[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Commissioners of the City of Union City 1-7-1997 as § 13-9 of the 1996 Revised General Ordinances. Amendments noted where applicable.]
A. 
For the purpose of this chapter, a hotel, lodging, boardinghouse or rooming house shall include every dwelling house or other structure kept, held or used where sleeping, lodging or light housekeeping rooms are offered for pay for three or more persons.
B. 
The following words used in this chapter, unless otherwise expressly stated or unless the context or subject matter otherwise requires, shall have the following meanings:
BOARDINGHOUSE
A house where the business of keeping boarders generally is carried on and where a furnished room and meals are regularly served as a part of such accommodations.
HOTEL
A house where the business of furnishing sleeping accommodations to guests, with or without meals, is carried on.
LODGING HOUSE
A house where the business of accommodating lodgers is carried on in substantially the same manner as a rooming house, except that the unit rented as a part of such accommodations is a furnished apartment rather than a furnished room.
ROOMING HOUSE
A house where the business of accommodating roomers is carried on in substantially the same manner as a boardinghouse, except that no meals are served as a part of such accommodations.
A. 
No structure, or parts of a structure, shall be used as a hotel, rooming, lodging house or boardinghouse before the person desiring such use makes application for, and receives from the License Inspector of the City a permit authorizing such use. The permit shall be issued only to persons of good moral character and shall not be transferable. Permits shall run from January 1 of each year and shall terminate on December 31 of the same year. Permits after January 1 shall also expire on December 31 of the same year. Applications for renewal of permits must be the same as if an original permit is applied for. The permit shall be signed by the License Inspector and shall be posted in a prominent place on the premises.
B. 
Before any permit is issued, the License Inspector shall submit the application, together with the plans and other data, to the Building Inspector and to the Health Officer and shall not issue any permit until (s)he has received a written approval from the Health Officer certifying compliance with the terms of this chapter, the Sanitary Code of the county and state, and the codes and health ordinances of the City, and the written approval of the Building Inspector, showing that the structure complies with the local Building Code. The structure must also comply with any building regulations prescribed by the statutes of the State of New Jersey.
A. 
No permit shall be issued until each room, furnished room and furnished apartment in any hotel, lodging house, rooming house or boardinghouse shall contain a separate room which affords privacy to the person within the room and which separate room is equipped with a bathtub or shower, a toilet or flush water closet and a lavatory basin in good working condition and properly connected to a water and sewer system approved by the Building Inspector and the Health Officer, and which bathtub or shower and lavatory basin shall be properly connected with hot and cold waterlines, and shall be supplied with adequate hot and cold water. Every bathroom and toilet or water closet compartment shall have a window comprising 5% of the total floor space of the bathroom and toilet or water closet compartment, except that no windows shall be required in an adequately ventilated bathroom and toilet or water closet compartment equipped with a ventilating system which is kept in continuous operation and approved by the Building Inspector and the Health Officer. Every bathroom and toilet or water closet compartment shall contain at least one supplied ceiling or wall-type electric light fixture. Every such outlet and fixture shall be properly installed, shall be maintained in good and safe working condition, and shall be connected to the source of electric power in a safe manner.
B. 
No owner, operator or occupant of any room, furnished room or furnished apartment in any hotel, rooming house, lodging house or boardinghouse shall cause any service, facility, equipment or utility which is required under this chapter to be removed or shut off from or discontinued for any occupied hotel room, furnished room or furnished apartment, in any hotel, rooming house, lodging house or boardinghouse, except for such temporary interruption as may be necessary while additional repairs or alterations are in process, or during temporary emergencies when discontinuance of service is approved by the Health Officer.
C. 
The requirement of a separate private room containing a bathtub or shower and a toilet or water closet and lavatory basin shall not apply to any existing hotel, lodging house, rooming house or boardinghouse, the owner or operator of which had a license and a permit for the operation thereof, which license and permit was in force and effect on December 19, 1963, or to any renewal or renewals of the license and permit, or to the heirs, next of kin or personal representatives of the holder of such license and permit.
