Sec. 10-363. - Responsibilities of owner.
(a) General maintenance. Each property shall be maintained by its owner in a safe and sanitary condition and in compliance with this division. Compliance with this division does not equate to compliance with the Construction Code, or vice versa.
(b) Property standards. An owner of property shall:
(1) Eliminate any unprotected hole, open excavation, sharp protrusion from the ground or walls, and any other object or condition on the premises reasonably likely to cause injury to an individual;
(2) Securely seal or plug any unused water well; secure any pump house and electrical service for operating water wells; remove an unused septic tank or grease trap, or pump the effluent and fill the tank or trap with soil or sand; remove or fill an unused cesspool or cistern with soil or sand; and securely cover all septic tanks or grease traps in service;
(3) Remove dead trees, tree limbs, and other debris reasonably likely to cause injury to an individual or to provide living or breeding places for insects, ectoparasites, or rodents, provided that a reasonably-sized accumulation of compost shall not constitute a violation of this subsection; and
(4) Keep doors and windows of any vacant portion of a building secured.
(c) Structural standards. An owner of property shall:
(1) Protect the exterior surfaces subject to decay by application of a protective covering or coating or other surface preservative;
(2) Fill any unprotected or unenclosed hollow masonry piers, foundation holes, and other openings reasonably likely to cause injury to an individual;
(3) Provide and maintain handrails for stairways, ramps, balconies, and porches more than 30 inches above grade;
(4) Maintain buildings intended for human occupancy in a weatherproof condition;
(5) Maintain floors, supporting walls, ceilings, and all supporting structural members in a sound and safe condition, capable of bearing imposed loads safely;
(6) Maintain each inside and outside stairway, porch, and appurtenance thereto in a sound and safe condition, capable of bearing imposed loads safely;
(7) Provide cross-ventilation of not less than 1½ square feet for each 25 linear feet of wall in each basement or crawl space not mechanically ventilated;
(8) Repair or replace any chimney flue or vent attachment reasonably likely to constitute a health or safety hazard;
(9) In a floor, wall, ceiling, porch, step, or balcony, repair any hole, crack, break, or loose material reasonably likely to constitute a health or safety hazard;
(10) For the flooring or subflooring of each bathroom and other room containing a toilet, provide and maintain a moisture-resistant finish or material, such as ceramic tile or vinyl; and
(11) Maintain all fences and accessory structures, including detached garages and sheds, in a structurally sound condition and in good repair.
(d) Utility standards. An owner of property shall:
(1) In each non-vacant dwelling unit and congregate living facility, provide and maintain in good operating condition one or more connections to discharge sewage from the building into a public sanitary sewer system, where service is available, or into an approved septic system where public sanitary sewer service is not available;
(2) In each non-vacant dwelling unit and congregate living facility, provide and maintain in good operating condition a toilet located in a room affording privacy to the user and connected to a water source and to a public sanitary sewer system, where service is available, or to an approved septic system where public sanitary sewer service is not available;
(3) In each non-vacant dwelling unit and congregate living facility, provide and maintain in good operating condition connections and pipes to supply potable water at adequate pressure;
(4) In each non-vacant dwelling unit and congregate living facility, provide and maintain in good operating condition a device to supply hot water at a minimum temperature of 120 degrees Fahrenheit;
(5) In each non-vacant dwelling unit and congregate living facility, provide a bathtub or shower in a room affording privacy to the user and maintain connections to sources of cold and hot water for each bathtub, shower, and lavatory;
(6) In each kitchen, provide and maintain connections to sources of cold and hot water for a sink;
(7) In each habitable space, provide and maintain in good operating condition heating equipment capable of maintaining a minimum inside temperature of 70 degrees Fahrenheit when it is 20 degrees Fahrenheit outside, the inside temperature to be measured at a point three feet above the floor;
(8) In each habitable space, provide and maintain in good operating condition refrigerated air equipment capable of maintaining a maximum inside temperature 20 degrees Fahrenheit lower than the outside temperature or no higher than 80 degrees Fahrenheit;
(9) In each non-vacant building (except for buildings lawfully used exclusively for storage), provide and maintain in good operating condition such electrical circuits and outlets as are sufficient to carry safely an electrical load imposed by the normal use of equipment, appliances, and fixtures;
(10) In each habitable space, connect the space to an approved electrical service and provide and maintain in good operating condition either two wall-type convenience outlets or one wall-type convenience outlet and one ceiling-type light fixture with a wall switch;
(11) In each bathroom, toilet room, laundry room, and furnace room in a non-vacant building, connect the room to an approved electrical service and provide and maintain in good operating condition one ceiling or wall-type light fixture or one wall-type convenience outlet;
(12) Provide each public hall and stairway with illumination sufficient to allow occupants who are not visually impaired to use the hall or stairway without an unreasonable risk to safety; and
(13) In each non-vacant dwelling unit and congregate living facility, connect each heating or cooking device that burns solid fuel to a chimney or flue.
