§ 244.590. Discontinuance of required services.  


Latest version.
  • (a) No owner or operator shall cause any service, facility, equipment or utility which is required to be supplied under the housing maintenance code to be removed, shut off, or discontinued in any occupied rooming unit, hotel unit, dwelling or dwelling unit let or occupied by said owner, or operator, except for such temporary interruption as may be necessary while actual repairs, replacements or alterations are in process of being made.

    (b)

    An administrative fee of fifty dollars ($50.00) shall be charged to the bill payer of a property where water services have been shut off for a period of forty-eight (48) hours for non-payment. An additional one hundred dollars ($100.00) administrative fee shall be charged to the bill payer of a property where the property is placarded with a letter of intent to condemned for lack of utilities resulting from the water services being shut off for non-payment.

    (c)

    Administrative fees charged for water shut off for non-payment shall be added to the property's utility services bill as set forth in section 509.870.

    Utility companies supplying service through a single meter to equipment or facilities that are required by the housing maintenance code shall post, on or near the front and rear entrances of a multiple dwelling or duplex containing such equipment or facilities, a notice of delinquency in payment of utility bills after the utility bills are sixty (60) days in arrears, or a notice of intent to discontinue such service for failure to pay utility bills not less than fifteen (15) calendar days prior to the actual discontinuance of the service. Said notice shall inform tenants of their right to make rent payments directly to the utility company. When the discontinuance of the service is done by said utility, they shall notify the director of regulatory service's authorized designee, either by mail, phone, or hand delivery within forty-eight (48) hours after the discontinuance of the service.

    After a utility company has posted either notice described above, the tenants in the building may pay any rents owing to the owner or operator of the building directly to the utility company. The utility company shall make available to any requesting tenant or tenant's representative the utility account of the multiple dwelling or duplex housing which has been posted pursuant to this article. Any such payment shall be considered a reduction of rent owed by the tenant and a reduction of the utility bill owed by the owner or operator of the building.

    A utility company shall not discontinue service if it has received payments from the tenants sufficient to:

    (1)

    Cover one hundred (100) percent of the current bill and one-third ( 1/3 ) of the past-due bill within thirty (30) days after posting the original notice.

    (2)

    Cover one hundred (100) percent of the current bill and two-thirds ( 2/3 ) of the past-due bill within sixty (60) days after posting the original notice.

    (3)

    Cover one hundred (100) percent of the current bill and one hundred (100) percent of the past-due bill within ninety (90) days after posting the original notice.

    The utility company may discontinue service without further notice if it has not received the payments specified above.

    No person shall deface or remove any notice posted by a utility company pursuant to this section. Such notice shall be removed only by the utility company which posted the notice or with its consent.

    For the purposes of this section only, the term "utility company" shall include the water and sewer department of the City of Minneapolis. (Code 1960, As Amend., § 72.100; Ord. of 5-10-74, § 1; 78-Or-144, § 1, 8-11-78; 81-Or-304, § 1, 12-28-81; Pet. No. 252271, § 16, 5-11-90; 91-Or-144, § 1, 7-26-91; 2006-Or-136, § 1, 11-17-06; 2013-Or-161, § 21, 12-6-13)