be interpreted to be compatible and consistent with federal and state enactments and in furtherance of the purposes which those enactments express.

(Ord. No. 17-09, § 1, 5-23-2017)

Notwithstanding any other provision in the Mendota Municipal Code, for purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings:

"City" shall mean the city of Mendota and/or any agent hired to implement this article.

"Code" shall mean the Mendota Municipal Code unless otherwise specified.

"Director" shall mean the city manager, or his or her designee.

"Health and safety standards" shall mean the standards set forth in California Civil Code 1941.1.

"Owner" means the person or entity identified and listed as having title by the latest property tax assessment roll, maintained by the Fresno County Assessor.

"Property" or "residential rental property" means any lot or parcel of land containing residential rental units, and all improvements thereon, including common areas.

"Residential rental unit" means any structure or part of a structure that is used or may be used by one or more persons as a home, residence, dwelling, or sleeping place for longer than thirty (30) days, including single family dwellings, duplexes, triplexes, or multi-family (four units or more) residential buildings, or the residential component of any mixed-uses, which is not an owner occupied unit, including rooming houses, boarding houses, apartment units, condominium units, and single room occupancies, but excluding: (1) mobile home parks; (2) any dwelling unit in a building that is properly registered pursuant to Chapter 8.30 of this code; (3) hotels, motels, and bed and breakfasts used for transient lodging; (4) any rental units in a state licensed hospital, hospice, community care facility, intermediate care facility, or nursing home; (5) rental housing units owned, managed or operated by an educational, religious, or medical institution, or by a third party for an educational, religious, or medical institution, when units are used for the sole purpose of housing employees, students, clergy, patients, or others directly related to the operation or service of the institution; and (6) any temporary structure illegally established or inhabited that does not comply with the provisions of Title 15 of this code and that qualifies as a public nuisance pursuant to any of the subsections of Section 8.20.050 of this code.

"Tenant's affirmative obligations" shall mean the standards set forth in California Civil Code 1941.2. An inspector's determination that a tenant is or is not in substantial violation of tenant's affirmative obligations, or the cause of the existence of a dilapidation or violation, or interferes substantially with the owner's obligation to effect necessary maintenance or repairs is not intended as evidentiary proof of the condition of the unit, and shall be used only for purposes of implementing and enforcing this article.

(Ord. No. 17-09, § 1, 5-23-2017)

A. The provisions of this article shall apply to all residential rental units located within the city.

B. Provisions of this article shall be supplementary and complementary to all of the provisions of this code, and any local, state or federal law. Nothing herein shall be construed or interpreted to limit any existing right or power of the city to abate and prosecute any and all nuisances or to enforce any other conditions in violation of state or local laws, including but not limited to any building, housing, property maintenance, and public nuisance law.

(Ord. No. 17-09, § 1, 5-23-2017)

A. Inspections. The director, or his or her designee, hereinafter referred to as the inspector, is authorized to inspect all residential rental units to determine whether such residential rental units meet minimum health and safety standards.

B. Number of Units Inspected. Where there exists more than four residential rental units on a residential rental property, the inspector may choose a percentage of representative units to inspect.

C. Compliance with Codes and Standards. Residential rental units shall be required to be in conformance and maintained in accordance with the code standard that was in effect at the time the residential rental unit was constructed, substantially altered, or remodeled, erected, or converted, except for any additional requirements mandated by this code or state law.

(Ord. No. 17-09, § 1, 5-23-2017)

A. The city may perform an inspection (i) whenever probable cause exists that any residential rental units do not conform to any requirement of the code or state law, or (ii) to perform a baseline inspection to determine compliance with the requirements of the code or state law. For purposes of prioritizing baseline inspections, the city shall have the right to select those properties it has identified as having frequent health and safety code violation, and inspect those properties first when implementing the program.

B. In the event that the owner or party in control of the property does not give consent to the inspector to enter the premises and carry out an investigation, the city shall contact the owner via written correspondence and notify them that they have seven days to comply with the request of the inspector to allow access to the premises for an inspection. In case of refusal, the city attorney shall procure a warrant for the completion of such. If the city discovers a violation of health and safety codes in such a property, the city shall have the right to recover costs related to any administrative or legal processes undertaken in order to gain access to the premises.

