Enrolled Committee Substitute
House Bill 4386 History
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Key: Green = existing Code. Red = new code to be enacted
ENROLLED
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
H. B. 4386
(By Delegates DeLong and Morgan)
[Passed March 7, 2008; in effect ninety days from passage.]
A ACT to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by
adding thereto a new section, designated §8-12-16a, relating
to uninhabitable property in municipalities
; authorizing
municipalities to establish property registration and assess
fees by ordinance; procedures and requirements for the
property
registration and fees
; establishing appeal process;
and process for delinquent fees.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended
by adding thereto a new section, designated §8-12-16a, to read as
follows:
ARTICLE 12. GENERAL AND SPECIFIC POWERS, DUTIES AND ALLIED
RELATIONS OF MUNICIPALITIES, GOVERNING BODIES AND MUNICIPAL
OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES; SUITS AGAINST MUNICIPALITIES.
§8-12-16a. Registration of uninhabitable
property.
(a) The governing body of a municipality may, by ordinance, establish a property registration for any real property improved by
a structure that is uninhabitable and violates the applicable
building code adopted by the municipality. An owner of real
property subject to the registration shall be assessed a fee as
provided by the ordinance.
(b) The mayor of the municipality shall appoint a code
enforcement officer to investigate and determine whether real
property violates provisions of the applicable building code of the
municipality.
(c) After inspecting the property, if the officer determines
the property is uninhabitable
and violates the applicable building
code, then:
(1) The officer shall post a written notice on the property
which shall include:
(A) An explanation of the violation(s);
(B) A description of the registration;
(C) The date the fee will be assessed;
(D) An explanation of how to be removed from the registration;
(E) An explanation of the appeals process; and
(F) A statement that if the fee is not paid, then the property
is subject to forfeiture; and
(2) Within five business days of the inspection and the
posting of the property, the officer shall, by certified mail, send
a copy of the notice that was posted to the owner(s) of the
property at the last known address according to the county property
tax records.
(d) Within forty-five days of receipt of the notification by
the owner(s), the property owner
may:
(1) Make and complete any repairs to the property that violate
the applicable building code;
or
(2) Provide written information to the officer showing that
repairs are forthcoming in a reasonable period of time.
(e) After the repairs are made, the owner may request a
reinspection of the property to ensure compliance with the
applicable building code. If the officer finds the violations are
fixed, the owner is not subject to the registration and no fee will
be incurred.
(f) The officer may reinspect the property at any time
to
determine where in the process the repairs fall.
(g) Within ninety days of receipt of the notification by the
owner(s), the property owner has the right to appeal the decision
of the officer to the enforcement agency, created in section
sixteen, article twelve of this chapter.
(h) If an appeal is not filed within ninety days, the property
is registered and the fee is assessed to the owner(s) on the date
specified in the notice. The notice of the fee shall be recorded
in the office of the clerk of the county commission of the county
where the property is located and if different, in the office of
the clerk of the county commission of the county where the property
is assessed for real property taxes.
(i) If the enforcement agency affirms the registration and
assessment of the registration fee, the property owner has the right to appeal the decision of the enforcement agency to the
circuit court within thirty days of the decision. If the decision
is not appealed in a timely manner to the circuit court, then the
property is registered and the fee is assessed on the date
specified in the notice. The notice of the fee shall be recorded
in the office of the clerk of the county commission of the county
where the property is located and if different, in the office of
the clerk of the county commission of the county where the property
is assessed for real property taxes.
(j) A fee assessed under this section shall be recorded in the
same manner as a lien is recorded in the office of the clerk of the
county commission of the
county.
(k) If the fee is paid, then the municipality shall record a
release of the fee in the office of the clerk of the county
commission of the county where the property is located and if
different, in the office of the clerk of the county commission of
the county where the property is assessed for real property taxes.
(l) If an owner fails to pay the fee, then the officer shall
annually post the written notice on the property and send the
written notice to the owner(s) by certified mail.
(m) If a registration fee remains delinquent for two years
from the date it was placed on record in the clerk of the county
commission in which the property is located and assessed, the
municipality
may take action to receive the subject property by
means of forfeiture. Should the municipality take the steps
necessary to receive the subject property, the municipality
then
becomes the owner of record and takes the property subject to all
liens and real and personal property taxes.