[Adopted 5-19-2009 by Ord. No. 09-10]
The Borough of Westwood hereby implements the provisions of N.J.S.A. 2A:18-61.1g in full and as if set forth at length herein.
Whenever a tenant receives a notice of eviction that results from zoning or code enforcement activity for an illegal occupancy, said tenant shall be considered a displaced person and shall be entitled to relocation assistance in an amount equal to six times the monthly rental paid by the displaced person. The owner and/or landlord of the structure shall be liable for the payment of relocation assistance pursuant to this section.
The Borough of Westwood may, but shall not be required to, pay relocation assistance to any displaced person as described above who has not received payment from the owner and/or landlord of the structure at the time of eviction from a revolving Relocation Assistance Fund established pursuant to N.J.S.A. 20:4-4.1a. All relocation assistance costs incurred by the Borough pursuant to this section shall be repaid by the owner and/or landlord of the structure to the Borough in the same manner as relocation costs are billed and collected under N.J.S.A. 20:4-4.1 and 20:4-4.2. The repayments shall be deposited into the Borough's revolving Relocation Assistance Fund.
A. 
In addition to requiring the owner and/or landlord of the structure to pay the relocation assistance costs referred to above, the owner and/or landlord, upon conviction of unlawfully renting a dwelling unit, shall pay an additional fine, beyond any other fines provided, up to an amount equal to six times the monthly rental paid by the displaced person.
B. 
Penalties for second and subsequent violations.
(1) 
In addition to the penalties described above, the Borough of Westwood, after affording the owner and/or landlord an opportunity on the matter, may impose upon the owner and/or landlord, for a second or subsequent violation of an illegal occupancy, a fine equal to the annual tuition cost of any resident of the illegally occupied unit attending a public school. This fine shall be recovered in a civil action by a summary dispossession proceeding in the name of the Borough, pursuant to the Penalty Enforcement Law of 1999 (N.J.S.A. 2A:58-10 et seq.). The Municipal Court and the Superior Court shall have jurisdiction of proceedings for the enforcement of the penalty provided by this subsection. The tuition cost shall be determined in the manner prescribed for nonresident peoples pursuant to N.J.S.A. 18A:38-19, and the payment of the fine shall be remitted to the appropriate school district after subtracting the fees and costs of collection.
(2) 
For purposes of this subsection, the owner and/or landlord of a structure shall exclude mortgagees in possession of the structure through foreclosure.
(3) 
For purposes of this subsection, a second and subsequent violation for an illegal occupancy shall be limited to those violations that are new and are a result of a distinct and separate zoning or code enforcement activity and shall not include continuing violations during the period required for summary dispossession proceedings if the owner has initiated eviction proceedings in a court of proper jurisdiction.