§ 20-168. Responsibilities of owners and occupants.

(a)

Owners. The following shall be the responsibilities of owners:

(1)

No owner or other person shall occupy or let to another person any dwelling or dwelling unit unless it and the premises are clean, sanitary, fit for human occupancy, and comply with all applicable legal requirements of the State of Connecticut and the City of Danbury.

(2)

Every owner of a dwelling containing two (2) or more dwelling units shall maintain in a clean and sanitary condition the shared or public areas of the dwelling and premises thereof.

(3)

Every owner of a dwelling containing three (3) or more dwelling units shall supply facilities or refuse containers for the sanitary and safe storage and/or disposal of rubbish and garbage. In the case of single-family or two-family dwellings, it shall be the responsibility of each occupant to furnish such facilities or refuse containers. All refuse containers shall be rodentproof, insectproof, watertight, structurally strong to withstand handling stress, easily filled, emptied and cleaned; shall be provided with tight-fitting covers or similar closure; and shall be maintained at all times in a clean sanitary condition. A minimum of two (2) twenty-gallon refuse containers shall be supplied for each dwelling unit.

(4)

No owner of a dwelling unit shall store, place, or allow to accumulate any materials which may serve as food for rats in a site accessible to rats.

(5)

No owner of a dwelling shall permit accumulation of rubbish, boxes, lumber, scrap metal, or any other materials in such a manner that may provide a rat harborage in a dwelling or about the shared or public areas of a dwelling or its premises. Materials stored by the owner or permitted to be stored by the owner shall be stacked neatly in piles elevated at least eighteen (18) inches above the ground floor.

(6)

Whenever infestation is caused by failure of the owner to maintain a dwelling in a rodentproof or insectproof condition, extermination shall be the responsibility of the owner. Whenever infestation exists in two (2) or more of the dwelling units in any dwelling or in the shared or common parts of any dwelling containing two (2) or more units, extermination thereof shall be the responsibility of the owner.

(7)

The owner of a dwelling unit shall be responsible for:

a.

Making doors and windows weathertight; or

b.

Providing and hanging all screens and double or storm doors and windows. Where there is a written agreement between the owner and the occupant as to the maintenance or replacement of screens, storm doors and windows, said agreement shall control. In the absence of such an agreement, maintenance or replacement of screens, storm doors and windows, once properly installed, become the responsibility of the occupant.

(8)

The owner of a dwelling unit shall keep all plumbing fixtures in an operable condition.

(9)

In any case where the Director of Health, after a hearing, finds that a particular property consisting of three (3) or more units is substandard because of violations of the housing code, or any law or ordinance, the Director of Health may require the owner of such property to register the name and address of an agent who will be on the premises daily to enforce the provisions of this Code. The rules of the hearing provided for in this section shall be established by the Corporation Counsel.

(b)

Occupants. The following shall be the responsibility of occupants:

(1)

Every occupant of a dwelling or dwelling unit shall keep in a clean and sanitary condition that part of the dwelling, dwelling unit, and premises thereof which he occupies and controls.

(2)

Every occupant of a dwelling unit shall keep all supplied fixtures and facilities therein in a clean, sanitary condition and shall be responsible for the exercise of reasonable care in the proper use and operation thereof.

(3)

Every occupant of a dwelling or dwelling unit shall store and dispose of all his garbage, refuse, and any other organic waste which might provide food for insects and/or rodents in a clean, sanitary, safe manner by placing it in refuse containers.

(4)

No occupants of a dwelling or dwelling unit shall accumulate rubbish, boxes, lumber, scrap metal, or any other materials in such a manner that may provide a rat harborage in or about any dwelling or dwelling unit. Stored materials shall be stacked neatly in piles elevated at least eighteen (18) inches above the ground or floor.

(5)

No occupant of a dwelling or dwelling unit shall store, place, or allow to accumulate any materials which may serve as food for rats in a site accessible to rats.

(6)

Every occupant of a dwelling containing a single dwelling unit shall be responsible for the extermination of any insects, rodents, or other pests therein or on the premises; and every occupant of a dwelling unit in a dwelling containing more than one (1) dwelling unit shall be responsible for such extermination whenever his dwelling unit is the only dwelling unit within the dwelling that is infested.

(Code 1961, § 10-3; Ord. No. 241, 3-6-1979)