Township of Haddon, NJ Article II Rent Control Board; Board Secretary; Rent Control Officer

§ 189-3 Establishment of Rent Control Board; Board powers.

A. There is hereby continued in and for the Township of Haddon a Rent Control Board (the "Board"), which is comprised as follows:

(1) The Board shall consist of five members and four alternates appointed by resolution of the governing body. The term of office for each member and alternate shall be three years.

(2) The Board members shall be constituted as follows: one member shall be a tenant, and one alternate shall be a tenant, who can only replace the tenant representative on the Rent Control Board; one member shall be a landlord, and one alternate shall be a landlord, who can only replace the landlord representative on the Rent Control Board; three members and two alternates shall be residents who are neither a landlord nor a tenant. The two alternates who are neither landlords nor tenants can only replace members who are neither landlords nor tenants.

(3) The Board members shall select by majority vote a Chairman and Vice Chairman, who shall be resident members. One of the Commissioners of the governing body may be appointed to the Rent Control Board but shall not serve as Chairman or Vice Chairman.

(4) All Board members shall be residents, taxpayers or duly authorized representatives of taxpayers of the Township of Haddon and shall be not less than 18 years of age.

(5) Board members shall be compensated for their service to the Township at rate(s) to be set, and amended from time to time, by resolution of the governing body.

B. The Board shall have all necessary powers in order to perform its functions and duties in accordance with this chapter, including but not limited to the following powers:

(1) To establish procedures and to conduct surveys for the determination of the vacancy rate of housing space in the Township of Haddon;

(2) To adopt, revise and repeal rules and regulations as it deems necessary to carry out the purposes of this chapter, which rules and regulations shall have the force and effect of law, provided that such rules and regulations, as adopted, amended, revised or repealed, shall be filed with the Clerk of the Township of Haddon;

(3) To supply information and assistance to tenants and landlords and to assist them in complying with the provisions of this chapter;

(4) To establish rules and procedures for the conduct of all hearings held by the Board;

(5) To hire such employees or agents, or both, as may from time to time be authorized by resolution of the governing body, on such terms and conditions as are designated by the governing body for salaries or wages;

(6) To hold hearings and adjudicate applications from landlords for rent increases or additional rents as hereinafter provided and to hold hearings and adjudicate applications and complaints from tenants as hereinafter provided, and to give all parties and interested persons reasonable opportunity to be heard before making any determinations; and

(7) To administer oaths, examine witnesses and by subpoena compel the attendance and the testimony of witnesses and the production of books, papers, documents or tangible things.

§ 189-4 Conduct of Rent Control Board.

A. The Board shall conduct regular meetings six times per year in the months of January, March, May, July, September and November. Special meetings may be called as required but only upon the consent of a majority of the Board members regarding the date(s) and time(s) thereof. All meetings of the Board, whether regular or special, shall be noticed and conducted in accordance with the Open Public Meetings Act, N.J.S.A. 10:4-6 et seq.

B. Three members of the Board, including its Chairman, shall constitute a quorum for all business conducted by the Board. The Board may not act except upon a majority vote of the members in attendance at any one meeting.

C. The Rent Control Board Secretary shall maintain and keep at his or her office the agenda and/or docket for each meeting and the minutes of all meetings of the Board.

D. No member of the Board shall be permitted to act on any matter in which he or she has, either directly or indirectly, any personal or financial interest.

E. Vacancies on the Board shall be filled by the governing body, which shall appoint a person to fill a vacancy for the remainder of the term of the vacant seat. The replacement for any seat filled by the governing body shall comply with the requirements of § 189-3A(2).

F. Any Board member who shall, during a calendar year, be absent for more than two consecutive regularly scheduled meetings of the Board shall be subject to removal by the governing body in accordance with the following procedures:

(1) The Rent Control Board Secretary shall be required to report to the governing body more than two consecutive absences in the calendar year by any member of the Board.

(2) When requested to do so by the governing body, the member of the Board who missed more than two consecutive regularly scheduled meetings during the calendar year shall submit a written explanation of his or her absences.

(3) In the event the governing body determines preliminarily that there have been more than two consecutive absences from regularly scheduled meetings by any appointed member and that the absences are without "reasonable justification," as defined herein, the governing body shall have the right to adopt a resolution to institute removal proceedings. For purposes of this section, "reasonable justification" shall mean illness of the Board member or immediate family member of the Board member or exigent business or personal responsibilities which rendered it impracticable for the Board member to be in attendance.

