(a)   Requirement of certificate.

(1)   It shall be unlawful for any owner or the agent of any owner to rent as a dwelling any vacant structure or part thereof upon which a notice or order to repair, alter or improve, or to vacate and close, or of condemnation has been issued and is outstanding without said owner or agent first filing application for and securing a rental unit certificate of occupancy from the building inspector.

(2)   Existing rental units otherwise in compliance with prior building codes may continue to be rented under existing rental agreements but may not be re-rented following a vacancy prior to the issuance of a rental unit certificate of occupancy by the city following an initial inspection. The initial inspection for the purpose of complying with this section 11-40 shall be a no fee inspection by the building inspection department to determine compliance with the 2000 International Property Maintenance Code as adopted and made part of this chapter. If the unit is found to be out of compliance during the initial no fee inspection, the owner shall make the necessary repairs to bring the unit into compliance within forty-five (45) days of the inspection. A rental unit certificate of occupancy shall be issued only after the city building inspection department determines that the repairs, alterations and improvements have been made (in accordance with the 2000 International Property Maintenance Code as adopted and made part of this chapter) and that the structure conforms with the minimum requirements set forth in this chapter. If the owner does not make repairs within the forty-five-day time period following the initial inspection, any subsequent inspection shall be subject to the standard inspection fee, except that the time for compliance may be extended and/or the inspection fee may be waived in the building inspector's discretion upon the inspector's determination that delay in compliance is due to circumstances beyond the owner's reasonable control (such as but not limited to conditions caused by the nature of the repairs, weather, or tenant misconduct) and that the owner is acting in good faith to bring the unit into compliance promptly. Where the owner has initiated eviction or summary ejectment court proceedings against the tenant within thirty (30) days of the issuance of a notice of violation, the building inspector may hold any forty-five-day cure period in abeyance until the rental unit is vacated and possession is returned to the owner.

(3)   With regard to new construction, the building inspector shall conduct an initial no fee inspection of the rental unit and shall issue a rental unit certificate of occupancy, if the rental unit is found to comply with the conditions set forth in the 2000 International Property Maintenance Code as adopted and made part of this chapter. If the unit is found to be out of compliance during the initial inspection, the owner shall make the necessary repairs to bring the unit into compliance within forty-five (45) days of the inspection. A rental unit certificate of occupancy shall issue only after the city building inspection department determines that the repairs, alterations and improvements have been made (in accordance with the 2000 International Property Maintenance Code as adopted and made part of this chapter) and that the structure conforms with the minimum requirements set forth in this chapter. If the owner does not make repairs within the forty-five-day time period following the initial inspection, any subsequent inspection shall be subject to the standard inspection fee, except that the time for compliance may be extended and/or the inspection fee may be waived in the building inspector's discretion upon the inspector's determination that delay in compliance is due to circumstances beyond the owner's reasonable control (such as but not limited to conditions caused by the nature of the repairs or weather) and that the owner is acting in good faith to bring the unit into compliance promptly.

(4)   Owners shall have an initial period of five (5) years from the date of implementation of this section, (January 1, 2004), to bring rental units into compliance with this chapter, however, as of January 1, 2009 all rental units, including any unit or dwelling space that is rented and is occupied by the same residents for a period that exceeds thirty (30) days, must have a rental unit certificate of occupancy or a certificate of sample compliance (as provided for in subsection 11-40(b) of this chapter) before being rented, subject to subsection (a)(2) above. Owners of rental units annexed into the city on or after June 30, 2008 shall have an initial period of one (1) year from the date of annexation to bring rental units into compliance with this chapter and to apply for and secure a certificate of occupancy or of sample compliance under this section 11-40 prior to renting any structure as a dwelling subject to subsection (a)(2).

(5)   Issued rental unit certificates of occupancy shall remain in force unless revoked as provided in subsection (a)(6).

