Property Maintenance and Code Enforcement

What is “Property Maintenance”?

 The Property Maintenance Code establishes minimum standards for the overall maintenance of owner occupied and rental housing, vacant and abandoned buildings, commercial properties and undeveloped parcels in your municipality. The standards are designed to maintain a healthy, safe, and clean environment as well as preserve the quality of life and property values that your residents and businesses enjoy in your community.

Some municipalities adopt the International Property Maintenance Code (IPMC). The IPMC is a maintenance document intended to establish minimum maintenance standards for basic equipment, light, ventilation, heating, sanitation, and fire safety.

The CKCOG also has our own maintenance code – the CKCOG Maintenance Code – Property, Fire Safety and Building (CMC) also establishes minimum maintenance standards for basic equipment, light, ventilation, heating, sanitation, and fire safety.  The CMC was written based on the “best practices” of the International Property Maintenance Code but adapted to specifically address common challenges in our area. The CMC also offers options to tailor the Code to address concerns unique to your community, such as prohibited exterior furniture or grass heights, while still maintaining a consistent standard throughout our member municipalities.  Chapters 7 and 8 of the CMC give your Municipality the ability to easily adopt and enforce our Rental Unit Licensing and Fire Inspection programs without the need to enact additional Ordinances.

The CKCOG also has the authority to issue Non-Traffic Citations to property owners and occupants who fail to comply with Notices of Violation. The fines and penalties for this Citation are then set by the court having jurisdiction, based upon the established penalties of the Municipality, and when collected are returned directly to the Municipality.

When does the Property Maintenance Code get enforced?

The property maintenance inspection and enforcement process can be initiated in one of several ways. An inspection can be conducted in response to a complaint by an individual, as a result of an observation of your municipality’s Council members or Supervisors, observations during a police or fire call, or as a consequence of an action, such as filing for a rental housing license or other permit. A Code Enforcement officer responds to complaints according to the impact of the violation on the community. Situations that appear to pose a serious risk to health and safety are given top priority; others are pursued in the order in which they are received.

For all types of code complaints, the first step in the follow-up procedure is personal contact by a Code Enforcement Officer to see if a code violation exists and to request compliance. If the individual responsible for the situation is not available or appears unwilling to voluntarily correct the code violation in a timely manner, a notice of violation will be issued and the situation monitored until the violation is abated. Your municipality may also take court action if the situation poses a significant risk to the community or if the individual has ignored previous notices/citations.

Some municipalities request than an officer patrols the area for a set number of hours each month, this allows the municipality to correct small issues quickly and is recommended in more heavily populated areas. Most municipalities allow the code officer to respond to resident’s complaints and concerns as needed. However, some municipalities, to keep costs down and prevent nuisance calls, require all complaints to be first directed to a supervisor or council member, who then contacts the code office if they feel it is warranted.

What does this cost my municipality?

 Our fee is currently set at $78.00 per hour (as of 1/1/2024), billed to the municipality on a monthly basis. Municipalities recover these fees in various ways; most bill the property owner when a case has been resolved and others may add the fees to the annual property tax bill, or in the case of significant fees, place a lien on the property (such as those incurred for the condemnation and demolition of a vacant structure).

Why should our municipality choose the CKCOG to enforce our Property Maintenance Ordinance?

Effective code enforcement initiatives seek to achieve voluntary compliance as a means of avoiding other punitive methods of enforcement, while still accomplishing what is best for the community in terms of public health and safety. It can be, and often is, a very labor-intensive process requiring multiple court appearances and frequent in-person contact with property owners. It is challenging for a small community to establish effective code enforcement presence and efficient case management and follow up without having a code enforcement officer as part of their day to day staff.  Obviously, an additional employee can be an overwhelming financial burden to most municipalities.

Our Code enforcement officers regularly interact with various county and state agencies, such as health departments, child and family services, and highway departments. They work closely with the municipal officials and departments, such as fire, police, building, planning and zoning. Our officers also interact with various members and resources within the community, such as senior service organizations, economic development commissions, mortgage companies, businesses, and residents, developing relationships and networks that reinforce the long-term goals of the municipality.

It is not uncommon that code enforcement interaction is a resident’s first association with the municipality.  The professionalism and approach of the code enforcement officer can shape community views of the local government and municipal experience. Building relationships and knowledge of the community is integral to a proactive and professional code enforcement approach.

In addition, Code Enforcement Officers are willing and able to attend municipal meetings as necessary to discuss current/pending issues or concerns and to gain a better understanding of the Municipality’s needs and primary goals of enforcement.