[Adopted 3-12-2007 by Ord. No. 2007-1]
The purpose of this article is to create the
administrative mechanisms needed to discharge the responsibility of
the Borough of Pennington to assist in the provision of affordable
housing pursuant to the Fair Housing Act of 1985.
As used in this article, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
The entity responsible for administering the affordability
controls of some or all of the restricted units in the affordable
housing program of Pennington Borough, as designated pursuant to N.J.A.C.
5:80-26.14.
The employee charged by the governing body with the responsibility
for oversight and administration of the affordable housing program
of the Borough of Pennington.
A.
There is hereby established the position of Municipal
Housing Liaison of the Borough of Pennington.
B.
The Municipal Housing Liaison shall be appointed by
the governing body and may be a full- or part-time municipal employee,
subject to the approval of the New Jersey Council on Affordable Housing
(COAH).
Compensation for the Municipal Housing Liaison,
if any, shall be fixed by the governing body at the time of appointment.
A.
The Municipal Housing Liaison shall be responsible
for the oversight and administration of the affordable housing program
of the Borough of Pennington, including the following responsibilities
which may not be contracted out:
(1)
Serving as Pennington Borough's primary point of contact
for all inquiries from the state, affordable housing providers, administrative
agents, and interested households;
(2)
Monitoring the status of all restricted units in the
Borough of Pennington's Fair Share Plan;
(3)
Compiling, verifying, and submitting annual reports
as required by COAH;
(4)
Coordinating meetings with affordable housing providers
and administrative agents, as applicable;
(5)
Attending continuing education opportunities on affordability
controls, compliance monitoring, and affirmative marketing as offered
and/or approved by COAH; and
B.
Subject to approval by COAH, the Borough of Pennington
may contract with or authorize a consultant, authority, government
or any agency charged by the governing body to administer the affordable
housing program of Pennington Borough. If the Borough contracts with
another entity to administer all or any part of the affordable housing
program, including the affordability controls and affirmative marketing
plan, the Municipal Housing Liaison shall supervise the contracting
administrative agent.
C.
The following administrative powers and duties shall
be specifically delegated to an approved administrative agent as set
forth by contract, or shall be performed by the Municipal Housing
Liaison when not specifically delegated to an approved administrative
agent:
(1)
Affirmative marketing.
(a)
Conducting an outreach process to ensure affirmative
marketing of affordable housing units in accordance with the affirmative
marketing plan of Pennington Borough and the provisions of N.J.A.C.
5:80-26.15; and
(b)
Providing counseling or contracting to provide
counseling services to low- and moderate-income applicants on subjects
such as budgeting, credit issues, mortgage qualification, rental/lease
requirements, and landlord/tenant law.
(2)
Household certification.
(a)
Soliciting, scheduling, conducting and following
up on interviews with interested households;
(b)
Conducting interviews and obtaining sufficient
documentation of gross income and assets upon which to base a determination
of income eligibility for a low- or moderate-income unit;
(c)
Providing written notification to each applicant
as to the determination of eligibility or noneligibility;
(d)
Requiring that all certified applicants for
restricted units execute a certificate substantially in the form of
either the ownership or rental certificates set forth in Appendices
J and K of N.J.A.C. 5:80-26.1 et seq., as applicable;
(e)
Creating and maintaining a referral list of
eligible applicant households with members living or working in the
housing region where the units are located; and
(f)
Referring households for certification to affordable
units employing the random selection process as provided in the affirmative
marketing plan of the Borough.
(3)
Affordability controls.
(a)
Furnishing to attorneys or closing agents the
forms of deed restrictions and mortgages for recording, at the time
of conveyance of title to each restricted unit;
(b)
Creating and maintaining a file on each restricted
unit for its control period, including the recorded deed with restrictions,
recorded mortgage and note, as appropriate;
(c)
Ensuring removal of deed restrictions and cancellation
of mortgage note through proper filing with the county clerk's office
after the termination of the affordability controls for each restricted
unit;
(d)
Communicating with lenders regarding foreclosures;
and
(e)
Ensuring the issuance of continuing certificates
of occupancy or certifications pursuant to N.J.A.C. 5:80-26.10.
(4)
Resale and rental.
(a)
Instituting and maintaining an effective means
of communicating information between owners and the administrative
agent regarding the availability of restricted units for resale or
rental; and
(b)
Instituting and maintaining an effective means
of communicating information to low- and moderate-income households
regarding the availability of restricted units for resale or rerental.
(5)
Processing requests from unit owners.
(a)
Reviewing and approving requests from owners
of restricted units who wish to take out home equity loans or refinance
during the term of their ownership;
(b)
Reviewing and approving requests to increase
sales prices from owners of restricted units who wish to make capital
improvements to the units that would affect the selling price, such
authorizations to be limited to those improvements resulting in additional
bedrooms or bathrooms and the cost of central air-conditioning systems;
and
(c)
Processing requests and making determinations
on requests by owners of restricted units for hardship waivers.
(6)
Enforcement.
(a)
Securing annually lists of all affordable housing
units for which tax bills are mailed to absentee owners and notifying
all such owners that they must either move back to their unit or sell
it;
(b)
Securing from all developers and sponsors of
restricted units, at the earliest point of contact in the processing
of the project or development, written acknowledgement of the requirement
that no restricted unit can be offered, or in any other way committed,
to any person, other than a household duly certified to the unit by
the administrative agent;
(c)
Annually posting in all rental properties, including
two-family homes, a notice of the maximum permitted rent together
with the telephone number of the administrative agent or Municipal
Housing Liaison, as appropriate, where complaints of excess rent can
be made;
(d)
Sending annual mailings to all owners of affordable
dwelling units reminding them of the notices and requirements outlined
in N.J.A.C. 5:80-26.18(d)4;
(e)
Establishing a program for diverting unlawful
rent payments to the Borough's affordable housing trust fund or other
appropriate municipal fund approved by the New Jersey Department of
Community Affairs (DCA);
(f)
Establishing a rent-to-equity program;
(g)
Creating and publishing a written operating
manual, as approved by COAH, setting forth procedures for administering
affordability controls; and
(h)
Providing annual reports to COAH as required.
(7)
The administrative agent or the Municipal Housing
Liaison, as appropriate, shall have authority to take all actions
necessary and appropriate to carry out its responsibilities hereunder.
