Section 22-187 Procedure for issuance of certificate.

(a) Inspection prerequisite. The director shall make an inspection of the dwelling or dwellings for which a satisfactorily completed and executed application for a certificate of compliance is filed. Such inspection shall be made pursuant to consent or a search warrant issued under the provisions of section 22-189 of this article. No person shall be prosecuted for a violation of this article prior to inspection of the dwelling or dwellings for which an application for a certificate of compliance has been filed, provided that such application is satisfactorily completed and executed and is filed at least forty-five (45) days prior to the date when the applicant must obtain or renew the certificate of compliance.

(b) Inspection of each unit. An inspection shall be required for each dwelling or rooming unit sought to be licensed, provided that the director, upon written request by the applicant, may determine by random sampling of at least thirty (30) percent of the dwelling or rooming units, whether an apartment house or rooming house containing more than thirty (30) dwelling or rooming units complies with the provisions of chapters 6, 20, 23, 25 and 29 of this Code, provided that those units inspected must be representative of the various types and location of units in the dwelling and further that all units for which a violation complaint has been received shall be inspected.

(c) Issuance. If, as a result of the inspection, the director determines that the dwelling is in compliance with the provisions of chapters 6, 9 (article II), 20, 23, 25 and 29 of this Code, he shall issue a certificate of compliance to the operator.

(d) Violations. If, as a result of the inspection, the director shall determine that the dwelling is in violation of any of the provisions of chapters 6, 9 (article II), 20, 23, 25 of this Code, the director shall notify the operator of the violations and proceed to correct such violations under the provisions of chapters 6, 9 (article II), 20, 23, or 25 of this Code, whichever is applicable.

The operator of an apartment house, rooming house, two-family dwelling, or single rental unit where any such violation is found to exist shall have all rights and remedies and shall be subject to the procedures established by chapters 6, 9 (article II), 20, 23, or 25 of this Code, whichever is applicable.

(1) Pending appeal. The operator of a dwelling where violations of chapters 6, 9 (article II), 20, 23, 25 or 29 of this Code are found to exist may apply to the director for a certificate of use conditioned on compliance to allow the operator to appeal from a notice of violation under the applicable procedures. Such certificate shall be issued only if:

(2) Period of compliance. A certificate of use conditioned on compliance may be issued by the director, on application, to make available a reasonable time for existing apartment houses, rooming houses, two-family dwellings, or single rental units to come into compliance with the provisions of chapters 6, 9 (article II), 20, 23, 25 or 29 of this Code. Such certificate shall be issued only:

a. On signing of a notarized agreement by the operator admitting such violations and agreeing to remove such violations within a reasonable time period agreed to by the director, or established by an appeals board on appeal under subsection (e)(1); an

b. Only for the period as determined by the director or established by an appeals board on appeal under subsection (e)(1), which is reasonably required to remove such violations, which period, if established by the director, shall in no event exceed one hundred eighty (180) days. A certificate of use conditioned on compliance shall be revoked if it appears that the operator is not correcting the violations in accordance with the established compliance schedule.

A certificate of use conditioned on compliance may not be issued for a new dwelling, two-family dwelling, or single rental unit, and may not be issued for any dwelling or rooming unit which the director has declared to be an unsafe building or a structure unfit for human occupancy under the building code of the city.

(f) Provisional Certificate of Compliance. If the owner, operator or tenant of a dwelling has been convicted of a violation of chapter 29 of this Code, or the director has revoked the certificate of compliance for the dwelling, the owner of the dwelling may apply to the director for a provisional certificate of compliance. In addition to the requirements contained in section 22-186 of this article, the owner must also provide the director with information on the owner’s compliance efforts or procedural changes which will ensure compliance with city codes. A provisional certificate of compliance shall expire one (1) year from the date of issuance. The director shall only issue a provisional certificate of compliance when the owner satisfies the director that the structure and the use of the structure is in compliance with city code. The director shall impose conditions upon which the provisional certificate of compliance is granted. At a minimum, these conditions shall include the following requirements:

If there are no violations of chapter 29 of this Code, the owner may apply to the director for an extension of the provisional certificate of compliance for an additional one (1) year term. The director may grant no more than two (2) extensions of the provisional certificate of compliance.