(6)   If following the issuance of a rental unit certificate of occupancy, an inspection of a unit confirms a violation of the 2000 International Property Maintenance Code as adopted and made part of this chapter, a certificate of occupancy may be revoked, subject to the building inspector's discretion as stated in subsections (a)(2) and (3), thereby requiring the unit to be physically reinspected and issued a certificate of occupancy prior to renting or renewing or extending an existing lease for more than ninety (90) days, unless the violations are cured as provided in section 11-40 of this Code. If a certificate of occupancy is revoked for failure to cure violations in forty-five (45) days of confirmation, a two hundred fifty dollars ($250.00) fee per unit for re-inspection and issuance of a new certificate shall be charged and paid prior to the issuance of any rental unit certificate of occupancy. If a certificate of occupancy is revoked a second time within twelve (12) months of the first revocation for failure to cure violations within forty-five (45) days of confirmation, a renewal fee of five hundred dollars ($500.00) shall be charged and paid for inspection before a rental unit certificate of occupancy will be issued. If a rental unit certificate of occupancy is revoked a third time within twelve (12) months of the first revocation for failure to cure violations within forty-five (45) days of confirmation, a daily fine of twenty-five dollars ($25.00) per day shall be imposed, in addition to the five hundred dollar ($500.00) fee required for inspection to obtain a new certificate. For the first violation, time for compliance may be extended and/or the inspection fee may be waived in the building inspector's discretion upon the inspector's determination that delay in compliance is due to circumstances beyond the owner's reasonable control (such as but not limited to conditions caused by the nature of the repairs, weather, or tenant misconduct) and that the owner is acting in good faith to bring the unit into compliance promptly. For subsequent violations within twelve (12) months of the first violation, time for compliance may be extended and the daily fine for continued violation may be waived in the inspector's discretion as described above but inspection and renewal fees may not be waived.

(7)   Exemption(s): In the following circumstances or situations, properties or units are exempt from the requirements of this section 11-40:

(i)   Thirty-day rentals or less (e.g., furniture market rentals).

(ii)   Upon change of ownership, current certificate passes with the purchase or sale of property.

(iii)   Property under contract for "lease/purchase" when the effective date of the lease purchase agreement does not exceed one hundred twenty (120) days.

(iv)   Installment contract sales.

(8)   Current Section 8 certifications issued by the Greensboro Housing Authority shall be considered as rental unit certificates of occupancy for purposes of this Section.

(b)   Certificate of sample compliance alternative.

(1)   When an owner requests and submits a multi-unit dwelling structure or an apartment complex on a single premise or campus with fifty (50) or more individual rental units to sampling inspection, a certificate of sample compliance authorizing occupation shall be issued for the structure or complex if it passes the sampling inspection. A sampling inspection occurs when the building inspector inspects all common areas in multi-unit dwelling structure or apartment complex and a pool of representative units in the structure or complex using a standard sampling procedure approved by the superintendent of building inspections and adopted by the rental unit certificate advisory board. If the structure or complex fails the initial sampling inspection, subsequent inspections may be allowed in accordance with the standard sampling procedure.

(2)   Certificates of sample compliance shall remain in force unless revoked. If an inspection of an individual unit confirms a violation of the 2000 International Property Maintenance Code as adopted and made part of this chapter, a certificate of sample compliance may be revoked, subject to the building inspector's discretion as stated in subsections (a)(2) and (3), thereby subjecting all individual units in the structure or complex to the requirement that each unit be physically inspected and issued a rental unit certificate of occupancy prior to renting,, or renewing or extending an existing lease for more than ninety (90) days, unless the violations are cured as provided for in section 11-40 of this Code. If a certificate of sample compliance is revoked, the building inspector shall be required to inspect all units in the structure or complex within ninety (90) days of the revocation. If a certificate of sample compliance is revoked for failure to cure violations in forty-five (45) days of confirmation, a two hundred fifty dollars ($250.00) fee per each unit required to be inspected shall be charged and paid prior to the issuance of any rental unit certificate of occupancy. If a certificate of sample compliance is revoked a second time within twelve (12) months of the first revocation for failure to cure violations within forty-five (45) days of confirmation, a fee of five hundred dollars ($500.00) per each unit required to be inspected shall be charged and paid before the issuance of a any rental unit certificate of occupancy. If a certificate of sample compliance is revoked a third time within twelve (12) months of the first revocation for failure to cure violations within forty-five (45) days of confirmation, a daily fine of twenty-five dollars ($25.00) per day shall be imposed, per each unit confirmed to be in violation, in addition to a five hundred dollar ($500.00) fee to be charged for each unit required to be inspected in order to obtain a rental unit certificate of occupancy. For the first violation, time for compliance may be extended and/or the inspection fee may be waived in the building inspector's discretion upon the inspector's determination that delay in compliance is due to circumstances beyond the owner's reasonable control (such as but not limited to conditions caused by the nature of repairs, weather, or tenant misconduct) and that the owner is acting in good faith to bring the unit into compliance promptly. For subsequent violations within twelve (12) months of the first violation, time for compliance may be extended and the daily fine for continued violation may be waived in the inspector's discretion as described above but inspection and renewal fees may not be waived.

