Ordinance No.10-61
ORDINANCE TO ESTABLISH LANDLORD LICENSE REQUIRED APPLICATION GROUNDS FOR
DENIAL, SUSPENSION OR REVOCATION OF LICENSE
Whereas the Town of Gauley Bridge, wishes to establish a landlord licensing mechanism whereby the City may regulate rental properties within the City for the betterment of both landlords and tenants. The City hereby establishes an ORDINANCE which requires landlords to obtain a license to operate rental property in the Town of Gauley Bridge. Be it enacted and ordained by the Council of the Town of Gauley Bridge.
DEFINITIONS
The following words and phrases used in this ordinance shall have the meanings prescribed in this section:
LANDLORD means the person, persons, and or legal entity, or landlords agent who rents to tenants one or more legally established dwelling units.
RENTAL DWELLING means a building or portion of a building used or designated for use as a legally established dwelling unit and is arranged, designed or built and is available to be rented, loaned leased or hired out for a period of one (1) month or longer purpose.
The purpose of this chapter is to accomplish the following.
1. To promote public health, safety and welfare by requiring rental dwellings to be safe and fit for human occupancy.
2. To ensure that all rental dwellings were established legally and constructed compliant with the building code at the time of establishment.
3. To provide contact information, through licensing, for each rental dwelling to allow problems to be resolved expeditiously.
4. To provide consistency with licensing of all other businesses in the City by requiring licensing of owners who rent dwellings.
LICENSE REQUIREMENTS
1. An owner of a rental unit must obtain a landlord license from the City before the owner permits occupancy of such rental unit/units. It is unlawful for any owner without a landlord license to lease a rental unit. For those owners of currently occupied rental units at the time of passage of this ordinance, a landlord license must be obtained by MAY 1st of each year and shall entitle the owner to operate a rental unit for a year thereafter.
2. PROCEDURE FOR OBTAINING LANDLORD LICENSING
a. Landlord License Application. Each owner of a rental unit shall file a landlord license application and submit a landlord license application fee/fees to the city clerk on forms prescribed by the city and maintained on file in City Hall. The landlord license application shall require the owner to give the following information under oath.
(A) Names, address, telephone number and e-mail address of the owner;
(B) Registered agent’s name, address, telephone# and e-mail address if applicable.
(C) Name address, telephone# and e-mail of the onsite management company or individual, if different from the owner.
(D) The name of partners or corporate officers and their office address if applicable.
(E) If the owner is a corporation, a certificate from the secretary of State certifying that the applicant is a corporation in good standing under the laws of the State and is certified to do business in the state;
(F) Whether or not the owner or any partner or corporate officer has been denied a license or had a license revoked or suspended in connection with maintaining, operating, or conducting the business of a landlordin any municipality or state.
(G) Whether or not the owner or any partner or corporate officer has been convicted of a felony in connection with maintaining, operating, or conducting a business or commercial activity.
(H) A statement that the owner agrees to conduct, maintain and supervise all rental units and the surrounding premises owned by the owner so as not to create a nuisance, or permit conduct or activity at a rental unit or it’s premises that endangers the public, public health and welfare.
(I) A statementthat the owner certifies that the landlord license application is accurate and does not contain any material omissions and/or materially false or misleading information;
(J) A statement that the owner agrees to be responsible for the payment of all fees and taxes due to the city for services.
2 Issuance of the landlord license, upon receipt of the completed landlord license application, the landlord fees, except for the subsection(e) herein, the city shall issue the landlord license to the owner.
3 Amended landlord application, if at any time the information contained in the landlord changes materially before the filing of a new landlord application, the landlord shall update the landlord license application. Failure to update the information on the landlord license application shall be a violation of this ORDINANCE.
4 Restrictions of the landlord license. A landlord license shall be valid for one year from the issuance date. Landlord license are nontransferable.
5 Renewal of the Landlord License. At the expiration of the landlord license, the owner may/must renew the landlord license by submitting another landlord license application along with the application fees. A renewal of the landlord license may not be refused with out cause upon payment of all landlord license fees.
6 Grounds for DENIAL of Landlord License Applications. The City may deny any landlord license application if any of the following events have occurred or condition exist.
(a) All rentals must have trash service provided by the landlords and must show proof of said trash service.
(b) The owner has failed to provide all the information requested on the landlord license application pursuant to subsection(b) (1) of this section.
