[Amended 11-12-1980 by Ord. No. 80-31]
There is hereby established the Rent Stabilization
Commission, hereinafter referred to as the “Commission.”
Its members shall be appointed by the Township Committee. The membership
shall consist of the Rent Control Officer, two landlords, two home
owners and two tenants, each serving terms of two years’ duration.
In addition there shall also be appointed one landlord alternate,
one home owner alternate and one tenant alternate, also serving two-year
terms. The alternates may sit at any meeting in place of an absent
member of the same class. The Chairperson of the Commission shall
be the rent control officer of Pennsauken Township. A quorum shall
consist of a simple majority of the Commission.
The duties and powers of the Commission shall
consist of the following:
A. To hold hearings and adjudicate applications from
landlords for rent increases allowed by this article.
B. To hold hearings and adjudicate landlord applications
for a hardship increase. These may be granted to the landlord when
he or she has clearly shown the Commission that mortgage payments
and maintenance costs cannot be met.
C. To determine and hold hearings in regard to the amount
of proposed capital improvement surcharge to be allowed, if any, after
consideration of the nature of the application, and the benefit to
the tenant of a capital improvement surcharge, if any.
D. To hold hearings and determine whether the landlord
applicant is an economically efficient operation and whether the return
on the applicant’s investment is a just and reasonable rate
of return. These decisions must only be made on applications for increases
over 4% or the consumer price index of the Delaware Valley Region
for the previous calendar year, whichever is the lower of the two
percentages.
[Amended 4-23-1980 by Ord. No. 80-10; 2-10-1986 by Ord. No.
86-11]
E. To issue and promulgate such rules and regulations
as it deems necessary to implement the purpose of this article. Said
rules and regulations may be amended from time to time by the Rent
Stabilization Commission in the exercise of its discretion. Such rules
and regulations shall be filed with the Township Clerk.
[Amended 11-12-1980 by Ord. No. 80-31]
F. To supply information and assistance to landlords
and tenants to help them comply with the provisions of this article.