Victorville Municipal Code Art. 5 Residential Rental Property Inspection Requirements

Footnotes:

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Editor's note— Ord. No. 2464, § 6, adopted Apr., 7, 2026, amended the title of Art. 5 to read as herein set out. The former Art. 5 title pertained to rental property inspection requirements.

The purpose of this Article is to identify Residential Rental Properties within the City and to enhance the quality of life for residents of those properties and in the community. These licensing requirements are intended to encourage all Rental Property Owners to consistently meet applicable code requirements including those in Title 16 ("Development Code") relating to property maintenance and housing; to have well-maintained and clean exterior areas; and to ensure that rental unit Occupants comply with such applicable code requirements. These licensing requirements seek to ensure that rental units do not create public nuisances that may be detrimental to the public health, safety, or welfare of the community.

(Ord. No. 2407, § 2, 2-18-20; Ord. No. 2464, § 6, 4-7-26)

(a) The provisions of this Article shall apply to all single and multi-family Residential Rental Property, as that term is defined herein, within the City. Not only does this Article apply to the exterior of single and multi-family residential rental structures, but it also applies to the premises on which such single and multi-family residential rental structures are located, including but not limited to all yards, parking lots, driveways, landscaped areas, accessory structures, fences, walls, swimming pools, hot tubs and spas that comprise a Residential Rental Property.

(b) The provisions of this Article are supplementary and complementary to other provisions of Applicable Law, as that term is defined herein. Nothing in this Article may be construed to limit any existing right of the City to abate nuisances or to enforce any provisions of such Applicable Law.

(Ord. No. 2407, § 2, 2-18-20; Ord. No. 2464, § 6, 4-7-26)

For the purpose of this Article, unless otherwise apparent from their context, certain words and phrases used in this Article shall have the meanings hereinafter designated. The definitions in this Section are intended to define the terms used in this Article in relation to the rental property inspection requirements.

(a) "Applicable Law" means the Development Code contained in this Title 16, including without limitation, the International Property Maintenance Codes adopted by reference therein; all other titles of the Victorville Municipal Code; and any other applicable statutes, laws, regulations, or codes enforceable by the City relating to housing, building, land use, nuisance, and property maintenance.

(b) "City Manager" means and includes the City Manager of the City of Victorville and/or his/her authorized designee(s).

(c) "Occupant" or "Tenant" means any person who occupies a Residential Rental Property, whether as a tenant, licensee, or permittee of the Owner.

(d) "Owner's Local Authorized Representative" means a person, agent, property management company, or other individual or entity who has the legal authority to act upon the Owner's behalf with respect to a Residential Rental Property and whose residence or place of business is located not greater than eighty-five (85) miles by road from the Residential Rental Property for which the Property Owner has given such representative the legal authority to act.

(e) "Owner" or "Property Owner" means any person having legal title to Residential Rental Property, including all individuals, business entities, partners, joint venturers, or stock owners of the Residential Rental Property shown as owners on the last equalized assessment roll of the San Bernardino County Assessor's Office, or an Owner's Local Authorized Representative. If more than one person or entity owns the Residential Rental Property, the terms "Owner" or "Property Owner" refer to each person or entity holding any kind of ownership interest in the Residential Rental Property, and the obligations imposed upon such Property Owners by this Article are joint and several as to each.

(f) "Rental Business License" means the City business license issued per Residential Rental Property after the property has successfully passed a Residential Rental Property inspection performed by the City Manager and the Property Owner has complied with all other Applicable Law, including payment of all applicable fees.

(g) "Residential Rental Property" or "Residential Rental Properties" means any single or multi-family zoned parcel(s) that are used for occupancy by person(s) other than the owner of the residential structures located thereon and are occupied or intended to be occupied for rental purposes. This definition includes the exterior of the residential structure(s), and the entire real property upon which such residential structure(s) exist, including but not limited to all yards, parking lots, driveways, landscaped area, accessory structures, fences, walls, swimming pools, hot tubs and spas. For purposes of this Article, the following types of dwelling units or facilities are not considered Residential Rental Properties:

(1) Conventional hotels or motels (those that do not allow for rental for more than thirty (30) consecutive days).

(2) Accommodations in any hospital, extended care facility, residential care facility, convalescent home, nonprofit home for the aged, or dormitory that is owned and operated by an educational institution.

(3) Mobile Home Parks.

(Ord. No. 2407, § 2, 2-18-20; Ord. No. 2464, § 6, 4-7-26)

For the purposes of this Article, if a property tax bill, water, sanitation, or other utility bill for a residential property is mailed to an address other than that of the residential property itself, there shall be a rebuttable presumption that the property is a Residential Rental Property. This presumption can be rebutted by the owner of record by providing reasonable documentation to the City substantiating that the property is solely owner occupied or is not being used, actively or not, for purposes of generating rental income.

