2022 -- H 8121 | |
======== | |
LC005691 | |
======== | |
STATE OF RHODE ISLAND | |
IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY | |
JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2022 | |
____________ | |
A N A C T | |
RELATING TO TOWNS AND CITIES -- HOUSING MAINTENANCE AND OCCUPANCY | |
CODE | |
| |
Introduced By: Representatives Slater, Diaz, and Felix | |
Date Introduced: April 08, 2022 | |
Referred To: House Municipal Government & Housing | |
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: | |
1 | SECTION 1. Section 45-24.3-19 of the General Laws in Chapter 45-24.3 entitled "Housing |
2 | Maintenance and Occupancy Code" is hereby amended to read as follows: |
3 | 45-24.3-19. Repairs and other corrective action -- Demolition -- Revolving fund. |
4 | (a) Repairs and other corrective action. |
5 | (1) Whenever an owner, operator, or agent of a dwelling, dwelling unit, rooming unit, or |
6 | structure fails, neglects, or refuses to make repairs or other corrective action called for by a second |
7 | order or notice of violation issued pursuant to § 45-24.3-17, the enforcing officer may undertake |
8 | the repairs or action, when in his or her judgment a failure to make them will endanger the public |
9 | health, safety, or welfare, and the cost of the repairs and action will not exceed fifty percent (50%) |
10 | of the fair market value of the structure to be repaired. |
11 | (2) Notice of the intention to make repairs or take other corrective action shall be served |
12 | upon the owner, operator, or agent pursuant to § 45-24.3-17. |
13 | (3) Every owner, operator, or agent of a dwelling, dwelling unit, rooming unit, or structure, |
14 | who receives notice of the intention of the enforcing officer to make repairs or take other corrective |
15 | action, shall give entry and free access to the agent of the enforcing officer for the purpose of |
16 | making repairs. |
17 | (4) Any owner, operator, agent, or occupant of a dwelling, dwelling unit, rooming unit, or |
18 | structure, who refuses, impedes, interferes with, hinders, or obstructs entry by the agent pursuant |
| |
1 | to a notice of intention to make repairs or take other corrective action, is subject to a civil penalty |
2 | of twenty-five dollars ($25.00) for each failure to comply with this section. |
3 | (5) When repairs are made or other corrective action taken at the direction of the enforcing |
4 | officer, reasonable cost of the repairs and corrective action incurred by the enforcing officer in the |
5 | action shall be a lien against the real property. The lien shall be recorded with the records of land |
6 | evidence of the municipality, and the lien shall incur legal interest from the date of recording. The |
7 | cost incurred by the enforcing officer, plus the interest thereon, in the repairs and corrective action, |
8 | shall be added to the amount of taxes due on the real estate. The tax collector of the city or town |
9 | shall have the same powers and shall be subject to the same duties with respect to such claim |
10 | constitutes a debt in favor of the corporate unit against the owner of the repaired structure. In the |
11 | event the owner fails, neglects, or refuses to pay the corporate unit the amount of this debt, it is |
12 | recoverable in a civil action against the owner or his or her successor, brought in a court of |
13 | competent jurisdiction by the corporate unit which possesses all rights of a private creditor. |
14 | (b) Designation of unfit dwellings, dwelling units, rooming units, and structures. |
15 | (1) Any dwelling, dwelling unit, rooming unit, or structure shall be designated as unfit for |
16 | human habitation when any of the following defects or conditions are found, and when, in the |
17 | opinion of the enforcing officer, these defects create a hazard to the health, safety, or welfare of the |
18 | occupants or of the public: |
19 | (i) The structure is damaged, decayed, dilapidated, unsanitary, unsafe, or vermin-infested. |
20 | (ii) The structure lacks illumination, ventilation, or required thermal and sanitation |
21 | facilities. |
22 | (iii) The general condition of location is unsanitary, unsafe, or unhealthful. |
23 | (2) Whenever any dwelling, dwelling unit, rooming unit, or structure has been designated |
24 | as unfit for human habitation, the enforcing officer shall placard the dwelling, dwelling unit, or |
25 | rooming unit, or structure, indicating that it is unfit for human habitation, and, if occupied, shall |
26 | order the dwelling, dwelling unit, rooming unit, or structure vacated within a reasonable time, that |
