No land shall be occupied or used and no commercial building or other building (except as per the provisions of the City of Clayton Property Maintenance Code) shall be occupied or used in whole or in part, for any purpose whatsoever, until the Director of Planning and Development Services or his/her designee has issued an occupancy permit. The use, occupancy or tenancy of a building or part thereof shall not be changed without an occupancy permit being issued by the Director of Planning and Development Services or his/her designee.

Whenever the sale of a building results in a change in the occupant or whenever premises are rented to an occupant or whenever there is a change in use of the premises, it shall be required to apply for and receive an occupancy permit in accordance with the provisions of the Property Maintenance Code, this Zoning Code and all other applicable ordinances and regulations of the City.

An occupancy permit shall remain in effect and not expire for owner-occupied residential dwelling units in accordance with the provision of the Property Maintenance Code provided that no change of occupancy occurs. For non-owner-occupied units, an occupancy permit shall be valid for five (5) years. An occupancy permit renewal shall be required after five (5) years from the date of issuance if tenancy does not change.

A record of all certificates of occupancy shall be kept on file in the office of the Director of Planning and Development Services or his/her designee and copies may be furnished on request to any person having a proprietary or tenancy interest in land or building affected by such certificate of occupancy.