ARTICLE I. IN GENERAL
18-1 Short title.
This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Minimum Housing Standards Ordinance of the City of Burlington."
(Rev. Ords. 1962, § 921)
18-2 Definitions.
For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms, phrases, words, and their derivations, shall have the meanings given herein:
Action of the inspectors shall include, but shall not be limited to, the inspection of a dwelling or dwelling unit, the issuance of an order, the failure to inspect a dwelling unit or the failure to issue an order by the inspectors.
Aggrieved person shall include, but not be limited to, persons against whom orders of the inspectors have been issued, occupants of buildings inspected by the inspectors and persons who file written or oral complaints with the inspectors.
Attic shall mean the volume, if any, between the roof and the ceiling over the interior finished space nearest the roof.
Basement shall mean a portion of any dwelling located partly underground but having less than one-half (1/2) its clear floor-to-ceiling height below the average grade of the adjoining ground.
Box sills shall mean the cavity created by the floor joists resting on the foundation, and the outer band joist.
Cellar shall mean a portion of any dwelling having one-half (1/2) or more than one-half (1/2) of its clear floor-to-ceiling height below the average grade of the adjoining ground.
Certified lead inspector means a person who has been licensed by the Vermont Department of Health to conduct lead inspections.
Dormitory shall mean a multi-unit student residential unit owned and operated by a university or college.
Dwelling shall mean a building or structure, except temporary housing, which is wholly or partly used or intended to be used for living or sleeping by human occupants.
Dwelling unit shall mean a room or group of rooms located within a dwelling and forming a single habitable unit with facilities which are used or intended to be used for living, sleeping, cooking and eating.
EMP shall mean essential maintenance practices required by 17 V.S.A § 1759.
Enforcement agency shall mean the agency, department, division or office designated by the city council as the entity responsible for the administration and enforcement of the minimum housing standards ordinance.
Enforcement officer shall mean the director or individual responsible for the administration of the enforcement agency.
Guest means a person who, in exchange for compensation, rents a short term rental.
Habitable room shall mean a room or enclosed floor space used or intended to be used for living, sleeping or eating purposes, excluding bathrooms, water closet compartments, laundries, foyers, pantries, communicating corridors, stairways, closets, basement recreation rooms and storage spaces.
Heated space shall mean any living space within the exterior boundaries defining the building into which heat is intentionally introduced during the heating season.
Host means a person who operates a short term rental (whole or partial unit). The host is the primary contact for guests to make reservations and to contact during their stay. The host oversees compliance of the short term rental with all applicable rules and regulations, receives guests’ payment for short term rental stays, and is responsible for remitting all taxes imposed on a guest’s occupancy. The host may be the property owner or tenant.
Hotel or motel means an establishment which holds itself out to the public by offering temporary (less than thirty (30) days) sleeping accommodations for compensation and is subject to the Vermont rooms and meals tax. "Hotel or motel" is defined as lodging in the comprehensive development ordinance. Hotel or motel does not include short term rental.
Inspector shall mean any minimum housing inspector or any other person specifically designated by the enforcement officer to enforce the provisions of this chapter.
Multifamily dwelling shall mean any dwelling or part thereof containing three (3) or more dwelling units.
Normal wear and tear shall mean the deterioration which occurs, based upon the reasonable use for which the dwelling unit or rooming unit is intended, without negligence, carelessness, accident or abuse of the premises or supplied equipment or appliances by the occupant or members of his household or their invitees or guests.
Occupant shall mean any person including an owner living and sleeping in a dwelling unit or rooming unit.
Openable area shall mean the part of a window or door which is available for unobstructed ventilation and which opens directly to the outdoors.
Owner shall mean any person who, alone, jointly or severally with others, holds legal or equitable title to any dwelling, roominghouse, dwelling unit or rooming unit.
Plumbing shall mean water-heating facilities, water pipes, garbage disposal units, waste pipes, water closets, sinks, installed dishwashers, lavatories, bathtubs, shower baths, installed clotheswashing machines, catch basins, drains, vents and other similar supplied fixtures, together with all connections to water or sewer lines.
Premises shall mean a lot, plot or parcel of land, including the buildings and structures thereon.