(c)   (1)   During the 2009 calendar year, the building inspections department will periodically conduct systematic exterior re-inspections of rental units for which certificates of occupancy or of sample compliance were issued under this section before or during the 2004 calendar year. If, upon conducting an exterior re-inspection, the inspector finds the existence of rental unit exterior conditions that suggest probable violation of the requirements of this Chapter 11, an interior inspection or re-inspection of the rental unit shall be scheduled and conducted within ten (10) days of the exterior re-inspection or as soon thereafter as the occupant's permission or an administrative warrant can be secured or obtained. If violations in the common areas of a multi-unit dwelling structure or an apartment complex are confirmed during an exterior re-inspection, all such violations must be cured within forty-five (45) days or certificates of occupancy or of sample compliance for units affected by the common area violations may be revoked. Reinspections and certificate renewals following revocation under this subsection shall be governed by the applicable provisions of subsection (b)(2). In addition, excluding units that in the inspector's discretion need not be reinspected due to recent substantial or planned renovation, the following units shall undergo exterior and interior re-inspection at least once every calendar year: (i) all units for which a certificate of occupancy or of sample compliance has been revoked in the previous year; (ii) all units which have been before the minimum housing commission in the previous year, (iii) all units that have had one (1) or more confirmed violations on two (2) separate occasions within a six-month period within the previous year; and (iv) a random selection of two (2) percent of all other rental units not inspected under (c)(1)(i) through (iii) for which a certificate of occupancy or of sample compliance is in force.

(2)   Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, the city building inspections department shall conduct a complete (interior and exterior) re-inspection of any unit for which a complaint or petition of violation or suspected violation is received.

(d)   An inspection fee of twenty-five dollars ($25.00) shall be charged by the city for any type of courtesy inspection requested for a rental unit certificate of occupancy for the purpose of a loan closing. Multi-family rental units shall be charged an inspection fee of twenty-five dollars ($25.00) per building for courtesy inspections. This subsection shall cease to exist and shall not apply after the implementation period of the rental unit certification program (fifty-nine (59) months after January 1, 2004).

(e)   The building inspector shall maintain records regarding enforcement of this Section for a period of six (6) years and shall maintain certificates of occupancy and of sample compliance for as long as the certificates remain in effect and for six (6) years thereafter.

(f)   All laws and clauses of laws in conflict with the provisions of this Section with regard solely to the issuance of rental unit certificates of occupancy are hereby repealed to the extent of such conflict. All other provisions of the Greensboro Housing Code shall remain in full force and effect.

(g)   Nothing in this section or in the 2000 International Property Maintenance Code adopted shall be construed to affect any suit or proceeding pending in any court, or any rights acquired, or liability incurred, or any cause or causes of action acquired, or existing, under any act or ordinance hereby repealed by this Section, nor shall any legal right or remedy of any character be lost, impaired or affected by this section.

