The purpose of this article is to insure that residential rental
units are properly maintained in accordance with the Property Maintenance
and related codes, as well as to protect the property and the health,
safety and welfare of Borough residents. To this end, the article
shall be liberally construed to assure the provision of decent and
safe units of dwelling space as follows.
Unless the context clearly indicates a different meaning, the
following words or phrases when used in this article shall have the
following meaning:
AGENT
The individual or individuals designated by the owner as
the person(s) authorized by the owner to perform any duty imposed
upon the owner by this section. The term does not necessarily mean
a licensed real estate broker or salesman of the State of New Jersey
as those terms are defined by N.J.S.A. 45:15-3; however, such term
may include a licensed real estate broker or salesman of the State
of New Jersey if such person is designated by the owner as the owner's
agent.
APARTMENT COMPLEX
Two or more buildings, each containing two or more apartments/condominiums/townhouses
which are located within close proximity of each other and are owned
by the same owner.
APARTMENT or DWELLING
Any apartment, condominium, townhouse, bungalow, cooperative,
cottage or any room or rooms in a rooming/boarding house or in any
other dwelling unit consisting of one or more rooms occupying all
or part of a floor or floors in a building, whether designed with
or without housekeeping facilities for dwelling purposes and notwithstanding
whether the apartment be designed for residence, for office, or the
operation of any industry or business, or for any other type of independent
use.
OWNER
Any person or group of persons, firm, corporation, limited-liability
company, association, trust, any type of partnership, or other entity,
who owns, operates, exercises control over or is in charge of a rental
facility.
PERSON
An individual, firm, corporation, partnership, association,
trust or other legal entity, or any combination thereof.
RENTAL FACILITY
Every building, group of buildings or a portion thereof which
is kept, used, maintained, advertised or held out to be a place where
living accommodations are supplied, whether furnished or unfurnished,
for pay or other consideration, to one or more individuals and is
meant to include apartments and apartment complexes.
RENTAL UNIT
A dwelling unit which is available for lease or rental purposes
and is meant to include a dwelling unit offered for lease or rental,
including but not limited to one-family homes, two-family homes, three-family
homes, etc. as well as individual apartments/condominiums/townhouses
located within apartment, condominium or townhouse complexes.
Every owner of a rental unit shall file with the Construction
Official of the Borough of Red Bank a registration form for each unit
contained within a building or structure, which shall include the
following information:
A. The name and address of each record owner or owners of the premises
and each record owner or owners of the rental business if not the
same persons. In the case of a partnership, the names and address
of all general partners shall be provided together with the telephone
numbers for each of such individuals indicating where such individual
may be reached both during the day and evening hours. If the record
owner is a corporation, the name and address of the registered agent
and all corporate officers of said corporation together with the telephone
numbers for each of such individuals indicating where such individual
may be reached both during the day and evening hours. If the record
owner is a limited liability company, the name and address of the
person(s) designated in the operating agreement together with the
telephone numbers for such individual(s) indicating where such individual(s)
may be reached both during the day and evening hours;
B. If the address of any record owner is not located in Red Bank, the
name and address of a person who resides in Monmouth County who is
authorized to accept notices from a tenant or a Borough representative
and to issue receipts therefor and to accept service of process on
behalf of the record owner;
C. The name and address and telephone numbers of the agent of the premises
indicating where such individual may be reached both during the day
and evening hours;
D. The name and telephone numbers, including the dwelling unit number
of the superintendent, janitor, custodian or other individual employed
by the owner or agent to provide regular maintenance service, if any.
