SEC. 27-3. DEFINITIONS.
In this chapter:
(1) BATHROOM means an enclosed space containing one or more bathtubs, showers, or both, and which may also include toilets, lavatories, or fixtures serving similar purposes.
(2) BUILDING means a structure for the support or shelter of any use or occupancy.
(3) CITY ATTORNEY means the city attorney of the city of Dallas and includes the assistants and other authorized representatives of the city attorney.
(4) CONDOMINIUM has the meaning assigned in Chapter 82 of the Texas Property Code, as amended.
(5) CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION means a corporation whose members are condominium unit owners in a condominium and who are charged with governing, operating, managing, or overseeing a condominium or its common elements.
(6) CONSTRUCTION CODES means the Dallas Building Code, Chapter 53 of the Dallas City Code, as amended; Dallas Plumbing Code, Chapter 54 of the Dallas City Code, as amended; Dallas Mechanical Code, Chapter 55 of the Dallas City Code, as amended; Dallas Electrical Code, Chapter 56 of the Dallas City Code, as amended; Dallas One- and Two-Family Dwelling Code, Chapter 57 of the Dallas City Code, as amended; Dallas Existing Building Code, Chapter 58 of the Dallas City Code, as amended; Dallas Fuel Gas Code, Chapter 59, Dallas Energy Conservation Code; Chapter 60 of the Dallas City Code, as amended; Dallas Green Construction Code, Chapter 61 of the Dallas City Code, as amended; Dallas Fire Code, Chapter 16 of the Dallas City Code, as amended; and the Housing Standards Manual, as amended.
(7) CRIME PREVENTION ADDENDUM means an addendum to a residential lease or rental agreement for the use of a rental property as required by Section 27-43 of this chapter.
(8) DALLAS ANIMAL WELFARE FUND means the Dallas Animal Welfare Fund as described in Section 7-8.4 of Chapter 7 of this code.
(9) DEPARTMENT means the department designated by the city manager to enforce and administer this chapter.
(10) DIRECTOR means the director of the department designated by the city manager to enforce and administer this chapter and includes representatives, agents, or department employees designated by the director.
(11) DWELLING means a structure or building used, intended, or designed to be used, rented, leased, let, or hired out to be occupied, or that is occupied for living purposes.
(12) DWELLING UNIT has the definition given that term in Section 51A-2.102 of the Dallas Development Code, as amended.
(13) GRADED INSPECTION means an inspection of a rental property in which the property is given a score by the director based on the number of code violations found to exist on the premises.
(14) HABITABLE ROOM means a space in a building or structure for living, sleeping, eating, or cooking. Bathrooms, toilet rooms, closets, halls, storage and utility spaces, and other similar areas, are not considered habitable rooms.
(15) HOUSING STANDARDS MANUAL means the manual by that title and which is kept on file in the office of the city secretary.
(16) INFESTATION means the presence, within or contiguous to a structure or premises, of insects, rodents, vectors, or other pests.
(17) KITCHEN means an area used, or designated to be used, for cooking or preparation of food.
(18) LANDLORD has the same meaning as in Chapter 92 of the Texas Property Code, as amended.
(19) MULTIFAMILY DWELLING means a multifamily use as defined in Section 51A-4.209(b)(5) of the Dallas Development Code, as amended, or, for purposes of this chapter, three or more single dwelling units on the same premises and which are under common ownership.
(20) MULTITENANT PROPERTY means property containing any of the following uses:
(A) A multifamily dwelling as defined in this section.
(B) A lodging or boarding house as defined in Section 51A-4.205(2) of the Dallas Development Code, as amended.
(C) A group residential facility as defined in Section 51A-4.209(b)(3) of the Dallas Development Code, as amended.
(D) An extended stay hotel or motel as defined in Section 51A-4.205(1.1) of the Dallas Development Code, as amended.
(E) A residential hotel as defined in Section 51A-4.209(b)(5.1) of the Dallas Development Code, as amended.
(21) OCCUPANT means a person who has possessory rights to and is actually in possession of a premise.
