[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council of the City of
Hoboken 6-18-1986 by Ord. No. V-51. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Rent control — See Ch. 155.
A.
The owner of any dwelling unit other than those exempted below shall
be subject to the provisions of this chapter.
B.
The following are exempt from the provisions of this chapter:
(1)
Units in owner-occupied buildings where there are four units or less
and one of these units is owner-occupied.
[Amended 9-17-1986 by Ord. No. V-67]
(2)
Units in newly constructed buildings which are being rented for the
first time. After the first rental, such units will be subject to
the provisions of this chapter.
(3)
Units where the owner is participating in an affordable housing project
approved by the Community Development Agency of Hoboken.
(4)
Units in a building whose owner has transmitted his first sixty-day
notice of his intentions to convert the building into a condominium
or cooperative and his full plan of conversion to the City Clerk pursuant
to N.J.S.A. 2A:18-61.8.
(5)
Units in motels and hotels.
All such units shall be rented and occupied by a new tenant within two months after the end of the preceding tenancy, which shall be defined as the last day of residence by the preceding tenant or tenants, except where this requirement has been waived by the Rent Leveling Board under the provisions of § 154-5 below, in which event the unit shall be rented and occupied within the time period specified in the waiver.
A.
The owner of any such unit which is still vacant 30 days after the
end of the preceding tenancy shall notify the Rent Leveling Board
within five days, in writing, of said continuing vacancy.
B.
Said notification shall include the following information:
(1)
The address and location within the building of the unit.
(2)
The rent charged the preceding tenant and rent to be charged the
proximate incoming tenant.
(3)
The name, address and telephone number of the owner.
(4)
The name, address and telephone number of the owner's agent
and/or resident manager, if any.
C.
No notification shall be required with respect to any unit rented
and occupied within 30 days or less from the end of the preceding
tenancy.
Within 30 days after submission of the report required under § 154-3 above, the landlord shall notify the Rent Leveling Board that the unit has been rented and occupied, with the names of the new tenant or tenants and the terms of the tenancy. Failure to have the unit rented and occupied within 60 days after the end of the preceding tenancy, except where a waiver has been granted by the Rent Leveling Board, shall be considered a violation of this chapter and subject to the penalties set forth in § 154-7 below.
A.
A landlord may seek a waiver of the requirement to rent the unit
within 60 days of the end of the preceding tenancy where the condition
of the unit or other special circumstances make rental within such
time period impossible. In order to obtain a waiver, the landlord
must submit a request, in writing, to the Rent Leveling Board, within
30 days or less from the end of the preceding tenancy, setting forth
with specificity:
B.
Full documentation, such as code violation reports, engineering or
inspection reports, etc., shall be provided by the landlord. Any waiver
granted by the Board under this section shall specify a date by which
the unit shall be rented and occupied. The Board may extend that date
upon written request of the landlord but may not provide more than
two such extensions of not more than 60 days each.
C.
In no circumstance shall any waiver, including extensions, exceed
six months from the time of granting of such waiver.
D.
The following circumstances shall constitute grounds for granting
of a waiver by the Rent Leveling Board:
(1)
An owner wishes to maintain a vacant unit in order to reserve said
unit for a family member. The owner shall provide in the waiver request
full documentation, such as the name of the future tenant and the
date of occupancy.
(2)
An owners wishes to maintain a vacant unit in order to improve the
conditions of said unit. The owner shall provide full documentation
in the waiver request, such as up-to-date building and housing inspection
reports, improvement plans, all related permits and the date by which
the unit shall be rented and occupied.
(3)
An owner maintains a vacant unit in order to correct code violations
in said unit. The owner shall provide in the waiver request full documentation,
such as code violations reports, correction plans, permits and the
date by which the unit shall be rented and occupied.
Any individual affected by the action or inaction of an owner
of a dwelling unit subject to the provisions of this chapter, any
civic organization and any appropriate municipal agency may file a
complaint of violation of this chapter with the Hoboken Municipal
Court.
A.
A first violation of § 154-2 of this chapter or the conditions upon which a waiver has been granted by the Board shall be punishable by a fine of not more than $500 for each unit in violation. Subsequent violations shall be punishable by a fine of not less than $100 nor more than $500. Each day during which an owner is in violation of § 154-2 of this chapter or the conditions upon which a waiver has been granted shall constitute a separate violation hereunder.
[1]
Editor's Note: Former § 154-8, Mailing of provisions
to known owners of property, was repealed 9-17-1986 by Ord. No. V-67.
Any landlord of any unit which has been vacant 30 days or more from the end of the preceding tenancy as of the effective date of this chapter shall be required to file the notification required under § 154-3 of this chapter within 15 days of the effective date of this chapter.