TITLE 45

Towns and cities

CHAPTER 45-24.3

Housing Maintenance and Occupancy Code

SECTION 45-24.3-19



   § 45-24.3-19  Repairs and other corrective

action – Demolition – Revolving fund. –

(a) Repairs and other corrective action.



   (1) Whenever an owner, operator, or agent of a dwelling,

dwelling unit, rooming unit, or structure fails, neglects, or refuses to make

repairs or other corrective action called for by a second order or notice of

violation issued pursuant to § 45-24.3-17, the enforcing officer may

undertake the repairs or action, when in his or her judgment a failure to make

them will endanger the public health, safety, or welfare, and the cost of the

repairs and action will not exceed fifty percent (50%) of the fair market value

of the structure to be repaired.



   (2) Notice of the intention to make repairs or take other

corrective action shall be served upon the owner, operator, or agent pursuant

to § 45-24.3-17.



   (3) Every owner, operator, or agent of a dwelling, dwelling

unit, rooming unit, or structure, who receives notice of the intention of the

enforcing officer to make repairs or take other corrective action, shall give

entry and free access to the agent of the enforcing officer for the purpose of

making repairs.



   (4) Any owner, operator, agent, or occupant of a dwelling,

dwelling unit, rooming unit, or structure, who refuses, impedes, interferes

with, hinders, or obstructs entry by the agent pursuant to a notice of

intention to make repairs or take other corrective action, is subject to a

civil penalty of twenty-five dollars ($25.00) for each failure to comply with

this section.



   (5) When repairs are made or other corrective action taken at

the direction of the enforcing officer, cost of the repairs and corrective

action constitutes a debt in favor of the corporate unit against the owner of

the repaired structure. In the event the owner fails, neglects, or refuses to

pay the corporate unit the amount of this debt, it is recoverable in a civil

action against the owner or his or her successor, brought in a court of

competent jurisdiction by the corporate unit which possesses all rights of a

private creditor.



   (b) Designation of unfit dwellings, dwelling units,

rooming units, and structures.



   (1) Any dwelling, dwelling unit, rooming unit, or structure

shall be designated as unfit for human habitation when any of the following

defects or conditions are found, and when, in the opinion of the enforcing

officer, these defects create a hazard to the health, safety, or welfare of the

occupants or of the public:



   (i) The structure is damaged, decayed, dilapidated,

unsanitary, unsafe, or vermin-infested.



   (ii) The structure lacks illumination, ventilation, or

required thermal and sanitation facilities.



   (iii) The general condition of location is unsanitary,

unsafe, or unhealthful.



   (2) Whenever any dwelling, dwelling unit, rooming unit, or

structure has been designated as unfit for human habitation, the enforcing

officer shall placard the dwelling, dwelling unit, or rooming unit, or

structure, indicating that it is unfit for human habitation, and, if occupied,

shall order the dwelling, dwelling unit, rooming unit, or structure vacated

within a reasonable time, that time to be not more than thirty (30) days.



   (3) No dwelling, dwelling unit, rooming unit, or structure,

designated as unfit for human habitation, and which has been placarded and

vacated, shall be used again for human habitation until written approval is

secured from the enforcing officer and the placard removed by the enforcing

officer.



   (4) The enforcing officer shall rescind the designation and

remove the placard when the defect or condition upon which the designation and

the placarding was based has been removed or eliminated as to cause the

dwelling, dwelling unit, rooming unit, or structure to be deemed by the

enforcing officer as a safe, sanitary, and fit place or unit for human

habitation.



   (5) No person shall deface or remove the placard from any

dwelling, dwelling unit, rooming unit, or structure which has been designated

as unfit for human habitation and has been placarded, except as provided in

this section.



   (6) Any person affected by any decision of the enforcing

officer or by any designation or placarding of a dwelling, dwelling unit,

rooming unit, or structure as unfit for human habitation, shall be granted a

hearing on the matter before the enforcing officer under the procedure

established in § 45-24.3-21.