Pre-renovation rule means the EPA 406b Rule, or any subsequent superseding rule that is in effect and applicable, that relates to renovations performed in pre-1978 housing which are performed for compensation. For purposes of this definition, "renovation" means any modification of all or part of any existing structure in the housing that disturbs painted surfaces. "Renovation" includes: removal or modification of painted surfaces, components, or structures, surface preparation activities (i.e. sanding/scraping/other activities that may create paint dust) or window replacement. "Compensation" is the receipt of anything of value and may include exchanges of money, goods, or services or the payment of rent to landlords or property managers.
Program administrator shall mean the director of permitting and inspection or their designee.
Rental property shall mean the building or buildings at a given property address that contains any rental units.
Rental target housing means target housing offered for lease or rental under a rental agreement as defined in 9 V.S.A. § 4451. "Rental target housing" does not include a rented single room located within a dwelling in which the owner of the dwelling resides unless a child six (6) years of age or younger resides in or is expected to reside in that dwelling.
Rental unit shall mean any structure, a part of which is rented out and occupied as a residence by another, for compensation, including duplex units, so called. Rental unit shall also include short term rental. The portion of any such unit being occupied as a residence by the owner shall be considered a rental unit.
Resident shall mean a natural person who is domiciled in a dwelling unit and has the intent to maintain the unit indefinitely and to return there if temporarily absent, coupled with an act or acts consistent with that intent, notwithstanding whether or not the person is a "tenant."
Roof shall mean the surface on the top of a building which separates the building from the outdoors.
Roominghouse shall mean any dwelling or that part thereof containing one (1) or more rooming units in which space is let to three (3) or more persons for thirty (30) consecutive days or more.
Rooming unit shall mean any room or group of rooms forming a single habitable unit used or intended to be used for living and sleeping, but not for cooking or eating purposes. A rooming unit does not include short term rental.
Short term rental (STR) shall mean a dwelling unit that is rented to guests for less than thirty (30) consecutive days and for more than fourteen (14) days during any rolling twelve (12) month period, is subject to the Vermont rooms and meals tax, and is either a:
(1) Partial unit, meaning a room located within a host’s primary residence that is used primarily for sleeping purposes by human occupants and that contains at least seventy (70) square feet of floor area; or
(2) Whole unit, meaning an entire dwelling unit.
Skilled manner shall mean executed in a skilled manner; e.g., generally plumb, level, square, in line, undamaged and without marring adjacent work. To be executed in a "skilled manner," maintenance or repair work must be performed in a manner consistent with work done by a skilled craftsperson. In general, floors should be level, walls plumb and square and windows installed so that they operate easily and fit within the rough opening to exclude the elements. The use of proper tools, methods and materials is necessary for skilled manner work unless unusual circumstances exist.
Supplied shall mean installed, furnished or provided by the owner at his expense.
Target housing means any dwelling constructed prior to 1978, except any zero (0) bedroom dwelling or any dwelling located in multiple-unit buildings or projects reserved for the exclusive use of the elderly or persons with disabilities, unless a child six (6) years of age or younger resides in or is expected to reside in that dwelling. "Target housing" does not include units in a hotel, motel, or other lodging, including condominiums that are rented for transient occupancy for less than thirty (30) days.
Tenant shall mean a person under a rental agreement to occupy a dwelling unit or rooming unit to the exclusion of others.
Two-family dwelling shall mean any dwelling containing two (2) dwelling units.
Yard shall mean all ground, lawn, court, walk, driveway or other open space constituting part of the same premises as a dwelling.
(Rev. Ords. 1962, § 922; Ord. of 4-24-75; Ord. of 10-27-86; Ord. of 2-1-88; Ord. of 4-12-93; Ord. of 8-14-95; Ord. of 2-23-09; Ord. of 12-1-14(1); Ord. of 6-25-18(2); Ord. of 5-10-21; Ord. of 6-27-22)
18-3, 18-4 Reserved.
Editor’s note—An ordinance adopted April 12, 1993, deleted §§ 18-3 and 18-4 in their entirety. Formerly, § 18-3 pertained to penalties and derived from an ordinance adopted March 9, 1971; and an ordinance adopted October 27, 1986. Section 18-4 formerly pertained to violations declared nuisances and derived from § 931 of the Revised Ordinances of 1962; § 931 of the 1969 Cumulative Supplement; and an ordinance adopted March 9, 1971.