D. 
The number of beds in rooming houses, regardless of referral sources or statutory classification of their clientele, shall be limited to 187 beds. This number represents the number of beds contained in rooming houses, boardinghouses and boarding homes located within the City and licensed by the State of New Jersey as of January 1, 1989.
A. 
All applications for permits must be in writing and presented to the License Inspector on blanks setting forth the name of the applicant, his/her address, occupation and if (s)he is not the owner of the structure, the location where the business is to be conducted, the number of rooms in the structure, and which rooms are to be occupied as sleeping rooms, together with the sanitary facilities, which include wash basins and toilets.
B. 
Before a permit is issued, the person making the application, in addition to the facts set forth in the application, must also make a statement of the number of lodgers housed on each floor and the number of lodgers to be housed in each room, which must be written in on the application required to be filed.
C. 
Before a permit is issued, the person must file plans, in duplicate, showing one private bathroom and toilet or flush water closed compartment connected with each hotel room, furnished room or furnished apartment, for the private use of the occupant or occupants of each such hotel room, furnished room or furnished apartment, in each hotel, lodging house, rooming house or boardinghouse governed by the provisions of this chapter. The private bathroom and toilet or flush water closet compartment must comply with the terms of this chapter, the codes of the City, county and state, the Building Code and other requirements and building regulations prescribed by the statutes of the State of New Jersey.
A. 
Every person operating a hotel, lodging house, boardinghouse or rooming house shall keep therein at all times a standard hotel register in which shall be inscribed with ink the name and home address of each and every guest or person renting or occupying a room or rooms therein. The names of such guests shall be written upon the register by the persons themselves, and if they cannot write, the names shall be written in by the person renting the room or rooms, stating that the person renting the room could not sign his or her name. The register shall also include the home address of such person, and the person renting the room shall thereupon write opposite the name so registered the number of the room or rooms assigned to each guest and the time when the same is rented, whether a.m. or p.m. Until all such entries have been made in such register, no guest shall be permitted to occupy privately any room in the house. At any time any room or rooms are surrendered, it shall be the further duty of the agent to enter the time thereof in the register opposite the names of all the persons making such surrender. The register shall be open at all times to the inspection of any guest of the house and any code enforcement and police officer of the City.
B. 
In case a reference book or other record is kept in addition to the standard hotel register, the information herein required, in whole or in part may be kept in such reference book or record, and all entries shall be a part of the hotel, lodging house, boarding or rooming house record, and shall be subject to the same inspection as the standard hotel register.
A. 
Fire escapes must conform to Tenement House Laws of the State of New Jersey, except that no structure three or more stories in height and containing more than 10 bedrooms shall hereafter be used as a hotel, motel, rooming house, lodging house or boardinghouse unless such structure shall be equipped with at least two fire escapes, placed on opposite sides of the structure, reaching from the topmost story thereof to the ground. The exits to fire escapes shall be at least three feet in width and shall at all times be open and unencumbered so that there is no obstruction to their use. A red light on the passageway or doorway leading to the fire escape or exit shall be lighted at all times. Doors leading to fire escapes must be hung so that they may be opened outwardly and be unlocked from the inside at all times so that they can be unfastened by anyone on the inside thereof.
B. 
Should a hotel, lodging house, boardinghouse or rooming house contain less than 10 bedrooms and be three or more stories in height, then all bedrooms located on the third floor and above shall be equipped with a knotted rope or automatic slide, as approved by the Building Inspector and the approved type as required by the State of New Jersey in hotels. Such approved ropes or slides must conform with local climatic conditions. Such portable escapes or slides must be erected near a window and under the strict supervision of the Fire Department and the Building Department of the City.
A. 