(Ord. No. 2407, § 2, 2-18-20; Ord. No. 2464, § 6, 4-7-26)

(a) Every owner of a Residential Rental Property shall be required to obtain from the City a Rental Business License for each Residential Rental Property, pursuant to Chapter 7 of the Development Code. A Rental Business License shall be issued only after the Residential Rental Property has passed an initial Rental Property inspection as provided for in Section 16-6.05.070 of this Article, and the Property Owner has complied with all other Applicable Law, including the payment of fees. The Rental Business License shall not be transferable upon a change of property ownership. Upon property ownership change, the Rental Business License issued to the prior Property Owner shall be null and void and such Rental Business License file shall be closed.

(b) Once issued, a Rental Business License is subject to annual renewal thereafter, provided renewal business license fees are paid, and the Residential Rental Property passes an annual renewal inspection. A Rental Business License must be renewed timely, as the Rental Business License file will be closed ninety (90) days after the license expiration date.

(Ord. No. 2407, § 2, 2-18-20; Ord. No. 2464, § 6, 4-7-26)

(a) For purposes of this Article, all owners of Residential Rental Property may designate a Local Authorized Representative with full authority to act on behalf of the Owner for all purposes under this Article, including the acceptance of service of all notices from the City.

(b) Any designated Local Authorized Representative must establish and maintain, at all times, a working telephone number and a valid email address. A Local Authorized Representative shall be accessible to the City through the provided telephone number between the hours of 7 a.m. and 6 p.m., 7 days a week.

(Ord. No. 2407, § 2, 2-18-20; Ord. No. 2464, § 6, 4-7-26)

(a) All Residential Rental Property located in the City shall be subject to an initial inspection upon submittal of a Rental Business License application, and an annual inspection upon renewal of said license thereafter. These inspections are conducted by the City Manager for the purpose of verifying compliance with Applicable Law.

(b) The Property Owner, Tenant, or Owner's Local Authorized Representative need not be present during any inspections required by this Article, so long as the areas to be inspected can be viewed from the public right of way. Should an inspection require the City to enter a Residential Rental Property, if agreed upon between the City and the Property Owner or Owner's Local Authorized Representative, neither the Property Owner, Tenant, nor Owner's Local Authorized Representative need be present during any such inspection, provided that the areas to be inspected are made accessible to the City. Such agreement shall be made in writing upon the submittal of an initial Rental Business License application or upon renewal of a Rental Business License.

(c) The City Manager shall conduct an exterior site inspection of each Residential Rental Property prior to the initial issuance of a Rental Business License and prior to the annual issuance of a renewal Rental Business License. The scope of the inspection shall include, but is not limited to:

(1) Exterior property maintenance and cleanliness;

(2) Landscape maintenance in accordance with this Development Code;

(3) Land use such as off-street parking requirements, storage of inoperative vehicles, accessory structures, and uses related to unpermitted business; and

(4) Maintenance and upkeep of the primary structure such as windows, paint/stucco, weather protection, roof and other architectural features and accessory structures such as sheds, cabanas, trash enclosures, etc.

(d) Maintenance and Monitoring of Vacant Residential Rental Property. The Owner of a Residential Rental Property that becomes vacant or unoccupied shall continue to comply with the property maintenance requirements imposed by this Article and shall keep the exterior of any structure and the premises comprising the Residential Rental Property free of property maintenance violations or property conditions that create a public nuisance. Vacant Residential Rental Properties that are found to be a public nuisance due to lack of property care or upkeep, shall be subject to the compliance processes and penalties in Chapter 6, Article 4 of this Development Code and such other remedies as are available under Applicable Law.

(e) Rental Business License Initial Application Inspections. A Residential Rental Property for which an Owner has submitted an initial Rental Business License application shall undergo an initial compliance inspection conducted within thirty (30) days after the submittal of a Rental Business License application, and one compliance re-inspection to be conducted no sooner than fifteen (15) days after a failed initial compliance inspection. Any violation found after the compliance re-inspection shall be subject to the penalties and enforcement provisions of Section 16-6.01.100 of this Development Code.

(f) Rental Business License Annual Renewal Inspections. A Residential Rental Property for which an Owner is seeking an annual renewal of a Rental Business License shall undergo one compliance inspection conducted by the City Manager within thirty (30) days prior to the business license expiration date, and one compliance re-inspection to be conducted no sooner than fifteen (15) days after a failed annual renewal inspection. Any violation found after the compliance re-inspection shall be subject to the penalties and enforcement provisions of Section 16-6.01.100 of this Development Code.

(g) Notice of Annual Rental Business License Renewal Inspection.

(1) At least thirty (30) days prior to the expiration of a Rental Business License, the Development Department will mail a license renewal notice and exterior inspection checklist to the Property Owner and the Owner's Local Authorized Representative (if any), notifying the Property Owner of the following:

(i) The Property Owner's requirement to renew the annual Rental Business License; and

(ii) Notice that the City Manager will inspect the exterior area of the Residential Rental Property within thirty (30) days from the date of the Rental Business License renewal notice.

