A.
Janitorial service.
(1)
In every multiple dwelling containing three or more dwelling units
or apartments or rooming units or combination thereof, the owner shall
provide a superintendent, janitor or housekeeper, who shall at all
times maintain the premises in compliance with this chapter, including
the responsibility for providing the receptacles for the disposal
of garbage and refuse. The person provided shall be regularly available
on the premises to perform the foregoing duties, and in the case of
complexes of 50 or more units, the person shall reside on the premises.
In the case of complexes with 500 or more units, at least two such
persons shall be provided, one of whom shall reside on the premises.
(2)
The owner or operator shall make known to all tenants or occupants
the name, address and telephone number of the person provided to act
as superintendent, janitor or housekeeper and shall register the same
with the local housing inspector, Borough Clerk or designee. The owner
or operator shall also make available and known to all tenants or
occupants the name of an alternate individual who shall be responsible
for the duties of the superintendent, janitor or housekeeper during
his or her absence.
(3)
The failure of any superintendent, janitor or housekeeper to comply
with the provisions of this chapter shall not relieve the owner or
operator from the duties and responsibilities imposed by this chapter.
(4)
Any and all maintenance employees hired by the owner or operator,
including the superintendent, janitor or housekeeper or their agents,
shall be provided with picture identification, which they shall keep
with them at all times and produce upon request. The responsibility
for compliance with this requirement shall be that of the owner or
operator.
(5)
The owner or operator shall register the name, address and telephone
number of said owner or operator with the local housing inspector,
Borough Clerk or designee.
B.
Removal and storage of garbage and refuse. The owner or operator
of every multiple dwelling containing four or more dwelling units,
apartments or rooming units, or any combination thereof, shall have
the duty and responsibility to keep the premises free from filth,
refuse, rubbish and garbage and of removing garbage and refuse after
its daily collection from tenants or occupants. The owner or operator
shall have the duty and responsibility of providing storage areas
or storage bins of fireproof construction containing fireproof walls
or partitions of at least two hours' rating for the storage of accumulated
garbage or refuse while awaiting collection for removal from the premises.
All common areas, stairways, halls, attics, cellars and basements
or other parts of the building not under the exclusive control of
the occupants shall be kept free from filth, ashes, rubbish, refuse,
junk, slop, wood, paper or other materials.
C.
Central heat and air conditioning.
(1)
Premises whose lease or express or implied covenants cognizable at
common law or equity, or as provided by law, shall include air conditioning
shall provide such from May 2 until September 14 annually at a temperature
not exceeding 74° F. or a temperature not less than 15° lower
than actual outside temperatures.
D.
Elevators. All residential dwellings of four or more stories containing
elevators shall have twenty-four-hour maintenance contracts to prevent
elevators being out of service for excessive lengths of time.
A.
Every dwelling unit shall meet the following minimum standards for
the provision of utility service to the dwelling unit:
(1)
Water supply. Every dwelling unit shall be provided with a safe supply
of potable water meeting the standards set forth in the New Jersey
Safe Drinking Water Act regulations, N.J.A.C. 7:10-1 et seq., as the
same may be amended and supplemented. The New Jersey Department of
Environmental Protection and/or the local health agency shall approve
the source of the water supply. The minimum rate of flow of hot or
cold water issuing from a faucet or fixture shall not be less than
one gallon per minute. The supply of water shall be provided to all
plumbing fixtures freely and continuously, pursuant to the New Jersey
Uniform Construction Code.
(2)
Electrical service. Every dwelling unit shall be provided with electrical
service, circuiting and receptacles that are adequate for the electrical
load being served. If the electrical load in a building is excessive
or the electrical service inadequate to supply all appliances contained
in the dwelling unit, the service shall be upgraded in accordance
with the New Jersey Uniform Construction Code.
(3)
Central heating. Every dwelling unit shall have central heating systems
which are properly installed, maintained in good and safe working
condition and are capable of safely and adequately heating all habitable
rooms, bathrooms and water closet compartments to a temperature of
at least 70° F. at a distance of three feet above floor level
while the external temperature is 10° F. All central heating systems
shall be of a type approved by the Fire Subcode Official. Nonvented
portable space heaters and stoves that burn solid, liquid or gaseous
fuels are prohibited.