No more than four occupants shall be permitted to sleep in one sleeping room, except in dormitories. No room shall be used for sleeping purposes unless there is at least 50 square feet of floor space and 400 cubic feet of air space for each occupant occupying any sleeping room or dormitory in the house. All rooms, hallways, bathrooms and toilets shall have adequate and sufficient ventilating, heating, sanitary and lighting facilities and services.
B. 
All bedrooms must have sufficient heat furnished during the heating season, namely from September 15 to May 15, from 6:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. daily. The temperature in such bedrooms during those hours and the period of times fixed herein shall not be less than 68° F., and if individual heating equipment is installed, such individual heating units must be approved by the Building Inspector before installation.
C. 
The permittee at all times shall comply with all local, county and state health, sanitary, fire, police and Building Department regulations and requirements, the Building Code of the City and regulations prescribed by the statutes of the State of New Jersey.
A. 
No person shall write or cause to be written in any register in any hotel, lodging house, boardinghouse or rooming house any other or different name than the true name of such person or the name by which such person is generally known.
B. 
No room in any hotel, lodging house, boardinghouse or rooming house shall be rented for sleeping or lodging purposes more than once between the hours of 6:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. of the following day, except to bona fide travelers with baggage.
C. 
Every person conducting a hotel, lodging house, boardinghouse or rooming house shall cause each sleeping room to be numbered in a plain and conspicuous manner. The number shall be placed on the outside door of the room, and no two rooms shall bear the same number.
D. 
In the conduct of any hotel, lodging house, boardinghouse or rooming house, the acts of the agent, servants or employees of the owner thereof shall be deemed to be the acts of the employer or owner.
A. 
Permits issued under this chapter may be revoked by resolution of the Board of Commissioners, whenever it shall find that the permittee or owner has violated the provisions of this chapter or permitted the same to be violated, or has violated any other ordinance of the City or any statutes of the State of New Jersey in the conduct of the business for which the permit is granted, provided that no permit shall be revoked unless charges in writing shall first have been filed with the City Clerk, setting forth with reasonable certainty the nature of the charges against the permittee. Upon the filing of charges, the Board of Commissioners shall fix the time and place for the hearing of the charges, and a copy of the charges as filed, together with notice of time and place of hearing, shall be served on the permittee at least five days prior to the date fixed by the Commissioners for the hearing.
B. 
Any notice thereof for charges against the permittee shall be served either by delivering a copy personally to the permittee or by leaving a copy with some person of suitable age and discretion in the place of the business of the permittee, or, if no such person can be found at the place of business of the permittee, by leaving such notice in a conspicuous place on the premises and leaving a copy of such notice for the permittee at his/her place of business as set forth in his/her application for license.
C. 
At the hearing of the charges, the permittee shall have the right to appear and defend the charges and to be represented by counsel if (s)he so desires.
Any inspections which may be made by the License Inspector, Health Officer or Building Inspector may be made by any one of them or anyone duly authorized by them to make such inspection or inspections, and they may make inspections before or after the permit is issued, at all reasonable hours. If access is denied, a search warrant shall be obtained by due process of law.
A. 
This chapter is not adopted and perpetuated for revenue but is regulatory and is enacted to safeguard the health, life and safety of the occupants of the structures for which the permits are issued and of the general public, and shall in no way amend or supersede any laws or ordinances requiring license fees to be paid for the operation of hotels, lodging houses, rooming houses or boardinghouses.
[Amended 5-21-2013]
B. 
This permit shall be necessary in addition to the license, and the premises cannot be operated for the purpose mentioned herein unless the permit is obtained and a license is obtained, and there shall be no fee for the permit required under this chapter.
The lodging of relatives by marriage or blood of the permittee shall not come within the terms of this chapter.
Nothing herein contained in this chapter is intended to or shall conflict with the State of New Jersey Hotel and Multiple Dwelling Law (N.J.S.A. 55:13A-1 et seq.) or any amendments thereto or with any regulations promulgated thereunder pertaining to the construction and maintenance of hotels and multiple dwellings.