City of Long Branch, NJ Landlord-Tenant Review Board

[Amended 4-22-1986 by Ord. No. 1271]

There is hereby established in the City of Long Branch a voluntary Landlord-Tenant Dispute Review Board, hereinafter referred to as the "Board." The membership of the Board shall consist of five members, two of whom shall be tenants, two of whom shall be landlords and a fifth member from the community who shall be neither a landlord nor tenant. Each member shall be a resident of the city. The Chairman shall be chosen from among the members. The Board may have available to it the services of a Secretary, who shall be a person presently employed by the City of Long Branch in a secretarial position. The members of the Board shall serve without compensation.

It is the intent of the City Council of the City of Long Branch that the Board be a totally voluntary mechanism which may be used by landlords and/or tenants as an aid to resolve disputes. As such, the Board shall have no legal authority to issue subpoenas, require oaths or make any legally binding determinations with regard to the landlord-tenant relationship of the parties that appear before it. The Board shall be acting solely in an advisory capacity to the parties in the hopes of amicably resolving any existing disputes without the necessity of time consuming and expensive legal proceedings. In furthering its purposes, the Board shall conduct itself as follows:

The Board may consider complaints, in writing, from either a landlord or a tenant with regard to the issues of rental increases, repairs to the premises or maintenance items.

Upon receipt of the written complaint, the Chairman or his designee shall contact the parties involved in order to determine whether they wish to appear before the Board. Upon confirmation of an agreement to appear before the Board, the Chairman shall schedule an informal hearing at which the landlord and tenant may appear to present their respective positions.

A copy of the written complaint shall be made available to the responding party by the Board, prior to the informal hearing.

At the informal hearing, testimony shall not be required to be under oath. The Board members may make inquiries of those persons appearing before them. The individuals appearing before the Board shall be allowed to make a statement as to their respective positions prior to any questioning by Board members. The proceedings shall not be considered an adversary proceeding requiring testimony under oath, cross examination or appearances of corporate or partnership entities through attorneys.

Upon completion of the informal hearing, the Board may either immediately render a recommendation or, in its discretion, advise the parties of its recommendations, in writing, within seven days after the informal appearance before the Board. All recommendations shall be nonbinding on the parties. There shall be no method of appeal from the recommendations of the Board.