(4)
Hot water. All dwelling units shall be provided with water heating
facilities which are properly installed, maintained in safe and good
working condition and are properly connected with running hot and
cold water lines as required under this chapter and other applicable
codes. Such water-heating facilities shall be capable of heating water
to such a temperature as to permit an adequate amount of water to
be drawn at every sink, lavatory basin, bathtub or shower at a temperature
of not less than 120° F. All sinks, basins, showers and baths
shall have a continuous supply of hot and cold running water.
(5)
Wastewater and sewer. All dwelling units shall be provided with a
wastewater system. Every flush water closet, toilet, sink, lavatory
basin, bathtub or shower shall be properly connected to an approved
sewer system or septic tank. The drainage system shall be designed,
constructed and maintained to safeguard against fouling, deposit of
solids, clogging and with adequate cleanouts so arranged that the
pipes may be readily cleaned.
B.
No owner or operator shall cause any service, equipment or utility
which is required to be supplied herein to be removed from, shut off
from or discontinued for any occupied dwelling unit, except for such
temporary interruption as may be necessary while actual repairs, replacements
or alterations are in the process of being made or during temporary
emergencies when discontinuation of service is required by the utility
company. In the event that any service or utility is discontinued
or shut off, the owner shall take immediate steps to cause the restoration
of such service or utility. Where utility or service is shut off or
discontinued as a result of nonpayment by the utility customer, and
the utility customer is not the owner or operator, the utility customer
shall take immediate steps to cause the restoration of such service
or utility. For purposes of this subsection "utility customer" shall
mean the person or entity identified in the account records of the
utility as responsible for payment of the utility bill.
C.
All equipment used in the supply of utility service to a dwelling
unit shall be maintained as follows:
(1)
Every plumbing fixture and water and waste pipe shall be properly
installed and maintained in good sanitary working condition, free
from defects, leaks and obstructions.
(2)
All electrical outlets shall be maintained in good working order
and in a safe condition and shall be connected to the source of electric
power. No temporary wiring shall be used, except extension cords may
be used for temporary applications only. Extension cords shall not
be used as a substitute for fixed or permanent wiring. "Temporary"
generally means it is associated with a one-time job or with a transient
condition.
(3)
Hot water storage tanks and hot water pipes shall be maintained free
from leaks or other defects.
(4)
All chimneys, smokestacks, smoke pipes and flues, other pipes, the
heating equipment, furnaces and boilers in the dwelling unit shall
be maintained free of defects and in good operating condition at all
times and shall be so maintained and so operated that no coal, gas,
soot, smoke or noxious fumes or odors shall enter the dwelling unit
or any dwelling unit adjacent thereto.
(5)
Waste and sewer lines, septic holding tanks and other sewer or septic
system fixtures shall be so installed and maintained as to function
properly and shall be kept free from obstructions, leaks and defects
to prevent structural deterioration, backflow or backsiphonage.
A.
Every dwelling unit shall contain within its main walls the following:
(1)
Lavatory facilities. A room, separated from the habitable rooms,
which affords privacy and which is equipped with a flush water closet
or toilet in good order and properly connected to a water and wastewater
system. Every sleeping room shall have access to at least one water
closet or toilet and one lavatory basin without passing through another
bedroom and which shall be located no farther than one floor above
or below each sleeping room.
(2)
Basin. A lavatory basin located in the same room as the required
flush water closet or toilet in good order and properly connected
to a water and wastewater system.
(3)
Bathtub or shower. A room, separated from the habitable rooms, which
affords privacy to a person in the room and which is equipped with
a bathtub or shower in good order and properly connected to a water
and wastewater system, which may be contained in the same room as
the one containing the lavatory and basin facilities.[1]
(4)
Kitchen sink. A kitchen sink of nonabsorbent impervious material
in good order and properly connected to a water and wastewater system.
(5)
Cooking facilities. At least one supplied kitchen gas or electric
stove providing at least two top burners and an oven, not necessarily
in the same unit, in good order and repair and properly connected
to the appropriate utility system, as well as a suitable space to
store, prepare and serve foods in a sanitary manner. All cooking facilities
shall contain ventilation sufficient to remove odors to the exterior
of the premises. Cooking facilities serving more than one dwelling
unit shall not be permitted, except that nothing herein shall be construed
to prohibit the operation of hotels, boardinghouses, nursing homes
and similar establishments subject to licensing.
B.
Sleeping rooms and bedrooms.
(1)
Every room occupied for sleeping purposes by one occupant shall contain
at least 75 square feet of floor area for the first person, and 50
square feet for each additional person. Closet area and hall area,
where provided within the dwelling unit, may count up to 10% of the
required floor area. No part of a room shall be included in calculations
for purposes of determining floor area that has a floor-to-ceiling
height of less than five feet.
