Code enforcement works with both property owners and their tenants when enforcing responsible property maintenance standards. The property owner is usually contacted by mail regarding sub-standard conditions that occur at the property and tenants are contacted on site about violations that require their attention. The property owner is ultimately held jointly responsible for any continuing problems that result from the tenant’s lack of compliance.
Any structural or safety issue that would require a substantial financial investment to correct is usually the property owner’s responsibility, such as a leaking roof, dilapidated fencing, or collapsing adjacent storage structures, etc. Tenants have legal custody and control of the property so they are required to correct the violations that are of their making. They would be held accountable for either repairing inoperable vehicles or removing them from public view. They would also be held accountable for providing a continuing program of landscape maintenance and the removal of any trash, discards, or litter accumulations about the property.