Sec. 38-223. Residential Property Inspection Program.
A. Definitions.For the purposes of this section, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings respectively ascribed to them:
1.Owner shall mean any person, copartnership, association, corporation, fiduciary, or other legal or business entity having legal or equitable title or any interest in any residential property, or any realtor, real estate broker, or agent representing said owner.
2.Buyer shall mean any person, copartnership, association, corporation, fiduciary, or other legal or business entity which intends to sign an agreement or instrument which on its face appears to be legally binding or is intended to be legally binding, subject to specified conditions. Such agreement or instrument shall include, but is not necessarily limited to, a deposit receipt, seller’s instructions, contract of sale, exercise of option to buy, or executed deed when there is no prior written agreement.
3.Residential property shall mean all real property, whether improved or unimproved, which is, or by virtue of the zoning thereon, may be used for residential purposes.
4.Agreement of sale shall mean any agreement or written instrument which provides that title to any property shall thereafter be transferred from one owner to another owner, including a lease with option to buy.
B. Residential Property Inspection Report.Prior to the close of escrow or transfer of title for sale or exchange of any residential real property, the owner of such property shall obtain from the City a residential property report. An inspection of any other type of real property may be requested by the owner thereof, and, if so requested, said report shall be subject to the same terms and conditions as a residential property inspection report, as required hereunder.
C. Contents of Report.Upon application by the owner or his authorized agent, and subject to payment of the fee required, the City shall review pertinent City records, conduct an exterior inspection of the subject property, and deliver to the applicant within two working days a residential property inspection report which shall contain the following information, insofar as the same is available:
1.Street location, address, and parcel number of the subject property.
2.Zone classification and authorized use.
3.Occupancy, as indicated and established by permits of record.
4.Variances, Conditional Use Permits, exceptions, and other pertinent legislative acts of record.
5.Any special restrictions in use or the development which may apply to subject property.
6.Violations of the codes, ordinances, and regulations of the City existing upon the subject property and its improvements which are of record or are revealed in the course of an exterior inspection by City.
Errors or omissions in said report shall not bind or estop the City from abating any dangerous defects on the property by legal action against the seller, buyer, or any subsequent owner. Said report does not address guarantee of the structural stability of any existing building, nor does it relieve the owner, his agent, architect, or builder from designing and building a structurally stable building which meets the requirements of adopted codes and ordinances. Said report shall be valid only as to the specific transaction for which the inspection and review of the records was made by the City, provided, however, that, in the event said transaction is not consummated, the report shall be valid for a period of 180 days on the condition that, if a subsequent transaction is arranged during that period, the property shall again be inspected by City and a supplemental report issued, if necessary, without charge to the owner.
D. Exceptions.This section shall not apply to first sale of a newly-constructed residential property and within six months after final inspection by the City, or to a condominium unit that shares one or more wall with a neighbor’s condominium unit. (Ord 3312; 11/02)
E. Presentation of Report to Buyer.Upon receipt of the residential property inspection report, the seller or his authorized agent shall present said report, or an exact copy of the same, to the buyer prior to transfer of title of such property to said buyer. Buyer shall, upon receipt of such report, execute a receipt of such report upon a form provided by City and said receipt shall be returned either by hand delivery or first class mail to the Building Safety & Inspections Division of the City.
F. Penalties.Violations shall be an infraction.
G. Sale or Exchange of Residential Property.No sale or exchange of residential property shall be invalidated solely because of the failure of any person to comply with any provision of this section, unless such failure is an act or omission which would be a valid ground for recision of such sale or exchange in the absence of this section.