(Ord. No. 17-09, § 1, 5-23-2017)

A. Any owner that has their residential rental property managed by a professional property management company licensed by the state of California, can submit an application to exempt those properties managed by said company from the inspections required in this chapter.

B. Upon submittal of an application for exemption, the inspector shall inspect the subject property pursuant to [Section] 8.28.050(B) of this chapter and determine if the property complies in keeping with the purpose and intent of this chapter. That application shall last three years, until a change of ownership, or until a change in the company that manages the property, whichever comes first.

C. Exemption forms shall be signed under penalty of perjury. It shall be unlawful to knowingly falsify any material information on a self-certification form, and any such falsification may be prosecuted as a misdemeanor.

(Ord. No. 17-09, § 1, 5-23-2017)

A. Correction Notices.

1. Whenever it is determined by the inspector that a violation of health and safety standards exists, the inspector shall issue a written correction notice. The notice shall contain a description of the violation, the specific action required to correct the violation, and a demand the violations be corrected within the specified time period listed in the notice. The notice shall contain the scheduled reinspection date and time, and shall otherwise comply with any pertinent regulations promulgated pursuant to Section 8.28.090 of this code.

2. The notice shall provide a reasonable time for correction. The time shall depend on the time it would take a reasonably diligent person to complete the required action; the potential harm to the public welfare, health and safety; the harm to the tenant or nearby properties; and the extent of the corrections required. Certain imminently dangerous life-safety violations in occupied units shall require immediate correction.

3. Compliance reinspections shall be conducted to verify the violations identified on the correction notice have been abated. Violations that were not noted on the initial correction notice but are discovered during any reinspection due to subsequent activities, damage or deterioration, shall be subject to correction.

(Ord. No. 17-09, § 1, 5-23-2017)

A. The city manager may make rules and regulations enforceable hereunder, which are not inconsistent with the provisions of this article and which may be necessary or desirable to aid in the administration or enforcement of the provisions of this article.

(Ord. No. 17-09, § 1, 5-23-2017)

A. If, after a correction notice has been issued in accordance with Section 8.28.080(A) and the owner fails to correct the violations, the owner will be assessed the following penalties:

1. A fine of one hundred dollars ($100.00) per unit not in compliance.

2. An additional fine of two hundred fifty dollars ($250.00) per unit not in compliance if the unit is not corrected within fifteen (15) days from the deadline given.

3. An additional fine of five hundred dollars ($500.00) per unit not in compliance if the unit is not corrected in thirty (30) days from the deadline.

4. An additional fine of five hundred dollars ($500.00) per unit for every thirty (30) days that passes thereafter in which the unit is not corrected.

B. The violation may be declared a public nuisance and the city may proceed with all remedies available under law to compel compliance, including, but not limited to, execution of the actions and procedures contained in Chapter 8.20 of this code, issuing administrative citations, abatement proceedings, civil injunction, and/or criminal prosecution, or any combination of remedies, so long as violations are not caused by tenant's breach of tenant's affirmative obligations, and may recover its costs through the process outlined in Section 8.20.150 of this code or by any other legal means.

C. Additionally, in any other action or proceeding brought by the city to enforce this article, the city shall be entitled to recover its costs, including attorney's fees, when it is the prevailing party. The city attorney, working in consultation with the director, may charge any violation of this ordinance as either an infraction or a misdemeanor.

D. If it is found that a false statement was made in the fulfillment of the requirements contained in Section 8.28.070 of this code, a fine of two hundred fifty dollars ($250.00) shall be issued to the signer of the application, in addition to any other remedies that may be available.

(Ord. No. 17-09, § 1, 5-23-2017)

A. The owner of a residential rental unit or a party with a legal property interest in the unit may file an appeal in writing with the city manager on any action taken pursuant to this chapter within fifteen (15) days of said action. Upon submittal of the appeal, the city manager or his/her designee will review the facts of the case and make a determination whether to grant a hearing. If a hearing is denied, the city manager shall notify the appealing party in writing.

B. Any hearing granted under this chapter shall be scheduled within fifteen (15) days of the city manager having received the appeal, and a written decision shall be rendered and sent to the appealing party within five days after the scheduled hearing.

C. If the owner wishes to appeal the decision of the city manager, the owner shall submit, within fifteen (15) days of the city manager's determination, a written request to have the appeal heard at the next regular city council meeting. The decision of the city council shall be final.

(Ord. No. 17-09, § 1, 5-23-2017)