(2) Said notice will be mailed by first class mail to the Owner at the Owner's last known address as it appears in the City business license records. In the case of multiple Owners of the same Residential Rental Property, notice to any one of the Property Owners is deemed sufficient notice.

(3) In those cases when entry upon a Residential Rental Property is required to conduct an exterior inspection, should an Owner, Owner's Local Authorized Representative, or Tenant in possession of the Residential Rental Property refuse to allow such access, the City Manager, the City Code Enforcement Official, or his/her designee, and the City Attorney may use all legal remedies to ensure that an inspection is conducted as required by this Article.

(4) In those cases when entry upon a Residential Rental Property is required to conduct an exterior inspection, if the City is unable to obtain the consent of the Owner, Owner's Local Authorized Representative (if any), or Tenant of the Residential Rental Property, the City shall withhold the Owner's Rental Business License until the inspection is conducted.

(h) After completion by the City Manager of the initial Rental Business License application inspection or the annual Rental Business License renewal inspection, if the Residential Rental Property fails the inspection due to having violation(s) on the property, the City shall send a written report to the Owner or the Owner's Local Authorized Representative by mail. The report shall contain:

(1) An itemization of any violation(s) of Applicable Law identified during the inspection;

(2) The period of time given for correcting each of the identified violations;

(3) Notice that the City will re-inspect the Residential Rental Property at the end of the period of time given for correction;

(4) A statement indicating that if the violations identified in the report are found by the City Manager during the Residential Rental Property re-inspection to not have been corrected, the City will not issue the Rental Business License, and the City may pursue any legal remedies available to it, including but not limited to those provided under Section 16-6.01.100 of this Development Code, in order to abate said violations.

(i) After completion of a failed initial Rental Business License application re-inspection, or a failed annual renewal Rental Business License re-inspection, a report listing the violations shall be provided to the Property Owner and the Tenant, which report shall reflect the failed re-inspection, and the matter shall be remedied in accordance with Section 16-6.01.100.

(j) If no violations are found during an initial or annual renewal inspection or re-inspection, the report shall so state and the City shall issue the Rental Business License to the Owner. All inspection reports shall be available as a public record upon request.

(Ord. No. 2407, § 2, 2-18-20; Ord. No. 2464, § 6, 4-7-26)

Editor's note— Ord. No. 2464, § 6, adopted Apr. 7, 2026, repealed § 16-6.05.080, which pertained to self-inspection privilege and derived from Ord. No. 2407, § 2, 2-18-20.

(a) Whenever the City Manager determines that a violation of this Article exists, a Code Enforcement Officer shall issue a written notice of violation in the form of the Residential Rental Property inspection report and provide an order to correct the violation(s) located at the Residential Rental Property. The notice shall be provided (1) by mail to the Owner or Owner's Local Authorized Representative, and (2) either by mail or hand delivery to the Tenant, or by posting said notice on the front door of Tenant's dwelling unit. Said notice shall specify and describe with reasonable detail the violation(s) so that the Property Owner has the opportunity to identify and correct any violation(s) specified. Any person who fails to comply with any provisions of this Article after receiving written notice of the violation(s) and has been given a minimum of fifteen (15) days to correct such violation(s) shall be deemed to be in violation of this Article.

(b) A violation of this Article shall be enforced in accordance with Section 16-6.01.100 of this Development Code. The Development Department may also take action to suspend or revoke the Rental Business License issued to the Property Owner if the Property Owner has failed to correct any or all violations.

(c) Any Residential Rental Property which has been subjected to enforcement actions under Section 16-6.01.100 of this Development Code and remains out of compliance with Applicable Law shall be considered a public nuisance and subject to abatement procedures as set forth in Chapter 6, Article 4 of this Development Code.

(Ord. No. 2407, § 2, 2-18-20; Ord. No. 2464, § 6, 4-7-26)

Nothing contained in this Article shall prevent or restrict the City's authority to inspect any Residential Rental Property in response to a complaint alleging violations of any Applicable Law, or to pursue any remedies available to the City thereunder.

(Ord. No. 2407, § 2, 2-18-20; Ord. No. 2464, § 6, 4-7-26)

The annual regulatory Rental Business License fee will be set from time to time by City Council resolution in an amount not to exceed the reasonable regulatory costs of conducting the property inspections required by this Article. Should a Property Owner fail to timely pay the annual Residential Rental Business License fee, any cost recovery fee, or administrative fine related to the enforcement of and compliance with this Article, such unpaid fees or fines shall constitute a debt to the City, enforceable in accordance with Section 16-7.05.080 of this Development Code.

(Ord. No. 2407, § 2, 2-18-20; Ord. No. 2464, § 6, 4-7-26)