(h)   (1)   Tenant obligations and responsibilities. Nothing in this section shall relieve tenants and occupants of responsibilities imposed by section 11-9 of this chapter and by Chapter 3 of the 2000 International Property Maintenance Code as adopted and made part of this chapter, nor interfere with owners' lawful rights, including those of a contractual nature. When the building inspector, upon performing any inspection pursuant to section 11-40, shall confirm that a tenant or occupant is in violation of section 11-9 or the 2000 International Property Code as adopted with regard to matters over which the tenant and occupant has control, tenant shall be notified of the violation in accordance with the service provisions of this Chapter 11. Owners shall be provided with a copy of the notice of violation of the tenant obligations and responsibilities found in this chapter. Unless the violation causes a unit to be unfit under section 11-10, tenant shall have forty-five (45) days to correct the violation. For each day the violation remains uncorrected after the forty-five-day cure period, a civil penalty of twenty-five dollars ($25.00) per day shall be imposed on the tenant as long as the tenant continues to have possession of the rental unit in order to compensate the city for the costs associated with monitoring and re-inspection of the rental unit related to the tenant's and/or occupant's violation of this section. For the purposes of this section, the responsibilities and duties imposed upon tenants and occupants in section 11-9(a) and in Chapter 3 of the 2000 International Property Maintenance Code as adopted and made a part of this chapter, including but not limited to the duty not to store abandoned or junked vehicles on the premises, are deemed to be within the control of the tenants and occupants.

(2)   If a violation of tenant responsibilities and duties renders a rental unit unfit for human habitation under the standards of section 11-10, the inspector will issue to the tenant an order to correct the violations within forty-eight (48) hours in accordance with section 11-9(b). If the violations are not cured within that time, a certificate of occupancy or of sample compliance will be revoked pending execution of the procedures provided for in section 11-9(b), except that the cure period may be held in abeyance until possession of the rental unit is returned to the owner where the owner demonstrates that eviction or summary ejectment court proceedings against the tenant have been initiated within five (5) days of the issuance of the notice to correct violation. After possession of the rental unit is returned to the owner following the legal proceedings, the owner shall have forty-five (45) days to cure violations before the existing rental unit certificate of occupancy or of sample compliance can be revoked, but may not rent the unit until the unit is reinspected and found to be in compliance with the requirements of this Chapter 11. If the certificate of occupancy or of sample compliance has not been revoked and the owner cures the violations within the forty-five-day time period following return of possession of the unit, reinspection made necessary solely due to violation of tenant responsibilities and duties shall be at no cost to the owner.

(i)   Education program. The city shall host annually in each council district at least one (1) educational workshop for landlords, owners and tenants, which shall be open to the public. Information and instruction will be jointly planned and delivered by representatives from the city, the rental unit certificate advisory board, Triad Apartment Association, Triad Real Estate & Building Industry Coalition, Greensboro Landlords Association, Greensboro Housing Coalition, Greensboro Neighborhood of Congress and the housing committee of the city human relations department and such other organizations representative of similar interests.

(j)   Advisory and appeals board.

(1)   There is hereby created a board to be known as the "rental unit certificate advisory board".

(2)   The board shall be composed of fifteen (15) members serving three-year terms and representative of the following: One (1) member from each of the five council districts; one (1) council member, one (1) inspections staff member from the city's engineering and inspections department; one (1) staff member from the city's housing and community development department; one (1) member from each of the following organizations or representative successor organizations having similar interests: Triad Apartment Association; Triad Real Estate & Building Industry Coalition; Greensboro Landlords Association; Greensboro Housing Coalition; Greensboro Neighborhood Congress; and two (2) citizens at large. In making appointments to the board, the city council shall make due effort to assure a fair balance between the number of members representative of landlord/owner interests and those representative of tenant/occupant interests. All members shall have one (1) vote except for city staff appointments who shall serve in an advisory capacity and be appointed by the city manager to serve at his discretion.

(3)   Members of the advisory board shall be appointed by the city council for terms to expire on January 1. Said terms shall be for three (3) years except for the council representative who shall be appointed for a one-year term. The board appointments shall be staggered with four (4) members of the initial board serving three (3) years; four (4) serving two (2) years and three (3) serving one (1) year. The clerk shall conduct a drawing to determine the terms of the initial board members.

(4)   The powers and duties of the advisory board shall be as follows:

a.   Hear and determine appeals from decisions of the building inspector with regard to rental unit certificates of occupancy and certificates of sample compliance. All appeals shall be in compliance with G.S. § 160A-446 and all other applicable local, state and federal laws.

b.   Make recommendations to city council on any changes to the rental unit certification ordinance.

c.   Perform other duties as may be assigned to it from time to time by the city council.

(5)   Appeals from decisions of the advisory board shall be made to the minimum housing standards commission in the nature of certiorari.

(k)   This section [as amended by Ordinance No. 03-113] shall become effective on and after January 1, 2004.