(2)
Kitchens, lavatory facilities, cellars, nonhabitable spaces and interior
public areas shall not be occupied for sleeping purposes.
(3)
Sleeping rooms shall not constitute the only means of access to other
sleeping rooms.
C.
Ingress and egress.
(1)
Every dwelling unit shall have safe and unobstructed means of ingress
and egress. Such means of ingress and egress shall not be through
any other dwelling unit or part thereof and shall lead to a safe and
open space at ground level accessible to a street.
(2)
A room used for sleeping purposes shall be provided with a safe and
unobstructed means of egress leading directly to an outside area accessible
to a street.
The interior of the premises, the interior of buildings and
the condition of accessory structures shall be maintained to preserve
the health, safety and welfare of the occupants. Such maintenance
shall including the following:
A.
General. Every floor, wall, ceiling, door, window or other part of
the interior of a building shall be kept in good repair and capable
of the use intended by its design.
B.
Deterioration. All interior parts subject to corrosion or deterioration,
when corroded or deteriorated, shall be repaired, painted or replaced.
Side walls, window frames, doors and other woodwork, ceilings of every
habitable room, bathrooms, pantries, laundries, foyers, halls, corridors
and closets within a dwelling unit shall be kept painted, plastered,
papered or otherwise maintained so that they shall have a clean and
washable surface. The use of any paint or pigmented liquid substance
applied to surfaces by brush, roller or spray in which the total nonvolatile
ingredients contain more than 1% lead by weight on the interior surface
of any dwelling unit or any other surface or area to which a child
residing in a dwelling unit may have access is prohibited.
C.
Infestation. The owner of a dwelling unit shall maintain the dwelling
unit and premises as to prevent infestation by rodents, insects or
other vermin and shall carry out such rodent stoppage, vermin-proofing,
or other means of preventing infestations of such dwelling unit as
may be required by the local housing inspector. Whenever a dwelling
unit shall become infested with rodents, insects or other vermin,
the owner shall promptly exterminate the dwelling unit. Where the
dwelling unit is occupied by someone other than the owner, the occupant
shall promptly notify the owner of the infestation.
D.
Cleanliness. No owner shall occupy or let to an occupant any vacant
dwelling unit unless it is clean and sanitary. The occupants of every
dwelling unit shall keep the dwelling unit in a clean and sanitary
condition.
E.
Debris. The storage of objects or materials shall be done in an orderly
manner so as to not constitute a health, safety or fire hazard. Storage
of materials or objects shall not impair or impede the use of habitable
rooms for their intended purpose or block or obstruct any means of
egress from habitable rooms and/or sleeping rooms.
F.
Common areas. Every owner of a building containing two or more dwelling
units shall be responsible for maintaining the common areas of the
building in a clean and sanitary condition.
G.
Dampness. The ceilings, walls and floors of the interior of the dwelling
unit shall be kept dry and free from dampness. Every cellar and basement
shall be ventilated where necessary to prevent dampness.
H.
Garbage, rubbish and refuse. Every dwelling unit shall have at least
one container of metal or other material approved by the local housing
inspector, for the temporary storage and disposal of rubbish. In addition,
every dwelling unit shall have a watertight container, provided with
a tight-fitting cover, of metal or other material approved by the
local housing inspector, for the temporary storage of garbage or other
organic waste. Every occupant of a dwelling unit shall dispose of
all of his/her rubbish and refuse in a clean and sanitary manner by
placing it in a rubbish storage container as required herein. All
garbage and any other organic waste which might provide food for rodents,
insects or vermin shall be disposed of in a clean and sanitary manner
by placing it in a garbage disposal unit or in garbage-storing containers
as required herein. For purposes of this subsection a garbage disposal
unit is an electrical device, installed beneath a kitchen sink, which
grinds up food so that it can go into the waste pipe. Recyclable materials
shall be stored separately from nonrecyclable materials.
B.
In event of a change in ownership of any multiple dwelling containing
three or more dwelling units or apartments or rooming units or combination
thereof the owner or seller of said dwelling shall have an inspection
by the Code Enforcement Officer or other individual with power to
enforce the provisions of this chapter to ensure each unit complies
with the National Fire Code concerning placement and operation of
smoke detectors and carbon monoxide alarms.[2]