   (7) The enforcing officer may order the owner of any

building, which has been in the past and/or is vacant and open, to comply with

the following specifications: all openings (including doors and windows) from

cellar to second floor and all windows above the second floor leading to fire

escapes, porches, or structural appurtenances, on all floors, must be covered

from the exterior with three-eighths inch (3/8") thick exterior plywood or

one-half inch ( 1/2") notched boards firmly secured and with protective

coating. All other windows must be so secured by either one-quarter inch (

1/4") thick exterior plywood or one-half inch ( 1/2") notched boards.



   (c) Demolition of dwellings, dwelling units, or rooming

units designated as unfit for human habitation. (1) The enforcing officer

shall order a dwelling, dwelling unit, or rooming unit to be demolished if it

has been designated as unfit for human habitation, has been placarded, has been

vacated, and has not been put into proper repair as to rescind the designation

as unfit for human habitation and to cause the placard to be removed, and is

determined by the enforcing officer not to warrant repair under this section.



   (2) The owner of any dwelling, dwelling unit, or rooming

unit, ordered demolished, shall be given notice of this order in the manner

provided for service of notice in § 45-24.3-17, and given a reasonable

time, not to exceed ninety (90) days, to demolish the structure.



   (3) Any owner aggrieved by the notice to demolish may, within

ten (10) days, seek a reconsideration of the matter in the manner provided, and

may seek a formal hearing in the manner provided in § 45-24.3-21.



   (4) When the owner fails, neglects, or refuses to demolish an

unfit, unsafe, or unsanitary dwelling, dwelling unit, or rooming unit within

the requisite time, the enforcing officer may apply to a court of competent

jurisdiction for a demolition order to undertake the demolition. The court may

grant the order when no reconsideration or hearing on the matter is pending.

The cost of the demolition shall create a debt in favor of this corporate unit

against the owner, and is recoverable in a civil action brought by the

corporate unit which possesses all the rights of a private creditor.



   (5) Whenever a dwelling is demolished, whether carried out by

the owner or by the enforcing officer, the demolition shall include the filling

in of the excavation remaining on the property on which the demolished dwelling

was located, in a manner that eliminates all potential danger to the public

health, safety, or welfare arising from the excavation.



   (6) All demolition shall be preceded by an inspection of the

premises by the appropriate authority as provided for by the laws of this state.



   (d) Relocation of occupants. Notwithstanding the

other provisions of this section, no dwelling shall be vacated or demolished by

the enforcing officer, under the powers granted to him or her by the provisions

of this chapter, until persons occupying the dwelling at the time the

compliance order is issued have been offered housing accommodations in a

decent, safe, and sanitary dwelling which meets the requirements of this

chapter.



   (e) Revolving fund. There is created a revolving fund

for the purpose of supporting the cost of repairs and other corrective action

or demolition made by the enforcing officer pursuant to this section. Into this

fund shall be paid:



   (1) All civil penalties collected for violations of this

chapter pursuant to § 45-24.3-18.



   (2) All license fees collected pursuant to this chapter.



   (3) All judgments collected in actions to recover the costs

of repair and other corrective action and demolition, pursuant to this section.



   (4) Any other revenues that the corporate unit may from time

to time authorize to be paid into this fund.



   (5) All donations and grants designed to promote the purposes

of this chapter from public or private sources. The enforcing officer is

declared to be the authorized agency of the corporate unit to apply for and

receive all grants, loans, and gifts of funds to promote the purposes of this

chapter.



   (f) Rent payments. Notwithstanding any lease or other

agreement, if the enforcing officer of any corporate unit has ordered the

repair, alteration, or improvement of a dwelling in that the officer designates

the dwelling to be an unfit dwelling, as provided for in this section, then the

obligation of rent to the landlord is suspended and the rent paid into the

revolving fund as established in subsection (e) by the enforcing officer, to be

paid thereafter to the landlord or any other party authorized to make repairs

(including the enforcing officer) to defray the cost of correcting the

conditions, and no action shall be maintained by the landlord against the

tenant for rent or for possession. Sums paid into the revolving fund in excess

of those necessary to make repairs shall be paid to the landlord on completion.

If the tenant fails to make payments to the enforcing officer then an action

for rent or possession may be maintained, subject to defenses that the tenant

may have under the lease or agreement.



History of Section.

(P.L. 1970, ch. 325, § 1; P.L. 1972, ch. 118, § 9.)