Complaint over housing unfit to live in

It is the procedure in Chapter III of Book IV of the Municipal Code for repairing and eliminating unfit housing. Do not confuse it with the public-nuisance declaration: that chapter looks at uninhabited, abandoned property; this one looks at housing that does not meet the standards to be considered fit to live in, including occupied housing. The Code does not describe the procedure step by step: it says what provisions the municipal ordinance implementing it must include, and those provisions are what is summarised here.

The petition may be filed by a public authority or by five residents of the municipality, under Article 4.016(b), and the designated public official may also act on their own initiative under subsection (e). On the other side are the dwelling’s owner and the parties with an interest in it, who receive the querella with the charges and the right to answer and appear at the hearing.

• That the petition be filed by a public authority or by five (5) residents of the municipality, declaring that a given dwelling is unfit to be inhabited (Article 4.016(b)).Verified against the official source
• That the designated public official carry out a preliminary investigation, and file a querella if it concludes there is a basis for the accusations (Article 4.016(b)).Verified against the official source
• That the querella be notified to the owner and to the interested parties, stating the charges and the right to answer and to appear at a hearing (Article 4.016(c)).Verified against the official source
• That the hearing be scheduled not less than ten (10) nor more than thirty (30) business days after the querella is notified (Article 4.016(d)).Verified against the official source
• That notice be given personally or by certified mail, or — where after reasonable diligence the whereabouts are unknown and the official so states in a sworn statement — by an announcement published for two (2) consecutive weeks, with a copy posted in a conspicuous place at the affected site (Article 4.017).Verified against the official source
• Complying with the order within the prescribed term: repair, modify or improve the dwelling or, at the owner’s option, vacate and close it as human habitation (Article 4.016(f) and (g)).Verified against the official source

• The petition before the public official, which may come from a public authority or from five residents of the municipality (Article 4.016(b)).
• The querella notified to the owner and the interested parties, with the charges (Article 4.016(c)).
• The public official’s written order, with the facts adduced in support of the determination (Article 4.016(f)).
• The official’s sworn statement recording that, after reasonable diligence, the interested persons’ whereabouts could not be determined (Article 4.017).

1. 1

   Step 1: Five neighbours are enough to open the file

   It is the way in, and the least-known part of the chapter. Article 4.016(b) says the ordinance must provide that, when a petition is filed before the public official, by a public authority or by five residents of that municipality, declaring that a given dwelling is unfit to be inhabited, the public official shall be obliged to carry out a preliminary investigation. And it adds that if that investigation concludes there is a basis for the accusations, the official shall proceed to file a querella. Subsection (e) adds that where the official considers on their own initiative that a dwelling is unfit, the same procedure follows.

2. 2

   Step 2: This is not the same as a public nuisance

   They are worth separating because the Code treats them in different chapters with different procedures. The public-nuisance one looks at uninhabited, abandoned real property, with an examining officer — a licensed engineer or lawyer — and an opposition hearing. This chapter looks at housing whose conditions do not meet the standards set by law and regulation to be considered fit to live in, is opened by a petition from five residents or a public authority, and is resolved by a public official designated by ordinance. Article 4.015 gives the municipality the power to remedy housing in an uninhabitable state and to eliminate housing that through deterioration has become a public nuisance, so the two paths can end up touching.

3. 3

   Step 3: The hearing is set ten to thirty business days out

   Article 4.016(d) sets the window: the notice shall include notice that a hearing will be held before the public official, or the agent they designate, with the date, time and place; and the hearing shall be scheduled not less than ten and not more than thirty business days after the date the querella was notified. Subsection (c) had already guaranteed the right to file an answer to the querella and to appear personally, or otherwise, to present arguments and give testimony.

4. 4

   Step 4: The rules of evidence do not apply at that hearing

   It is worth knowing before walking in. Article 4.017 closes by saying the rules of evidence governing in Puerto Rico’s courts of law or equity shall not apply at hearings held before the public official. The hearing is administrative, and what is presented there is governed by what the municipal ordinance provides, not by a court’s rules.

5. 5

   Step 5: How they notify you if they cannot find you

   Article 4.017 says querellas or orders must be notified to interested persons personally or by certified mail. Where their whereabouts are unknown after reasonable diligence and cannot be determined, the public official must make a sworn statement to that effect. In those cases notice may be given by an announcement published in a newspaper of regional or general circulation, for two consecutive weeks, and a copy of the querella or order shall be posted in a conspicuous place at the affected site.

6. 6

   Step 6: Repair or close, at the owner’s option

   Article 4.016(f) describes the first outcome. If after the notices and hearings the public official determines the dwelling is unfit to be inhabited, they shall state in writing the facts adduced in support and issue an order, notified to the owner, requiring them to repair, modify or improve the dwelling to make it fit to be inhabited or, at the owner’s option, to vacate and close the dwelling as human habitation, on the terms and conditions the order sets.

