Rental Inspection Program

Mission

The mission of the City of Fairbury Residential Rental Certificate of Occupancy and Inspection Program is to safeguard the health, safety, and welfare of the residents living in rental units and the neighborhoods which host these structures by enforcing Building codes, Property Maintenance codes, and the ordinances of the City of Fairbury, which will preserve and enhance property values, and promote a quality of living consistent with a healthy, safe, and prosperous City.

Certificate of Occupancy

As of April 1, 2015 no person shall rent, lease or occupy any rental dwelling or rental dwelling unit that does not have a Certificate of Occupancy under the rental ordinance from the City. The Certificate of Occupancy is not transferable between landlords or rental units and shall be valid for 12 months following its date of issuance.

For purposes of identifying landlords that receive the initial application letter the city will presume that properties occupied by persons other than the owner of record are rental units and require a Certificate of Occupancy unless exempt because it does not meet the definition of “Rental Unit” or because it is listed as one of the 5 specific instances that do not apply to this ordinance.

Rental Units

Definition of “Rental unit”: Any residential dwelling within the City’s jurisdiction that is rented or leased to tenants for residential purposes on a non-transient basis (when one or more tenants reside on the property or rents or leases the property for thirty consecutive days or longer) and which is owned in whole or in part by an Owner.

Rental Units do not apply to;

Facilities administered by the Fairbury Housing Authority;
Transient occupancy in hotel, motel or other similar lodgings;
Persons who reside in a single-family dwelling unit but who wish to lease to individuals or a family while they are absent from the city for short periods of time, not to exceed one year, and who intend to return to their single-family dwelling unit at the expiration of the lease period;
Persons who occupy the premises and rent to no more than two occupants; provided that this does not apply to basements, attics or garages which are used as habitable spaces.

Requirements for Certificate of Occupancy

A Certificate of Occupancy shall be issued by the Code Enforcement Authority if the applicant meets the following requirements:

An application form is on file for the owner and dwelling unit.
All application and inspection fees are paid in full.
The rental unit meets the requirements of the inspection checklist and passes an inspection carried out by the office of the Code Enforcement Authority.

Re-Inspection

If a Certificate of Occupancy is not issued the owner shall be notified in writing of the reason(s). Owners may request one re-inspection for no additional fee following correction of the issues identified by the Code Enforcement Authority.

Certificate of Occupancy & Inspection Fees

A Certificate of Occupancy application fee in the amount of $50 for the 1st unit and $10 for each additional unit shall be paid at the time of property registration, payable to the City of Fairbury.
One re-inspection will be allowed for no fee.
Additional re-inspections after the first free one will incur a fee of $25 per inspection payable to the City of Fairbury prior to re-inspection.

Violation

Any violation of the rental ordinance may subject the violator to a fine of up to $500 per day the violation continues, or may subject the violator to a civil lawsuit brought against them by the City to permanently enjoin them from violating the ordinance, subject to contempt of court proceedings and further penalties should violators still not comply.