For purposes of this division, existing plumbing and electrical equipment and heating and cooling facilities that at the time of installation were in compliance with the then-existing Construction Code are permissible, provided the equipment or facility is in good operating condition and capable of being used in a safe manner.
(e) Health standards. An owner of property shall:
(1) Substantially eliminate insects, ectoparasites, and rodents in or on the premises, except as may be limited in section 10-364(b) of this Code;
(2) Provide and maintain a screen for keeping out insects at each exterior opening of each non-vacant dwelling unit, congregate living facility, and sleeping unit not cooled with refrigerated air;
(3) Maintain the interior of each vacant building or vacant portion of a building free from refuse;
(4) Properly grade the property surrounding a building to obtain thorough drainage and to prevent the accumulation of stagnant water;
(5) Provide each non-vacant dwelling unit, congregate living facility, and sleeping unit with means of egress as required by the Construction Code in effect at the time of construction and as required by Appendix D to the Existing Building Code; and
(6) Provide a kitchen in each dwelling unit.
(f) Light and ventilation standards. An owner of property shall:
(1) Provide each habitable space with at least one window or skylight facing directly to the outdoors. The minimum total window area, measured between stops, for each such space shall be ten percent of the floor space of the room. Whenever walls or other portions of structures face a window of any such room and light-obstructing structures are located less than three feet from the window and extend to a level above that of the ceiling of the room, the window shall not be deemed to face directly to the outdoors and shall not be included as contributing to the required minimum total window area. Whenever the only window in a room is a skylight-type window in the top of the room, the total window area of the skylight shall equal at least 15 percent of the total floor space of the room. For purposes of this section, a sliding glass door shall be considered equivalent to a window;
(2) Provide each habitable space with at least one window or skylight that can be opened easily, with a total openable window area in each such space equal to at least 40 percent of the minimum window area size or minimum skylight size, as required; or, where the Construction Code does not require windows, provide an approved ventilation system; and
(3) Provide each bathroom and toilet room with facilities meeting the light and ventilation standards for habitable spaces, except that no window or skylight is required in an adequately ventilated bathroom or toilet room equipped with an approved ventilation system.
(g) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution of an owner for violation of this section that (i) the property is the site of new construction and reasonable and continuous progress is being made to complete the construction; (ii) with respect to subsections (d)(3), (d)(4), and (d)(7) through (d)(11) of this section, that (A) the applicable utilities were disconnected from the premises by or at the instruction of the owner, who was legally authorized to cause the termination of utility service because of non-payment of rent, and (B) the tenant did not pay the utilities directly to the utility company, and (C) the premises otherwise were in substantial compliance with this division; or (iii) the violation was not capable of discovery by the owner upon reasonable investigation or inspection.
(h) An owner of property shall comply with subsection (d)(8) of this section no later than the 120th day after the passage and approval of an ordinance adopting any amendments to subsection (d)(8). Before that date, an owner shall make reasonable and continuous progress toward providing and maintaining refrigerated air equipment capable of complying with subsection (d)(8).
(Ord. No. 2011-108, § 4, 2-9-2011; Ord. No. 2021-1037, § 20(Exh. I.17), 12-1-2021, eff. 4-1-2022; Ord. No. 2026-0732, §§ 2, 3, 8-19-2026)
