No land shall be occupied or used and no building hereafter erected or structurally altered shall be occupied or used in whole or in part for any purpose whatsoever until a certificate is issued by the Building Commissioner or his/her designee stating that the building and use comply with the provisions of this Chapter and the building and health regulations of the City. No change of use shall be made in any building or part thereof now or hereafter erected or structurally altered without a permit being issued therefor by the Building Commissioner or his/her designee. No permit shall be issued to make a change unless the changes are in conformity with the provisions of this Chapter and the Building Codes and health regulations of the City.

It shall be unlawful for any person to occupy as owner-occupant or to let or hold out to another for occupancy, any dwelling unit for the purpose of living, sleeping, cooking or eating which is not safe, clean and fit for human occupancy and which does not comply with the particular requirements of the Zoning and Building Codes and the health regulations of the City.

Certificates for occupancy and compliance shall be applied for coincidentally with the application for a building permit, and shall be issued within ten (10) days after the lawful erection or alteration of the building is completed. A record of all certificates shall be kept on file in the office of the Building Commissioner and copies shall be furnished on request to any person having a proprietary or tenancy interest in the building affected.

A fee of twenty-five dollars ($25.00) shall be paid for each occupancy permit issued.

The occupancy permit shall state the names, ages, relationships and number of occupants of the dwelling unit. It shall be unlawful for any person to knowingly make any false statement in his/her application for an occupancy permit as to the names, ages, relationships or number of occupants of the dwelling unit. All persons who occupy the premises of a dwelling unit must be listed on the occupancy permit or be subject to the penalties provided in this Chapter. In the case of a business the occupancy permit shall include the name of the owner of said business along with the use of the building, number of employees, square footage of the proposed use, status of business: i.e., corporation, partnership or sole proprietor and expected hours of operation and parking spaces available.

Every dwelling unit in which a change of occupancy is to occur must be reported by the owner to the City Hall so that the Enforcement Official may inspect the structure according to the provisions of this Chapter. Upon inspection, he/she shall also determine the number of occupants which can be housed in the dwelling unit without creating a health or safety hazard. Failure to make such a report shall constitute a violation of this Chapter, and the person responsible for the failure shall be subject to the penalties of this Chapter.

All real estate brokers and agents and similar businesses and owners of multiple-family dwelling units shall report each dwelling unit which is to change occupancy as in this Chapter defined so that the Enforcement Official may inspect the unit according to the provisions of this Chapter. Failure to register or make such a report shall constitute a violation of this Chapter, and the person or firm responsible for the failure shall be subject to the penalties of this Chapter.

A conditional occupancy permit may be issued by the Enforcement Official if, in his/her judgment, any deficiencies in structures covered by this Chapter would not seriously endanger the health or safety of the occupants or the community, and provided that the occupant makes an affidavit stating that he/she will correct deficiencies within a specified time and thus bring the structure into compliance with the provisions of this Chapter. The occupant may then occupy the dwelling unit while repairs are being made. At such time as the dwelling complies with all the provisions of this Chapter, an occupancy permit will be issued as provided above.