(a) Standards for condemnation. The enforcing agency may condemn as unfit for human habitation any individual living unit, dwelling, or dwelling unit or its premises, or as unsafe for human occupancy or use any nonresidential structures or its premises, which:
(1) is entirely or partly so damaged, decayed, dilapidated, unsanitary, unsafe, or vermin-infested that it creates a serious hazard to the health or safety of the occupants or the public;
(2) lacks, entirely or party, illumination, ventilation, heating, water supply, or sanitation facilities, as required by this Chapter;
(3) is, because of its general condition, unsanitary or otherwise dangerous to the health or safety of the occupants or the public;
(4) contains unsafe equipment, including any boiler, heating equipment, elevator, moving stairway, electrical wiring or device, flammable liquid container, or other equipment, on the premises or in the structure which is in disrepair or a condition that the Director finds presents a hazard to the life, health, property, or safety of the occupants or the public;
(5) (A) is vacant and unoccupied for the purpose for which it was built;
(B) has remained substantially in that condition for at least one year; and
(C) has been cited for 5 or more violations of this Chapter, none of which has resulted in a ‘not guilty’ finding by a court; or
(6) is a public nuisance.
(b) Notice required. The enforcing agency must attempt to notify the owner of each individual living unit, dwelling or dwelling unit, and nonresidential structure condemned for human habitation, occupancy, or use. The enforcing agency also must post a warning placard on the property.
(c) Vacating condemned property.
(1) Any person occupying an individual living unit, dwelling, or dwelling unit when it is condemned as unfit for human habitation must vacate the condemned premises within a reasonable time ordered by the enforcing agency.
(2) Any person occupying or using a nonresidential structure when it is condemned as unsafe for human use or occupancy must vacate the building or structure immediately after a warning placard is posted.
(3) A person must not occupy or use, and an owner must not allow a person to occupy or use, an individual living unit, dwelling, dwelling unit, or nonresidential structure which has been condemned as unfit for human habitation or unsafe for human occupancy or use until the enforcing agency approves the occupancy or use and removes the placard. The enforcing agency may remove the placard if all defects on which the condemnation was based have been eliminated.
(d) Removal of placard. A person must not deface or remove a placard from any individual living unit, dwelling, dwelling unit, or nonresidential structure, except as authorized by the enforcing agency.
(e) Secure from entry. Each owner of a condemned or abandoned structure must:
(1) secure all windows and doors which are accessible from the ground, from an adjacent structure, or by the reasonably foreseeable use of a ladder, table, or other device, and
(2) keep them secured against unauthorized entry. (Mont. Co. Code 1965, § 91-11; 1972 L.M.C., ch. 16, § 13; 1980 L.M.C., ch. 29, § 1; 1988 L.M.C., ch. 23, § 1; 1993 L.M.C., ch. 26, § 2; , § 1.)
Editor’s note—Former § 26-12, “Designation of unfit dwellings and unsafe nonresidential structures; legal procedure of condemnation,” was repealed, reenacted with amendments, renumbered § 26-13, and retitled pursuant to , § 1.
Editor's note—Former § 26-13, relating to housing board of review, derived from Mont. Co. Code 1965, § 91-12; 1972 L.M.C., ch. 16, § 13, and 1980 L.M.C., ch. 29, § 1, was repealed by § 1 of 1994 L.M.C., ch. 8.
