Unlawful premises are those determined by the code official to be in whole or in part in violation of any of the sections of this Property Maintenance Code. All properties which are unsafe, unfit for human occupancy or otherwise in violation of the Property Maintenance Code may be declared as public nuisances under the common law and laws of Ohio. Such unlawful premises constitute public nuisances by virtue of the injury and annoyance they cause to the public and the damage they do to public interests. That injury, annoyance or damage results from the negative impact of blight, deteriorated, defective, and unlawful premises due to physical decay, neglect, unlawful use, and/or lack of maintenance. Such deterioration is caused by physical decay, neglect, extensive use, or lack of maintenance. It produces effects such as, but not limited to, holes, breaks, cracking, peeling, and rusting.
The code official shall give notice to order the owner of any premises (and/or the holders of legal and/or equitable liens upon that premises) declared by that official to be all or partly unsafe to perform such repairs as necessary to make that premises safe, to secure any insecure structure, to close any open and vacant structure, or, in the alternative, to demolish and remove that structure or the unsafe aspect of the premises. Any permits required by the Building Code or Zoning Code of this city for such repair or demolition work must be obtained before such work is commenced. The notice giving this order shall comply with the requirements of Section 111.4 and shall allow a reasonable time for such corrective work or demolition and removal, including adequate time to obtain permits, and in non-emergency situations shall provide notice at least 30 days in advance of proposed entry onto the premises by the city to perform that work. The notice referred to in this section shall be in addition to, and may be combined with, the order to vacate which may be issued for any unsafe premises as directed by Section 111.1.3.
With regard to unlawful premises constituting public nuisances (as defined herein), the code official shall follow the same notice procedures as described immediately above in Section 111.2.1 to order that the unlawful conditions be repaired or removed.
The notice and order with regard to unlawful premises shall not provide the alternative of demolition and removal and shall not be combined with any order to vacate, because such orders to demolish and remove or to vacate may be issued only for unsafe rather than unlawful premises.
Whenever there has been failure to comply, within the time required, with an order issued under this Section 111.2 of the code, the code official may cause the work to be performed by the city or by contract or arrangement with private persons. Any such contract or arrangements with private persons shall comply with city charter and ordinance requirements as to making contracts or financial commitments on behalf of the city. Such a failure to comply means not only a failure to complete the work within the required time but also failure to use the alternative procedure of entering into a contract with the city within the required time, guaranteed by a sufficient surety, to perform the work at a later date.