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Unless it is otherwise provided or the context requires a different construction, the following terms when used in this chapter shall have the meanings as herein defined:
Apartment—A room or suite of rooms used or intended to be used as the home or residence of an individual, family or household. In all cases where requirements for dwellings are set forth in this chapter, they shall also apply to apartments.
Apartment house—Any building or part thereof, occupied, or intended to be occupied as the residence of more than four families living independently of each other and doing their own cooking in said building. In all cases where requirements for dwellings are set forth in this chapter, they shall also apply to apartment houses.
Dwelling—A building occupied or intended to be occupied for residence purposes by not more than four families.
Dwelling unit—Any room or group of rooms located within a dwelling and forming a single habitable unit with facilities which are used or intended to be used for living, sleeping and cooking.
Executive Director—Executive Director of the Virgin Islands Housing Finance Authority.
Existing building—A building erected prior to May 1, 1964, or one for which a valid building permit has been issued prior to May 1, 1964, and which permit has not yet expired.
Habitable room—A room occupied by one or more persons for living, eating or sleeping purposes. It does not include toilets, laundries, serving and storage pantries, corridors, cellars, and spaces that are not used frequently or during extended periods. It does not include kitchens or kitchenettes.
Hotel—Any building containing more than nine (9) guest rooms used, or intended to be used, rented or hired out to be occupied or which are occupied for sleeping purposes by guests, whether rent is paid in money, goods, labor or otherwise. It does not include buildings in which sleeping accommodations are provided for persons who are harbored or detained to receive medical, charitable, or other care or treatment or provided for persons who are involuntarily detained under legal restraint.
Housing unit—Any building containing one or more dwelling units.
Owner—The person or persons who own or control a property or part of it and includes his duly authorized agent or attorney, a purchaser, devisee, fiduciary or a person or persons having a vested or contingent interest in the property in question.
Plumbing system—The water supply and distribution pipes; plumbing fixtures and traps; soil, waste, and vent pipes; building drains and sewers; including their respective connections, devices, and appurtenances within the property lines of the premises; and water treating or water using equipment.
Potable water supply—Cistern or fresh water distribution system.
Rental—The granting of the right to use and occupancy in consideration of a payment, including any bonus, benefit, or gratuity of money, goods, or labor demanded or received per day, week, month, year, or other period of time, as the case may be, by the owner for the use of the property for residential purposes.
Repair—The replacement of existing work in a building or structure not including additional work that may constitute a structural alteration of the building or that may constitute an enlargement in area, height, or depth.
Residential occupancy—The occupancy or use of a building or any portion thereof by persons for whom sleeping accommodations are provided but who are not harbored or detained to receive medical, charitable, or other care or treatment; or are not involuntarily detained under legal restraint.
Rooming house—Any dwelling, or part thereof, containing not more than nine rooming units, in which space is rented by the owner to three or more persons who are not relatives of the owner.
Rooming unit—Any room or group of rooms forming a single habitable unit used or intended to be used for living and sleeping, but not for cooking or eating purposes.
Use—The purpose for which a building or structure is designed or intended, or for which it is, or may be, occupied or maintained.
Written notice—Service of written notice shall be considered to have been made if delivered in person to the individual or parties intended, or if delivered at, or sent by registered or certified mail to the last business address known to the party giving the notice. In the event no address can be established, notice may be made by publication of said notice in two newspapers printed and distributed in the judicial district of the Virgin Islands wherein such property is located, once a week for a period of three consecutive weeks.