§ 4131 — Violations

(a)Unlawful acts. —It shall be unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to erect, construct, alter, extend, repair, remove, demolish, use or occupy any structure or equipment regulated by this chapter, or cause same to be done, contrary to or in conflict with or in violation of this chapter.

(b)Penalty for violation; jurisdiction. —Any person who shall violate this chapter or who fails to comply with any notice or order issued by a code official pursuant to this chapter, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof shall be fined not less than $25 nor more than $1,000 or imprisoned for a term not to exceed 30 days, or both. Each day of a separate and continuing violation shall be deemed a separate offense under this section. The Justice of the Peace Court in the county in which the property is located shall have exclusive jurisdiction over offenses prosecuted under this chapter.

(c)Prosecution. —In the event any violation order is not promptly complied with, a code official with constable powers pursuant to § 2901 of Title 10, may issue a citation, and in cases involving first offenders of this Code, may assess a fine of $100 or, in the alternative, may direct that the owner or occupant appear in the court of law having jurisdiction over the alleged violation. In those jurisdictions in which the code officials do not have constable powers, the code official may institute an action in the appropriate court, or may request the city solicitor or community attorney-at-law to institute such action to seek the penalties provided in subsection (b) of this section.