§ 514-16. Responsibilities of owners and occupants.

A. 

No owner or occupant shall cause any services, facilities, equipment or utilities which are required under this code to be removed from, shut off, or discontinued in any occupied dwelling let or occupied by him, except for such temporary interruption as may be necessary while actual repairs or alterations are in process or during temporary emergencies when discontinuance of service is authorized by the public officer. In the event that any service or utility, which the owner has agreed to supply, is discontinued the owner shall take immediate steps to cause the restoration of such service or utility.

B. 

The owner of a dwelling located in an area found by the public officer to be infested by rats, insects, or other vermin shall carry out such rat stoppage, vermin proofing, or other means of preventing infestations of said dwellings as may be required by the Board of Health or its authorized representative.

C. 

No owner shall occupy or let to an occupant any vacant dwelling unit or lodging unit unless it is clean and sanitary.

D. 

Every owner of a dwelling shall be responsible for maintaining in a clean and sanitary condition the common areas of the dwellings and premises thereof.

E. 

It shall be the responsibility of the owner, unless otherwise provided for under lease agreement, to provide for the orderly maintenance of the premises. The storage of objects or materials not covered in Subsections G and H of this section of this code, or not otherwise prohibited by Borough ordinances shall be done in an orderly manner so as to not constitute a health, safety, or fire hazard.

F. 

Every occupant of a dwelling shall keep in a clean and sanitary condition that part of the dwelling which he occupies and controls.

G. 

Every occupant of a dwelling unit shall dispose of all his garbage and any other organic waste which might provide food for rodents, by placing it in the garbage disposal facilities or garbage storage receptacles required by Borough ordinances.

H. 

Every occupant of a dwelling unit shall dispose of all his rubbish in a clean sanitary manner by placing it in the rubbish containers required by Borough ordinances.

I. 

Whenever infestation by insects, vermin or rodents exists in any dwelling, extermination thereof shall be the responsibility of the owner.

J. 

Every occupant of a dwelling unit shall keep all plumbing fixtures therein in a clean and sanitary condition and shall be responsible for the exercise of reasonable care in the proper use and operation thereof.

K. 

In dwellings having a common source of heat for domestic hot water, it shall be the responsibility of the owner to make provision for the proper operation of such facilities at all times.

(1) 

Every owner of a dwelling, who permits to be occupied any dwelling unit or lodging unit therein under any agreement, expressed or implied, to supply or furnish heat to the occupants thereof, shall supply heat from October 1 of each year to the next succeeding May 1 and every unit of dwelling space and every habitable room therein shall be maintained at least 68° F. whenever the outside temperature falls below 55° during daytime hours from 6:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. At times other than those specified, interiors of units of dwelling space shall be maintained at least at 65° F. whenever the outside temperature falls below 40°.

[Amended 6-16-2009 by Ord. No. 1385]

(2) 

In meeting the aforesaid standards, the owner shall not be responsible for heat loss and the consequent drop in the interior temperature arising out of action by the occupants in leaving windows or doors open to the exterior of the building. The owner shall be obligated to supply required fuel or energy and maintain the heating system in good operating condition so that it can supply heat as required herein notwithstanding any contractual provision seeking to delegate or shift responsibility to the occupant or third person, except that the owner shall not be required to supply fuel or energy for heating purposes to any unit where the occupant thereof agrees in writing to supply heat to his own unit of dwelling space and the said unit is served by its own exclusive heating equipment for which the source of heat can be separately computed and billed.

L. 

In the absence of a contract or agreement to the contrary, an owner shall be obliged to provide heat wherever heating facilities are under the control of the owner or whenever three or more dwelling units or lodging units are heated by a common facility.

M. 

It shall be the duty of every person who shall have contracted or undertaken, or shall be bound to supply hot water for any building or part thereof occupied as a home or place of residence to supply such hot water to such building or part thereof of a minimum temperature of not less than 120° F., 24 hours a day each and every day.

N. 

No person having the right and legal power to prevent the same shall knowingly cause or permit any person to sleep or remain in any basement or cellar.

O. 

The owner of any building covered in this chapter shall have all heating and hot water furnace or boiler facilities inspected by a licensed professional engineer during the month of July every year. The findings of these inspections are to be certified by the engineer and a copy of these findings with recommendations are to be filed with the Board of Health within 15 days of such inspection. Whenever corrections or repairs are recommended, the public officer shall serve the owner of said heating or hot water facility notice to abate such condition within a specified time. Failure to make such corrections or repairs within the specified period shall be considered a violation of this chapter.

P. 

The owner shall be responsible for compliance with all provisions of this code not specified as the responsibility of occupants.