For each such individual, a statement as to where such individual
may be reached both during the day and evening hours;
E. The name, address and telephone number of an individual representative
of the owner or agent who may be reached or contacted at any time
in the event of an emergency affecting the premises or any unit of
dwelling space therein, including such emergencies as the failure
of any essential service or system, and who has the authority to make
emergency decisions concerning the building and any repair thereto
or expenditure in connection therewith;
F. The name and address of every holder of a recorded mortgage on the
premises;
G. If fuel oil or natural gas is used to heat the building and the landlord
furnishes the heat in the building, the name and address of the fuel
oil or natural gas dealer servicing the building and the grade of
fuel oil or natural gas used;
H. As to each rental unit, a specification of the exact number of sleeping
rooms contained in the rental unit. In order to satisfy the requirement
of this provision, an owner shall submit a floor plan outlining and
identifying each room in the unit, including the dimensions and floor
location of each room, which shall become a part of the application
and which shall be attached to the registration form when filed with
the Construction Official;
I. Such other information as may be required by the Borough;
J. All addresses must include the full accurate street address; P.O.
box and like information does not satisfy this requirement;
K. The name, age and gender, including children, of every tenant of
record as to each rental unit. The information contained in the registration
form must set forth information for each rental unit within the rental
property and must include all tenants in each rental unit. This information
shall be available only to the Construction Official. This information
shall otherwise remain confidential and shall not be available to
the public.
The Construction Official shall file with the Borough Clerk
a copy of the registration form, except for the information as to
the names of the tenants of record and occupants, which information
shall be kept in a confidential file in the office of the Construction
Official. The Borough Clerk shall index and file the registration
forms. In doing so, the Borough Clerk or designee shall follow the
mandates of N.J.S.A. 46:8-28.1, as amended and supplemented, so that
the filing of the registration form will simultaneously satisfy the
registration requirements of N.J.S.A. 46:8-28 to the extent that it
applies to the property being registered and will also satisfy the
registration requirements of this article.
[Amended 6-25-2007 by Ord. No. 2007-27]
Every person required to file a registration form pursuant to
this article shall file an amended registration form within five business
days of any change in the information required to be included thereon,
except in the case of any change of occupant(s) to a dwelling, in
which case, an amended registration form shall be a prerequisite to
the issuance of a new certificate of occupancy.
Inspection officers shall be supplied with official identification
and shall exhibit such identification when entering any rental facility,
rental unit, rooming house and boarding house or any part of any premises
subject to this article. Inspectors shall conduct themselves so as
to avoid intentional embarrassment or inconvenience to occupants.
No person shall hereafter occupy any rental unit, nor shall
the owner permit occupancy of any rental unit within the Borough of
Red Bank unless the rental unit is registered in accordance with this
article.
At the time of the filing of the registration form, the owner
or agent of the owner must pay a registration fee of $50 per unit
but not to exceed $5,000 per property or apartment complex. If the
owner of the property is a senior citizen (age 65 years or older)
who resides in a unit of the property and rents out the remaining
units and would otherwise qualify under the State of New Jersey property
tax deductions under N.J.S.A. 54:4-8.41, there shall be no fee. After
the initial registration, the fee for an amended registration is $20
per unit, but not to exceed $2,000 per annum per property or apartment
complex.
Every owner shall provide each occupant or tenant occupying
a rental unit with a copy of the registration form required by this
article. This particular provision shall not apply to any hotel, motel,
or guesthouse registered with the State of New Jersey pursuant to
the Hotel and Multiple Dwelling Act in accordance with N.J.S.A. 55:13A-1
et seq.
[Amended by Ord. No. 2004-37]
A. Any person who violates any provision of this article shall, upon conviction in the Municipal Court of the Borough of Red Bank or such other court having jurisdiction, be liable to a fine as provided in Chapter
1, General Provisions, Article
II, General Penalty. The minimum penalty that shall be imposed for a violation of this article is a $500 fine. Each day that a violation occurs shall be deemed a separate and distinct violation subject to the penalty provisions of this section.
B. Any person who is convicted of violating this article within one
year of the date of a previous violation of the same section and who
was fined for the previous violation, shall be sentenced by a court
to an additional fine as a repeat offender. The additional fine imposed
by the court upon a person for a repeated offense shall not be less
than the minimum or exceed the maximum fine fixed for a violation
of the article, but shall be calculated separately from the fine imposed
for the violation of the article.