Ithaca, N.Y., Code of Ordinances ch. 210 § 210-81

A. Owners of premises shall be responsible for compliance with the housing standards and shall remain responsible therefor in addition to the fact that this Part 3 may also place certain responsibilities on operators and occupants and in addition to any agreements between owners and operators or occupants as to which party shall assume such responsibility. Compliance with this section shall be a pre-condition to obtaining a certificate of compliance pursuant to § 210-43 . B. Owners of premises shall be responsible for the proper maintenance, condition and operation of service facilities and for furnishing adequate heat and hot-water supply in multiple dwellings. C. Delegation of responsibilities to local agent. Property owners must file an agency agreement with the City Building Department designating the property owner or an agent to be responsible for all of the responsibilities outlined in this chapter, and all other chapters of this code related to housing code, building codes, property maintenance and zoning, and to accept service of process by first class mail on behalf of the property owner. The property owner and agent shall both be liable for violations of this chapter, and the City may bring an enforcement action against either the property owner or agent, or both. If a property owner fails to file an agency agreement with the Building Department within 60 days of the effective date of this subsection, then the City Clerk shall be deemed to be the owner's agent for the limited purpose of accepting service of process on behalf of the owner. All agency agreements shall be in the form specified by the City Building Department and shall contain, at a minimum, the following information: (1) The identity of the owner and the agent; (2) The owner's and agent's addresses and current phone numbers; (3) The property or properties the agent is accepting responsibility for; (4) The beginning and ending date of the agreement; and (5) The signatures of both the property owner and agent, along with each party's date of birth. The agent must be a resident of, or maintain a principal place of business in, Tompkins County. Post office boxes will not be accepted as addresses for agents. The owner shall be responsible for informing the Building Department, in writing, of changes to the owner's and agent's addresses and telephone numbers that occur after the owner files the agency agreement with the Building Department. The property owner may not designate a residential tenant as the agent pursuant to this section, except where such designation is contained in an employment agreement between the property owner and the tenant. The employment agreement shall not be contained in the lease agreement between the property owner and the tenant, and the tenant's acceptance of designation as the agent shall not be a condition of the lease agreement. D. The name of the owner of the premises and the name and telephone number of any person or firm designated by the owner as being responsible for the care and maintenance of housing used for rental purposes and, in the case of an out-of-Tompkins County owner, the name of such owner's local agent shall be placed in a prominent location inside or outside the structure. Such information shall be placed on a card no smaller than three inches by five inches. The information card shall be protected from the weather, and the information placed on it shall be legible at all times. In addition to the name or names required above, the address and telephone number to be used to obtain information or report problems with the premises shall be placed on the information card.