Registration Of Rental Housing;

Transfer Of Ownership

Division Of Student Affairs; Western Michigan University

Transfer of ownership

Chapter 17 of the Kalamazoo Housing Code addresses the issue of the transfer of ownership of rental property and how that affects the registration with the city.

When ownership is transferred, the registration and any certificate of compliance become invalid. Any new owner must register and where required make application for a certificate of compliance within ten days of the date of transfer to any other buildings or to another owner.

Every person holding such registration shall notify the building official in writing within ten (10) days after having sold, transferred or otherwise changed the ownership of a rental dwelling.

For information on how to register rental property with the city, see the brochure on Registration of Rental Housing.

Transfer of Ownership of Non-Complying Units

If the owner of a rental unit receives a compliance order or a notice of violation, he cannot transfer the ownership of the property in any way until he does the following:

1. Complies with the provisions of the order or notice of violation, or,

2. Furnishes the new owner with a copy of any compliance order or notice of violation and furnishes the building official a signed and notarized statement from the new owner acknowledging the receipt of the order or notice of violation.

Change in Ownership of Multiple Dwellings

No person can transfer ownership of any multiple dwelling to any other person or sell by land contract unless the entire property has been inspected within sixty (60) days prior to the transfer or sale and either:

1. The property complies with the city Code and a certificate of compliance has been issued, or,

2. A notice of violations is then issued.

The above section does not apply if:

1. A certificate of compliance was already in effect at the time of the sale or other transfer, or,

2. the housing section received a written request from the owner for inspection and did not conduct the inspection within thirty (30) days of such receipt and the sale or other transfer was then completed within sixty (60) days of the expiration of the thirty-day period.