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Complaints:
Complaints are received by mail, by fax, or in
written form. Complainant's
name is held confidential unless the District
Attorney issues a subpoena for the Complainant
to testify in Court.
Anonymous complaints will not be accepted. Click
here for a copy of the Code Enforcement Complaint
Form.
Housing
complaints will only be accepted after written
notice to the landlord and/or property owner,
and allowing ample time (30 days) to make repairs.
Samples
of Violations and Penalties: The
most common violations of the model codes are:
Construction
without permits
Substandard Housing
Failure to "Stop Work"
Converted garages and sheds into dwelling units
Violation
Process: Complaints are received
and investigated in a timely manner. Notice
of Violation and Intent to Record Notice of Noncompliance
are issued if a violation exists. If permits
are not obtained within 30 days to correct the
violations, a Notice of Noncompliance is recorded
against the property title, thus clouding the
title. Once a Notice of Noncompliance is
recorded, a code enforcement case is opened.
Click here for a copy of the Request for Release of Notice of Noncompliance.
Enforcement
Procedures: Code enforcement cases
are pursued if voluntary compliance is not achieved
by filing "criminal charges".
Criminal
Charges:
Code
enforcement cases can be directed to the
District Attorney's Office for filing of
misdemeanor charges. If
found guilty, the property owner
and/or contractor can face up to 36 months
probation, fines of up to $1,000.00 per
violation and/or 6 months in jail. Terms
and Conditions of probation also
require correction of the code violation(s)
within a specified timeframe.
Receivership
Program:
This program requests the Superior Court
to appoint a receiver to take temporary
possession of the property in order to
abate the code enforcement violations.
Upon
the completion of the title reports, title holders
will be notified of the impending request. They
will be allowed the chance to abate the
violations prior to our office filing a request
with the Superior Court. The property owner and/or
title holder is responsible for all
costs, such as title report, attorney's fees,
receivership fees, abatement fees and County
staff time. If costs are not recovered
upon abatement, a petition to the Court will
be filed to sell the property to recover costs.
The property owner or title
holder will receive the remainder of the proceeds
from the sale. This program is authorized under
the Health and Safety Code Section 17980.7.
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