Harvard — § 19.13 Inspection of Dwellings § 19.13

A. City Council Findings:
1. The City Council hereby finds it is necessary to promote the public health, safety and general welfare of residents of the City by securing adequate lighting, heating, ventilation, ingress and egress, and preventing or correcting unhygienic, unsanitary or unsafe conditions posed by buildings which are in a substandard condition or state of disrepair, as manifested by violations of the City Building Code, or other regulations applicable to the condition and use of residential property.
2. The City Council finds that the above-described danger to public health, safety and general welfare of residents of the City is particularly acute with respect to multi-family dwellings, buildings with a dense concentration of dwelling units or rooming units and buildings which by their age, use or manner of construction are prone to experience damage and deterioration.
3. The City Council finds that it is necessary to establish and implement a systematic program of inspection of residential property to identify and correct those properties in a such a substandard condition or state of disrepair and to prevent poor building conditions from developing in the future.
B. Definitions: For purposes of this Section 19.13 , except as otherwise specified, the terms used shall be defined as provided in Section 19.10 , Residential Occupancy, of this Code.
C. Applicability: This Section 19.13 shall apply to:
1. Every multi-family dwelling, as defined in the Harvard Zoning Code, constructed at least 30 years prior to the effective date of this ordinance (March 15, 2002).
2. Every dwelling in those geographic areas of the City which, by the age, construction or use of the buildings contained therein, are determined by the City Council to pose a threat to the public health, safety and general welfare of residents of the City.
D. Inspection for Violations: Every building, or portion of a building, along with all accessory structures located upon the same lot or a contiguous lot, which is subject to this Section 19.13 , shall be subject to regular and systematic inspections for compliance herewith. Inspections of such buildings shall consist of both exterior and interior inspections. Exterior inspections shall include the exterior of the building and any accessory structures for violation of any applicable provision of this Code. Interior inspections, however, shall be limited to detect ordinance violations which pose a threat to public health, safety and general welfare of the residents of the City. Items subject to interior inspection shall include, but not be limited, to the following:
1. Smoke detectors, whether battery powered or hard wired, and any other fire detection or fire safety system, fixture or device.
2. Chimneys, or other exhaust or ventilation systems.
3. Railings, balusters and steps.
4. Water heaters, including related valves, gauges, exhaust or ventilation systems, and location.
5. Furnaces and other heating systems, including their location.
6. Supplied facilities (gas, sewer and water), including inspection of all pipes, lines or conduits which carry supplied services within the building.
7. Electrical, including inspection of all wiring, fuse boxes, circuit breakers, outlets or other electrical systems within the building.
8. Kitchen, including inspection of appliances.
9. Bathroom(s), including inspection of the toilet or lavatory and bathtub and/or shower.
10. Habitable rooms, including inspection of outlets, light fixtures and the use of extension cords and space heaters.
11. Exits or other modes of ingress and egress from the building.
12. Occupancy, including inspection to ensure compliance with the residential occupancy provisions of the Harvard Building Code ( Chapter 19 ).
13. Any other violation of this Code related to the health, safety and general welfare of the residents of the City.
E. Frequency of Inspections:
1. All buildings, or portions of buildings, subject to this Section 19.13 shall be inspected at least once every five years. In cases where the building or portion of the building subject to inspection is occupied by the owner, written notice of the date of inspection shall be given to the owner/occupant at least 15 days prior to the date of inspection. All notices sent pursuant to this Section 19.13 shall be by certified mail. In cases where the owner and occupant of a building are not the same individual, written notice of the date of inspection shall be given to both the owner and the building occupant at least 15 days prior to the date of inspection. Said notice shall be on a form prescribed by the City Building Department and shall advise the owner and/or occupant of the date and time of the inspection, his/her right to refuse the inspection and the City's right to seek issuance of an Administrative Search Warrant in the event of any refusal. No inspection of a building shall occur without the consent of the occupant unless an Administrative Search Warrant is obtained. In those cases where the owner and occupant are not identical, an owner's denial of access shall not preclude a tenant from granting access.
2. It shall be the responsibility of the owner, owner's agent or occupant to be present at the building on the date and time of inspection indicated on the written notice to provide access for the inspection. Owners or occupants wishing to deny access to their property and wishing to have the City obtain an Administrative Search Warrant may notify the City in writing of such denial on the form provided. Any failure by the owner or occupant to respond to the City's request for consent shall be deemed a denial of consent.
3. Nothing in this Section 19.13 shall preclude the inspection of any building subject to this Section 19.13 more frequently than set forth hereinabove, provided however, that any inspection more frequent than set forth hereinabove shall be based upon a citizen complaint, or other evidence indicating it is more probable than not that an ordinance violation exists.
F. Warrant Procedure:
1. Where the owner and/or occupant has refused to give consent to an inspection of the building, the Building and Zoning Commissioner, or his designated agent, may apply to the Circuit Court of McHenry County for an Administrative Search Warrant.
2. The Circuit Court of McHenry County may consider any of the following factors along with such other matters as it deems relevant in its decision as to whether a warrant shall be issued:
(a) Eyewitness accounts of violation(s).
(b) Citizen complaints.
(c) Tenant complaints.
(d) Plain view violation(s).
(e) Violation(s) apparent from City records.
(f) Property deterioration.
(g) Age of the property.
(h) Nature of alleged violation(s).
(i) Similar properties in area.
(j) Documented violation(s) of similar properties in the area.
(k) Passage of time since last inspection.
(l) Previous violation(s) on the property.
(m) The use for which the building was constructed.
3. Cause for issuance of an Administrative Search Warrant shall be deemed to exist in light of reasonable legislature and administrative standards which show that there is reason to believe that a condition of nonconformity exists with respect to a particular property in violation of a City ordinance.
G. Inspection Procedure:
1. If, upon completion of an inspection, the premises are found to be in compliance with all applicable provisions of this Code or other applicable laws, and all taxes and fees have been paid to the City, the City shall issue a Certificate of Inspection for the building.
2. If, upon completion of an inspection, a building is found to have one or more violations of this Code, or any other violation of applicable law, the City shall provide written notice of such violations to the owner and/or occupant. The City shall set a reinspection date 30 days from the date of the notice of violation. A reinspection shall be performed to determine if all violations have been corrected. If such violation(s) have not been corrected within that period, the City may take any action necessary to enforce compliance with applicable City codes, ordinances or other applicable law. During the period between the initial inspection and reinspection of the premises, the owner may continue to rent, and the occupant may continue to occupy, such premises unless the City determines that the violations are so serious as to threaten the health or safety of the occupants.
3. If such health or safety threatening violations exist, the Building and Zoning Commissioner shall immediately issue a citation for such violation. If such violation is not corrected within five days from the issuance of the citation, the City may commence prosecution of the citation in the Circuit Court of McHenry County.
4. Nothing in this Section 19.13 shall preclude City officials from taking emergency action to abate a nuisance, or any other emergency action to protect the public health, safety and general welfare of residents of the City.
H. Other Actions: Nothing in this Section 19.13 shall prevent the City from taking action under any applicable City code or ordinance for any violation thereof, or limit the right or authority of the City to seek injunctive relief or other appropriate legal remedy for any violation of such code or ordinance.
I. Severability: If any provision of this Section 19.13 shall be held invalid, its invalidity shall not affect any other provision of this Section 19.13 that can be given effect without the invalid provision, and for this purpose, the phrases, sentences, paragraphs and sections of this Section 19.13 are hereby declared to be severable.