27 | time to be not more than thirty (30) days. |
28 | (3) No dwelling, dwelling unit, rooming unit, or structure, designated as unfit for human |
29 | habitation, and which has been placarded and vacated, shall be used again for human habitation |
30 | until written approval is secured from the enforcing officer and the placard removed by the |
31 | enforcing officer. |
32 | (4) The enforcing officer shall rescind the designation and remove the placard when the |
33 | defect or condition upon which the designation and the placarding was based has been removed or |
34 | eliminated as to cause the dwelling, dwelling unit, rooming unit, or structure to be deemed by the |
| LC005691 - Page 2 of 6 |
1 | enforcing officer as a safe, sanitary, and fit place or unit for human habitation. |
2 | (5) No person shall deface or remove the placard from any dwelling, dwelling unit, |
3 | rooming unit, or structure which has been designated as unfit for human habitation and has been |
4 | placarded, except as provided in this section. |
5 | (6) Any person affected by any decision of the enforcing officer or by any designation or |
6 | placarding of a dwelling, dwelling unit, rooming unit, or structure as unfit for human habitation, |
7 | shall be granted a hearing on the matter before the enforcing officer under the procedure established |
8 | in § 45-24.3-21. |
9 | (7) The enforcing officer may order the owner of any building, which has been in the past |
10 | and/or is vacant and open, to comply with the following specifications: all openings (including |
11 | doors and windows) from cellar to second floor and all windows above the second floor leading to |
12 | fire escapes, porches, or structural appurtenances, on all floors, must be covered from the exterior |
13 | with three-eighths inch (⅜") thick exterior plywood or one-half inch (½") notched boards firmly |
14 | secured and with protective coating. All other windows must be so secured by either one-quarter |
15 | inch (¼") thick exterior plywood or one-half inch (½") notched boards. |
16 | (c) Demolition of dwellings, dwelling units, or rooming units designated as unfit for human |
17 | habitation. (1) The enforcing officer shall order a dwelling, dwelling unit, or rooming unit to be |
18 | demolished if it has been designated as unfit for human habitation, has been placarded, has been |
19 | vacated, and has not been put into proper repair as to rescind the designation as unfit for human |
20 | habitation and to cause the placard to be removed, and is determined by the enforcing officer not |
21 | to warrant repair under this section. |
22 | (2) The owner of any dwelling, dwelling unit, or rooming unit, ordered demolished, shall |
23 | be given notice of this order in the manner provided for service of notice in § 45-24.3-17, and given |
24 | a reasonable time, not to exceed ninety (90) days, to demolish the structure. |
25 | (3) Any owner aggrieved by the notice to demolish may, within ten (10) days, seek a |
26 | reconsideration of the matter in the manner provided, and may seek a formal hearing in the manner |
27 | provided in § 45-24.3-21. |
28 | (4) When the owner fails, neglects, or refuses to demolish an unfit, unsafe, or unsanitary |
29 | dwelling, dwelling unit, or rooming unit within the requisite time, the enforcing officer may |
30 | immediately demolish at the expense of the owner. Reasonable costs incurred by the enforcing |
31 | officer in the action shall be a lien against the real property. The lien shall be recorded with the |
32 | records of land evidence of the municipality, and the lien shall incur legal interest from the date of |
33 | recording. The cost incurred by the enforcing officer, plus the interest thereon, in the demolishing |
34 | action, shall be added to the amount of taxes due on the real estate. The tax collector of the city or |
| LC005691 - Page 3 of 6 |
1 | town shall have the same powers and shall be subject to the same duties with respect to such claim |
2 | as in the case of the annual taxes upon real estate, and the provisions of law relative to the collection |
3 | of annual taxes, the sale of taking of land for the nonpayment thereof and the redemption of land |
4 | so sold or taken shall apply to such a claim. apply to a court of competent jurisdiction for a |
5 | demolition order to undertake the demolition. The court may grant the order when no |
6 | reconsideration or hearing on the matter is pending. The cost of the demolition shall create a debt |
7 | in favor of this corporate unit against the owner, and is recoverable in a civil action brought by the |
