Pre-sale and rental inspections are applicable to business uses and shall be conducted upon a change of tenant or ownership.

All inspections must be conducted as soon as reasonably practical after being vacated by tenants or in contemplation of a change in ownership as required by this Code. Such commercial rental units must be brought into compliance with requirements of this Property Maintenance Code in connection with each change of occupancy by new tenants.

Fees to be charged for pre-sale inspections (and similar inspections made of rental units after tenants vacate those units), shall be as set by the City Manager in the fee schedule issued under Chapter 153 of the Administrative Code. Said fees shall be paid at the time an individual requests a pre-sale inspection and no pre-sale inspection shall be conducted until such time as the appropriate fee is received by the city.

Upon failure of the owner, owner’s authorized agent or person responsible to comply with the notice provisions within the time given, the code official shall post on the premises or on defective equipment a placard bearing the word “Condemned” and a statement of the penalties provided for occupying the premises, operating the equipment or removing the placard. Such notice shall be posted in a conspicuous place in or about the structure affected by such notice. If the notice pertains to equipment, it shall be placed on the condemned equipment.

The code official shall remove the condemnation placard whenever the defect or defects upon which the condemnation and placarding action were based have been eliminated. Any person who defaces or removes a condemnation placard without the approval of the code official shall be subject to the penalties provided by this code.

Any occupied structure condemned and placarded by the code official shall be vacated as ordered by the code official. Any person who shall occupy a placarded premises or shall operate placarded equipment, and any owner or owner’s authorized agent who shall let anyone occupy a placarded premises or operate placarded equipment shall be liable for the penalties provided by this code.

The structure or equipment determined to be unsafe by the code official is permitted to be restored to a safe condition. The owner, owner’s authorized agent, operator or occupant of a structure, premises or equipment deemed unsafe by the code official shall abate or cause to be abated or corrected such unsafe conditions either by repair, rehabilitation, demolition or other approved corrective action. To the extent that repairs, alterations, or additions are made or a change of occupancy occurs during the restoration of the structure, such repairs, alterations, additions, or change of occupancy shall comply with the requirements of the International Existing Building Code.