(22) OPEN AND VACANT STRUCTURE means a structure that is, regardless of its structural condition:
(A) unoccupied by its owners, lessees, or other invitees; and
(B) unsecured from unauthorized entry to the extent that it could be entered or used by vagrants or other uninvited persons as a place of harborage or could be entered or used by children.
(23) OPERATING CONDITION means free of leaks, safe, sanitary, structurally sound, and in good working order.
(24) OWNER means a person who has ownership or title of real property:
(A) including, but not limited to:
(i) the holder of fee simple title;
(ii) the holder of a life estate;
(iii) the holder of a leasehold estate for an initial term of five years or more;
(iv) the buyer in a contract for deed;
(v) a mortgagee, receiver, executor, or trustee in control of real property; and
(vi) the named grantee in the last recorded deed; or
(B) the owner's representative with control over the property.
(25) PERSON means any natural person, corporation, organization, estate, trust, partnership, association, or other legal entity.
(26) PEST means an invertebrate animal that can cause disease or damage to humans or building materials.
(27) PLUMBING FIXTURES means gas pipes, water pipes, toilets, lavatories, urinals, sinks, laundry tubs, dishwashers, garbage disposal units, clothes-washing machines, catch basins, wash basins, bathtubs, shower baths, sewer pipes, sewage system, septic tanks, drains, vents, traps, and other fuel-burning or water-using fixtures and appliances, together with all connections to pipes.
(28) PREMISES or PROPERTY means a lot, plot, or parcel of land, including any structures on the land.
(29) PROPERTY MANAGER means a person who, for compensation, has managing control of real property, including an on-site manager of a building or structure.
(30) PUBLIC SEWER means a sewer operated by a public authority or public utility and available for public use.
(31) REGISTRANT means a person submitting a rental property registration or renewal application or a person whose application the director deems complete under Article VII of this chapter.
(32) RENTAL PROPERTY means a multitenant property or a single dwelling unit that is leased or rented to one or more persons other than the owner of the property, regardless of whether the lease or rental agreement is oral or written, or the compensation received by the lessor for the lease or rental of the property is in the form of money, services, or any other thing of value.
(33) SANITARY means any condition of good order and cleanliness that precludes the probability of disease transmission.
(34) SECURITY DEVICE has the definition given that term in Chapter 92 of the Texas Property Code, as amended.
(35) SHORT-TERM RENTAL has the definition given that term in Section 156.001(b) of the Texas Tax Code, as amended.
(36) SINGLE DWELLING UNIT means a single family or duplex, as defined in the Dallas Development Code, as amended, or a condominium dwelling unit.
(37) SOLID WASTE means:
(A) industrial solid waste as defined in Section 18-2(22) of the Dallas City Code, as amended; or
(B) municipal solid waste as defined in Section 18-2(28) of the Dallas City Code, as amended.
(38) STRUCTURE means that which is built or constructed, an edifice or building of any kind, or any piece of work artificially built up or composed of parts joined together in some definite manner.
(39) TOILET ROOM means a room containing a toilet or urinal but not a bathtub or shower.
(40) URBAN NUISANCE means a premises or structure that:
(A) is dilapidated, substandard, or unfit for human habitation and a hazard to the public health, safety, and welfare;
(B) regardless of its structural condition, is unoccupied by its owners, lessees, or other invitees and is unsecured from unauthorized entry to the extent that it could be entered or used by vagrants or other uninvited persons as a place of harborage or could be entered or used by children; or
(C) boarded up, fenced, or otherwise secured in any manner if:
(i) the structure constitutes a danger to the public even though secured from entry; or
(ii) the means used to secure the structure are inadequate to prevent unauthorized entry or use of the structure in the manner described by Paragraph (B) of this subsection.
(41) VECTOR means an insect or other animal that is capable of transmitting a disease-producing organism.
(42) WORKMANLIKE means executed in a skilled manner, for example, generally plumb, level, square, in line, undamaged, and without marring adjacent work. (Ord. Nos. 15198; 15919; 16473; 17226; 19234; 19896; 22154; 24086; 24961; 25522; 26455; 27147; 27751; 29403; 30236)