(4) Removal proceedings instituted by the governing body in accordance with this section shall be conducted as follows:

(a) A written notice of intention to remove shall be mailed to the Board member at his or her home address. The notice shall advise the Board member that he or she has a right to a hearing before the governing body, the right to be represented by counsel and the right to cross-examine witnesses and present witnesses on his or her behalf. The notice shall set forth a date for a proposed hearing and shall notify the Board member that, if he or she wishes to contest the removal, a written notice of intention to contest must be submitted to the Rent Control Board Secretary and the Township Clerk at least 10 days prior to the scheduled hearing. The notice to the Board member shall list the dates of the regularly scheduled meetings from which the Board member is alleged to have been absent.

(b) On the date set forth in the notice sent to the Board member in accordance with this section, the governing body shall conduct a hearing in executive session, during which hearing the Board member shall have a right to participate in the proceedings, either personally or by counsel, and shall have a right to examine witnesses and present evidence.

(c) Upon conclusion of all the evidence, the governing body shall make findings of fact and conclusions as to whether the Board member shall be removed and shall render a final decision with respect to same.

§ 189-5 Rent Control Board Secretary.

There is hereby continued the position of Rent Control Board Secretary, which position shall be filled in accordance with § 189-3B(5) of this chapter. The duties of the said Rent Control Board Secretary, by way of illustration but not limitation, shall be:

A. To serve as liaison among the tenants, landlords and the Board;

B. To supply information and assistance to landlords and tenants and to help them comply with the provisions of this chapter;

C. To keep and maintain an accurate record of the procedures of the Board and to enter the same in the minutes;

D. To receive all applications and complaints and to process the same for determination by the Board;

E. To submit to the governing body a report of the activities of the Board no less than two times per calendar year;

F. To accumulate and maintain such statistics as may be necessary to carry out the function of the Board;

G. To determine mathematically the appropriateness of any annual automatic rent increase request;

H. To perform such other functions necessary and appropriate for the proper implementation of this chapter; and

I. To carry out such other and further duties as shall be assigned by the Board Chairman, the Board and/or the governing body.

§ 189-6 Rent Control Officer.

There is hereby continued the position of Rent Control Officer (Construction Code Official and/or Subcode Official). Such Rent Control Officer shall be appointed by the governing body and shall serve at the pleasure of same. The duties of the Rent Control Officer, by way of illustration but not limitation, shall be:

A. To enforce the provisions of this chapter against any person or entity by filing complaints, issuing cease-and-desist orders and such other actions as are reasonably appropriate to bring about compliance with this chapter. The Solicitor to the Board shall serve as the attorney for and represent the Rent Control Officer in all matters except with regard to the enforcement of the Regulations for the Maintenance of Hotels and Multiple Dwellings; and

B. At the request of the Rent Control Board, and subject to the inspection fees set forth in § 189-24D of this chapter, inspect any dwelling, part of a dwelling or the property on which a dwelling covered by this chapter is located for the purpose of investigating the condition of said dwelling and/or premises in accordance this chapter. The Township of Haddon adopts the Regulations for the Maintenance of Hotels and Multiple Dwellings as its own ordinance, including the penalty provisions thereof. In addition to any other building, construction and/or maintenance regulations or standards applicable to the properties which are subject to this chapter, the Rent Control Officer shall have the authority, in conjunction with the Commissioner of the Department of Community Affairs, to confirm compliance with the Regulations for the Maintenance of Hotels and Multiple Dwellings during inspections performed in accordance with this section; and

[Amended 8-27-2013 by Ord. No. 1313]

C. Submit a written report to the Rent Control Board after performing an inspection in accordance with Subsection B above, which report shall set forth the findings and determinations of the Rent Control Officer, including but not limited to a list of any violations of applicable regulations or standards which the Rent Control Officer observed or confirmed during the inspection; and

[Added 8-27-2013 by Ord. No. 1313]

D. At the request of the Rent Control Board, as needed, perform reinspections for the purpose of confirming whether the violations set forth in the Rent Control Officer’s written report have been repaired or remedied to the satisfaction of the Rent Control Officer.

[Added 8-27-2013 by Ord. No. 1313]