7. 7

   Step 7: The sign, and the fine for renting it anyway

   Article 4.016(g) says what happens if the owner does not comply within the prescribed term: the public official may have the dwelling vacated and closed, and may have a sign fixed at the main entrance bearing this inscription, which the Act reproduces in quotation marks: “Este edificio es inadecuado para habitarse; es ilegal y queda prohibido su uso u ocupación como vivienda para seres humanos”. And it adds the consequence for third parties: any person who rents, leases or occupies, or who allows another person to rent, lease or occupy such a building as human housing, shall be liable for the fine the municipality’s ordinances prescribe.

8. 8

   Step 8: When the dwelling is dangerous, the town does the work

   Article 4.016(h) is the harder route. If after notice and hearing the official determines the dwelling is dangerous because of its state of ruin, disrepair, construction defects or another reason, or that it is harmful to the health or safety of the public, of the tenants or of the occupants of neighbouring dwellings, they shall issue an order requiring the owner to repair, modify or improve it or, at their option, to remove or destroy it. If the owner does not comply within the prescribed term, the official shall have the dwelling repaired, modified or improved in accordance with the order.

9. 9

   Step 9: And the cost is collected as a special tax

   The same subsection (h) closes with the money. Where the repairs, modifications or improvements cannot be made at a reasonable cost in relation to the dwelling’s value, the ordinance shall fix a percentage of that cost as reasonable for that dwelling; the public official may decide to remove or demolish the dwelling; and the cost of those repairs, modifications, improvements, or of removing or demolishing it, shall constitute a lien on the property and shall be imposed and collected as a special tax. The specific percentage is set by each municipal ordinance, and we do not publish one because we read none.

10. 10

    Step 10: The judicial remedy exists, but it is narrow

    Article 4.018 says any person affected by an order of the public official may ask the Court of First Instance for an injunction to stop the order from being carried out, and that the court may restrain the official until final resolution of the case. Hearings on those requests are held within twenty days, or as soon as possible after, and take precedence over other matters on the calendar. But the same article sets two strong limits: in those proceedings, the public official’s decisions on the facts, if supported by the evidence, shall be conclusive; and the remedies that article provides shall be exclusive, with no affected person entitled to obtain damages for any action the official takes under the order or by reason of its breach.

11. 11

    Step 11: What the official may do

    Article 4.019 says the ordinance may authorise the public official to exercise the necessary or convenient powers, including: investigating housing conditions in the municipality to determine which are unfit for human beings; administering oaths and affirmations, examining witnesses and receiving evidence; entering any site to carry out inspections, provided the means and manner cause the least possible inconvenience to those occupying them; requesting the resources, including human resources, deemed necessary; and delegating any of their functions and powers to the officials and agents they designate.

12. 12

    Step 12: The municipality must budget for the inspections

    Article 4.020 sets a budget duty that explains why the programme works in some municipalities and not others: a municipality adopting an ordinance under this chapter shall prepare a budget of the expenses for the fiscal year, and that budget must include the cost of providing the equipment, personnel and materials needed to carry out periodic investigations and inspections of housing in the municipality. It is authorised to make the appropriations it deems necessary from its revenues and to accept and apply grants or donations for those purposes.

Before the public official the municipality designates or appoints in the ordinance it adopts under this Chapter, per Article 4.016(a). The Code does not name that post nor say at which office the petition is filed: each municipal ordinance sets that, which is why it must be asked at the municipality where the dwelling is. The remedy against the order is sought at the Court of First Instance under Article 4.018.

• Believing you must be the owner or the next-door neighbour: the petition may be filed by five residents of the municipality.
• Confusing it with the public nuisance: that chapter looks at uninhabited, abandoned property, this one at housing unfit to live in.
• Expecting the Code to carry the full procedure: it says what the municipal ordinance must contain, and the detail lives there.
• Counting the ten to thirty days as calendar days: Article 4.016(d) counts them as business days.
• Going to the hearing expecting courtroom rules of evidence: Article 4.017 says they do not apply.
• Assuming there is no notice if you cannot be found: a newspaper announcement for two consecutive weeks plus a copy posted at the site is available.
• Thinking closing it is the final sanction: if the dwelling is dangerous, the official may order its demolition.
• Renting a closed building: whoever rents, leases, occupies or allows occupation answers for the fine the ordinance sets.
• Believing the municipality absorbs the cost of the work: it constitutes a lien and is collected as a special tax.
• Going to court expecting the facts to be reweighed: if supported by the evidence, the official’s decisions on facts are conclusive.
• Planning to sue for damages: Article 4.018 says the remedies it provides are exclusive.

These are the government pages this guide is based on.

• Municipios de Puerto Rico

  Municipios

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