As used in this chapter, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
AVAILABLE FOR RENT TO TENANTS
Fit for habitation, as defined by the statutes, codes and
ordinances in full force and effect in the State of New Jersey, County
of Bergen and Village of Ridgefield Park, and occupied or unoccupied
and offered for rent, and includes, where applicable, month-to-month
tenancies, year-to-year tenancies or years-to-years tenancies.
BASE RENT
Rent lawfully in effect one year prior to the date of application.
[Amended 1-28-1992 by Ord. No. 1-92]
CALENDAR YEAR
A period commencing at 12:01 a.m. on January 1 of a particular
year and ending 12:00 midnight December 31 of the same year.
[Amended 3-26-1985 by Ord. No. 6-85]
CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT
Shall not include furnishings, but means a permanent improvement
that is reasonably expected to last more than one year. The improvement
must benefit the dwelling and must be subject to an allowance for
depreciation under federal income tax provisions and exceed the sum
of $5,000.
CONSUMER PRICE INDEX
The consumer price index, including all items, for the region
of the United States in which Ridgefield Park, New Jersey, is a part,
published periodically by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, United States
Department of Labor.
DWELLING
Any building or structure, including garages and off-street
parking spaces normally used by individuals leasing premises, rented
or offered for rent to one or more tenants or family units. Exempt
from this chapter are public housing or housing space in any motel,
hotel or other dwelling primarily serving transient guests or any
dwelling or building or structure or portion thereof rented for commercial
use and dwellings containing two or less housing spaces or apartment
units. Newly constructed dwellings or housing spaces which are rented
for the first time and dwellings which are substantially reconstructed
or rehabilitated, if the cost of reconstruction or rehabilitation
exceeds 50% of either the undepreciated cost, which shall include
all improvements and additions subsequent to the date of purchase,
or the fair market value of the dwelling prior to reconstruction or
rehabilitation, whichever is greater, are exempt, and the initial
rent may be determined by the landlord. All subsequent rentals shall
be subject to the provisions of this chapter.
FISCAL YEAR
Any twelve-month period commencing at 12:01 a.m. on the first
day of any month and continuing 12 full months to the last day of
the 12th month at 12:00 midnight.
HOUSING SPACE
That portion of a dwelling rented or offered for rent for
living and dwelling purposes to one individual or family unit, together
with all privileges, services, including garages and off-street parking
spaces, furnishings, furniture, equipment, facilities and improvements
connected with the use or occupancy of such portion of the property.
The term "dwelling unit" shall mean the same as the term "housing
space" where used in this chapter. "Housing space" shall also include
condominiums and cooperative apartments, and the terms of this chapter
shall apply to any condominium or cooperative apartment which is not
occupied by its owner but is included in a structure containing three
or more housing units.
[Amended 11-10-1981 by Ord. No. 16-81]
VACANCY DECONTROL
That any dwelling unit which is presently vacant or which
shall become vacant shall be permanently decontrolled from the requirements
of this chapter, allowing the landlord to subsequently rent that dwelling
unit at market rate. Once any dwelling unit becomes decontrolled pursuant
to this section, such unit shall no longer be afforded the rights
or remedies set forth in this chapter, including the right to seek
relief from the Rent Control Board.
[Amended 3-13-2018 by Ord. No.
2018-01]
[Amended 1-28-1992 by Ord. No. 1-92]
Any landlord seeking a cost-of-living increase
shall notify the tenant, by means required by applicable statutes
or ordinances or rules of the Rent Stabilization Board, of the calculations
involved in computing the increase in accordance with the allowable
percentage increase as permitted by this chapter, which notice of
the increase that he is seeking shall be given, in the case of a tenant
who has a lease for a period of one year or more, at least 60 days
before the expiration of the lease and, for a tenant who has a tenancy
for less than a period of one year, at least 45 days before the expiration
of the tenancy, which increase, in any event, shall not be greater
than that allowed by this chapter. A copy of the notifications of
all rent increases to the tenants shall be sent to and be made part
of the records of the Rent Stabilization Board. Any violation of this
section may prohibit any rental increases for up to 12 months for
the dwelling involved.
[Added 12-22-1992 by Ord. No. 17-1992]
A. A landlord may seek a tax surcharge from a tenant because of an increase
in municipal property taxes. The tax surcharge shall not exceed the
amount authorized by the following provisions. The landlord shall
divide the increased present property tax over the property tax of
the base year by the number of rentable square feet occupied by the
tenant in the dwelling to obtain the tax increase per square foot.
"Base year" is defined as being the year immediately preceding the
year for which the tax surcharge is sought. The tenant shall not be
liable for a tax surcharge exceeding the tax increase per square foot
multiplied by the number of square feet occupied by the tenant.
[Amended 8-11-2009 by Ord. No. 09-09]
B. Notice of tax surcharge. Any landlord seeking a surcharge
shall notify the tenant by certified mail, return receipt requested,
or personal service, obtaining the tenant's signature, with a copy
of notice to the Rent Stabilization Board. The notice shall set forth
the calculations involved in computing the tax surcharge and shall
include the current property tax for the dwelling, the property tax
for the dwelling for the base year, the number of square feet in the
dwelling, the tax increase per square foot, the number of square feet
occupied by the tenant and the maximum allowable surcharge given to
a tenant one month previous to inception of such charge. All notifications
of a tax surcharge shall be given to a tenant by August 1 of each
year or upon such other date as the Rent Stabilization Board may fix.