8 | corporate unit which possesses all the rights of a private creditor. |
9 | (5) Whenever a dwelling is demolished, whether carried out by the owner or by the |
10 | enforcing officer, the demolition shall include the filling in of the excavation remaining on the |
11 | property on which the demolished dwelling was located, in a manner that eliminates all potential |
12 | danger to the public health, safety, or welfare arising from the excavation. |
13 | (6) All demolition shall be preceded by an inspection of the premises by the appropriate |
14 | authority as provided for by the laws of this state. |
15 | (d) Relocation of occupants. Notwithstanding the other provisions of this section, no |
16 | dwelling shall be vacated or demolished by the enforcing officer, under the powers granted to him |
17 | or her by the provisions of this chapter, until persons occupying the dwelling at the time the |
18 | compliance order is issued have been offered housing accommodations, at the expense of the |
19 | owner, operator, or agent, in a decent, safe, and sanitary dwelling which meets the requirements of |
20 | this chapter. |
21 | (e) Revolving fund. There is created a revolving fund for the purpose of supporting the cost |
22 | of repairs and other corrective action or demolition made by the enforcing officer pursuant to this |
23 | section. Into this fund shall be paid: |
24 | (1) All civil penalties collected for violations of this chapter pursuant to § 45-24.3-18. |
25 | (2) All license fees collected pursuant to this chapter. |
26 | (3) All judgments collected in actions to recover the costs of repair and other corrective |
27 | action and demolition, pursuant to this section. |
28 | (4) Any other revenues that the corporate unit may from time to time authorize to be paid |
29 | into this fund. |
30 | (5) All donations and grants designed to promote the purposes of this chapter from public |
31 | or private sources. The enforcing officer is declared to be the authorized agency of the corporate |
32 | unit to apply for and receive all grants, loans, and gifts of funds to promote the purposes of this |
33 | chapter. |
34 | (6) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary above, the corporate unit is hereby authorized |
| LC005691 - Page 4 of 6 |
1 | to select from a wide array of vendors, contractors and subcontractors, and third-party |
2 | administrators to administer a loan program or loan programs utilizing the revolving fund to assist |
3 | qualifying owners, operators, and agents with the cost of repairs and other corrective action or |
4 | demolition. If the plan includes the purchase of professional assistance, an appropriate contract |
5 | must be prepared and local purchasing policies must be followed. |
6 | (f) Rent payments. Notwithstanding any lease or other agreement, if the enforcing officer |
7 | of any corporate unit has ordered the repair, alteration, or improvement of a dwelling in that the |
8 | officer designates the dwelling to be an unfit dwelling, as provided for in this section, then the |
9 | obligation of rent to the landlord is suspended and the rent paid into the revolving fund as |
10 | established in subsection (e) by the enforcing officer, to be paid thereafter to the landlord or any |
11 | other party authorized to make repairs (including the enforcing officer) to defray the cost of |
12 | correcting the conditions, and no action shall be maintained by the landlord against the tenant for |
13 | rent or for possession. Sums paid into the revolving fund in excess of those necessary to make |
14 | repairs shall be paid to the landlord on completion. If the tenant fails to make payments to the |
15 | enforcing officer then an action for rent or possession may be maintained, subject to defenses that |
16 | the tenant may have under the lease or agreement. |
17 | SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage. |
======== | |
LC005691 | |
======== | |
| LC005691 - Page 5 of 6 |
EXPLANATION | |
BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL | |
OF | |
A N A C T | |
RELATING TO TOWNS AND CITIES -- HOUSING MAINTENANCE AND OCCUPANCY | |
CODE | |
*** | |
1 | This act would amend the Housing Maintenance and Occupancy Code to allow the |
2 | enforcing officer to undertake repairs and corrective actions against certain properties. This act |
3 | would also allow the enforcing officer to demolish an unfit or unsafe dwelling or unit, and the costs |
4 | for this demolition would constitute a lien on the property. |
5 | This act would take effect upon passage. |
======== | |
LC005691 | |
======== | |
| LC005691 - Page 6 of 6 |