(c) The owner has failed to pay all the required fees and penalties pursuant to this chapter;
(d) The owner is a nonnatural person, the application is not organized under the laws of the State of West Virginia, controlled by the laws of the state or is not authorized or qualified in business by the state.
(e) The owner has refused inspection of a rental unit and it’s premises by public authorities acting pursuant to the law.
(f) The owner has obtained the landlord license or rental unit pemit through fraud, collusion or illegally;
(g) The owner or any partner or corporate officer has been denied a license or has had a license revoked in connection with maintaining, operating or conducting the business of a landlord in the city or state;
(h) The owner or any partner or corporate officer has been convicted of a felony in connectionwith maintaining, operating or conducting a business or commercial activity.
(i) The owner has failed to remediate any material statutory or code
(j) The application or any previous application for a landlord license filed by an owner contains any material omissions and/or materially false or misleading information;
(k) Any rental unit/or the premises of the owner are conducted or maintained in such a manner as to create a nuisance, or threat to the public health or general welfare;
(l) The owner has been determined to be aiding, abetting, encouraging, permitting, harbouring, or engaging in criminal conduct or criminal activities in any of his/her rental units or on any of the owners rental unit premises.
(m) The owner, or any partners or corporate officer of the owner or the manager, of the premises sought to be operated under the landlord license has failed to comply in any material respect with any city ordinances, or state law applicable thereto, so that such failure to comply resulted in or may result in the endangerment of the tenant’s or general publics health, safety and welfare. If the city believes there is reasonable cause to deny a landlord license application, the city shall issue written notice of the denial to the owner with the specific grounds for such denial. The city shall return the landlord license fee, if paid to the owner whose application was denied. The owner may appeal the determination of the city to the city council.
7 Revocation of the Landlord license. The City may revoke a landlord license at any time if it is determined that any of the following events have occurred or conditions exist.
(a) The landlord is a nonnatural person and is no longer authorized or qualified to enguage in business in the city or State.
(b) The landlord has refused inspection of a rental unit and it’s premises by public authorities acting pursuant of the law;
(c) The landlord has obtained the license through fraud, collusion or illegality.
(d) The owner or any partner or corporate officer has been denied a license or had a license revoked or suspended in connection with maintaining, operating, or conducting the business of a landlord in the city or state.
(e) The owner or any partner or corporate officer has been convicted of a felony in connection with maintaining, operating, or conducting a business or commercial activity.
(f) The landlord has failed to remediate any statutory or code violations of any rental unit.
(g) A landlord application filed by an owner, including required updates, contains any material ommisiions and/or materially false or misleading information.
(h) Any rental unit/units and/or premises of the landlord are conducted or maintained in such a manner as to create a nuisance or threatens the public health or general welfare.
(i) The landlord has been deemed to be aiding, abetting, encouraging, permitting, harbouring, or engaged in criminalconduct/activities in any of his/her rental units or on any of his/her rental unit premises.
(j) The landlord has failed to pay any outstanding penalties or fees that have been outstanding for ninety days.
(k) The owner, or any partners of the premises sought to be operated under the landlord license has failed to comply in any material respect with any city ordinances, or State law applicable of the tenants or general publics health, safety and welfare. If the city believes there is reasonable cause to revoke a landlords license the city shall issue written notice of the revocation with the specific grounds for the revocation. The owner may appeal the revocation to the City Council.
(l) The landlord has failed to provide weekly trash service and keep property/properties in a clean and orderly manner. This means no junk vehicles, trash, building products, scrap materials etc.
8 Landlord License Fee. The fee for a landlord license shall be Fifty($50.00) Dollars per application, annually.
9 Exemption from landlord License Fee. All charities and governmental agencies shall be exempt from the landlord license fees.
THIS ORDINANCE WAS READ ON THE 14TH DAY OF JANUARY, 2025, THE SECOND READING WAS ON THE 28TH DAY OF JANUARY 2025,AFTER WHICH THE COUNCIL FOR THE TOWN OF GAULEY BRIDGE APPROVED THE ORDINANCE BY A VOICE VOTE AND THE SAME BECOMES EFFECTIVE ON THE 28TH DAY OF JANUARY 2025.
ROBERT L. SCOTT
MAYOR OF GAULEY BRIDGE
DATE 1/28/2025
PENNY BROUILLARD
RECORDER
DATE 1/28/2025