In the event that the tax bills for the municipality are not forwarded
to all taxpayers by July 15 of the particular tax year, then the landlord
shall give notice of the surcharge to the tenant within 30 days after
he receives the tax bill.
[Amended 10-12-1993 by Ord. No. 16-93]
C. Payment of tax surcharge. The tax surcharge each tenant
is liable for shall be paid in eight monthly payments commencing September
1 of each year. In the event that the tax bills are not forwarded
by July 15 of a particular year, then the first payment of the surcharge
shall become due and payable within 60 days after the tax bill is
received by the landlord. The remaining seven payments shall be due
and payable on the first of each month thereafter. The Rent Stabilization
Board shall have the authority, however, to fix the date when monthly
payments shall be made if the tax bills are received after July 15
of a particular year.
[Amended 10-12-1993 by Ord. No. 16-93]
D. Tax surcharge not to be considered as part of the
cost-of-living rent increase. The tax surcharge shall not be considered
rent for purposes of computing cost-of-living rental increases.
E. Rebate of tax surcharge in the event of successful
tax appeal. In the event a tax appeal is taken by the landlord and
the landlord is successful in said appeal and the taxes are reduced,
the tenant shall receive full benefit of said reduction up to the
amount of tax surcharge paid by the tenant, after deducting all expenses
incurred by landlord in prosecuting said appeal.
[Amended 1-28-1992 by Ord. No. 1-92]
A. In the event that a landlord cannot meet his maintenance
expenses or other operating expenses, including taxes, and make a
fair return on his investment as determined by the Board, he may apply
to the Rent Stabilization Board for increased rental. The Board may
grant the landlord a hardship rental increase to meet these payments.
Such increases in rent should be made a part of the base rent and
should not be considered, in the technical sense, to be a surcharge.
B. Prior to any such application to the Board, a landlord
shall serve upon each tenant, by certified mail, return receipt requested,
mailed at least 21 days prior to the hearing, a notice of said application,
setting forth the basis of said application. In addition to notifying
each tenant by mail of the increase because of hardship under this
section, the landlord shall post in the lobby of each building or,
if no lobby is present, in a conspicuous place in or about the premises
a copy of the application for said increase under this section, which
notice shall be posted at least 10 days prior to the proposed date
of the hearing on the application.
C. A landlord may seek additional rental for major capital
improvements for the cost of improvement where a building permit,
if required, was obtained prior to the commencement of work on such
improvement. The minimum limits for such improvements are as follows:
for three to four units, $1,000; for five to six units, $1,500; for
seven to 10 units, $2,000; and for more than 10 units, $5,000. The
landlord must notify each tenant, by certified mail, return receipt
requested, mailed at least 21 days prior to the hearing, of the total
cost of the completed capital improvement, the number of years of
useful life of the improvement as claimed by the landlord for the
purposes of depreciation for income tax purposes, the total number
of rentable square feet occupied by the tenants of the dwelling or
garden apartment complex and the cost of improvement per improvement
surcharge he is seeking from each tenant. The landlord seeking a capital
improvement surcharge shall apply for said surcharge within one year
of completion of the improvement to the Rent Stabilization Board,
which shall determine if said improvement is a major improvement and,
if so, shall permit such increase to take place. No rent surcharge
increase shall be made for capital improvements without prior approval
from the Rent Stabilization Board.
D. Application for rental surcharge under this section
shall be filed, together with a copy of the building permit, an affidavit
of service of notice of application upon each tenant and a sample
copy of such notice attached thereto, and certified mail receipts.
E. If any increase for a capital improvement surcharge
is granted under this section, it shall not be considered rental and
shall not be included in calculating cost-of-living rental increases
under § 1297-2 nor be added to the base rent or cost of
living.
All records which must be provided in connection
with the administration and enforcement of this chapter shall be maintained
at the Municipal Building in an appropriate place provided by the
Village Clerk. The Village Clerk and the Secretary of the Board shall
have access to these records at all times. It shall not be the duty,
however, of the Village Clerk to review these records with a landlord
or tenant during his regular business hours. A review of these records
shall be provided by the bylaws that create the Rent Stabilization
Board.
Where there is an increase in rent for a hardship
or capital improvement, the rounding process shall be used for any
of the foregoing. Any amount up to and including $0.50 on the dollar
shall be rounded off to the next lowest dollar. Any amount exceeding
but not including $0.50 on the dollar shall be rounded off to the
next highest dollar.
There may be no waiver or avoidance of the provisions of this chapter by private agreement, directly or indirectly. An owner or landlord and a tenant may agree, in writing, to waive those provisions of §
297-10 where a tenant is entitled to a lease for a period of one year.
[Amended 1-28-1992 by Ord. No. 1-92]
A violation of any provisions of this chapter, including but not limited to the willful filing with the Rent Stabilization Board of any material misstatement of fact, may be punishable, upon conviction, as provided in Chapter
1, General Provisions, Article
II, General Penalty. A violation affecting more than one leasehold shall be considered a separate violation as to each leasehold.
This chapter, being necessary for the welfare
of the Village and its inhabitants, shall be liberally construed to
effectuate the purposes thereof.
The Rent Stabilization Board shall have within
its power the right and ability to enforce this chapter immediately
upon passage and publication or as of the first day of the month following
the passage and publication of this chapter.