When an occupied building or structure is found to have violations rendering it unfit for human occupancy, a code enforcement officer may post the property and order it vacated, which requires all displaced inhabitants to find other lodging. There are many different conditions that may cause a property to be vacated. The following are some of the more common conditions that can trigger an order to vacate:
- Interior of dwelling is unsanitary
- There is raw sewage standing in the basement
- Electrical system is unsafe
- Heat is not supplied to every habitable room in the winter
- There is no running water.
Work access permits will need to be obtained by the property owner or their designated agent in order to make the repairs. Access to the property will not be granted until a work access permit has been issued.
When the code violations listed on the order to vacate notice have been corrected, the property owner can obtain a certificate of reoccupancy letter from the Neighborhood Preservation Division. This allows for the order to vacate signs to be removed from the property and for the property to be inhabited once more.
