[Added 2-8-2007 by Ord. No. 2007-02]
This article shall be known as the "Rental Unit
Inspection."
The owner of any residential rental property
shall, prior to rental or lease involving a new occupancy of any unit
or dwelling space in such property, obtain a certificate of inspection
for said unit or dwelling space.
The certificate of inspection shall be issued
by the Construction Official or such person designated by the Construction
Official to issue the certificate of inspection. The certificate shall
be issued or denied within 10 days of the date of application to the
Building Department.
The certificate of inspection shall certify
that the dwelling unit, and its intended use, complies with the provisions
of applicable building, health, safety and fire codes, regulations,
ordinances and statutes of the Township of South Hackensack and State
of New Jersey.
The fee for the certificate of inspection as
provided for herein shall be $50 and shall be paid at the time of
and together with the filing of the written application by the owner
or his authorized representative. Said fee shall reflect, in part,
the cost for the initial inspection required by this article. In the
event that subsequent inspection(s) are required due to violations,
there shall be due from the owner or his authorized representative
an additional fee of $10 for each such reinspection.
The Construction Official shall promulgate an
application for the certificate of inspection. That form shall include
at least the following information: name and address of owner or landlord;
address of rental space to be inspected; description of rental premises
including number and description of rooms; names and ages of intended
tenants or occupants.
Within five days after receiving such notice
that a dwelling unit has been vacated or is about to be rented, the
Construction Official shall inspect or cause to be inspected said
premises. The Construction Official may request assistance from other
Township officials including various code officers, Health Officer
and Township Attorney. The purpose of said inspections shall be to
ascertain whether or not the vacated premises meet the standards of
the applicable building, health, safety and fire codes, regulations,
ordinances and statutes of the Township of South Hackensack and the
State of New Jersey, and that the premises are safe and habitable
for their intended use.
In the event that the premises to be leased
or rented meet the standards of the applicable building, health, safety
and fire codes, regulations, ordinances and statutes of the Township
of South Hackensack and the State of New Jersey, the Construction
Official shall issue a certificate of inspection. In the event that
the premises do not meet the standards outlined herein, the Construction
Official shall give notice in writing of repairs and/or corrections
to be made. In such event, the Construction Official or his agent
or designee shall make a reinspection within 14 days, or sooner if
the Construction Official has been notified that the improper conditions
have been corrected and, if the premises meet the appropriate standards
of the applicable building, health, safety and fire codes, regulations,
ordinances and statutes of the Township of South Hackensack and the
State of New Jersey, the Construction Official shall issue a certificate
of inspection.
The applicant shall correct all violations as
set forth by the inspector within 14 days from the denial of the certificate
of inspection and notice of repairs and/or corrections to be made.
Following the effective date of this article,
no such vacated apartments or premises shall be rented or occupied
in whole or in part by any tenant until the certificate of inspection
has been received or a temporary certificate of inspection has been
received. No owner or landlord may receive or collect rent for any
residential apartment or rental unit which has not received a certificate
of inspection.
The Construction Official may issue a temporary
certificate of inspection if the repairs and/or corrections are not
deemed by him to be injurious to the safety or the habitability of
the premises. Said temporary certificate shall automatically expire
30 days after its issuance. If the owner or landlord has not made
the repairs or the corrections within that time period, no certificate
of inspection will be issued. If the repairs and/or corrections have
been made, the Construction Official shall issue a certificate of
inspection.
Every owner of premises used for residential
rental purposes shall file, under oath, with the Construction Official
of the Township, a statement containing the address of the premises;
the name, address and telephone number of the agent in charge of the
premises, if any; the name, address and telephone number of the superintendent,
if any; the number of apartments or dwelling units in such premises,
and a description of the number and type of rooms in each unit, the
names of all tenants or occupants and the ages of any children age
18 and younger. When the owner of such premises is a corporation,
such statement shall be made, under oath, by the appropriate officers
of the corporation. All statements shall contain a telephone number
where the owner of the premises may be reached in the event of an
emergency situation.
In the event that the owner of such premises
fails to supply such information to the Construction Official of the
Township by, then and in that instance, the owner of such premises
shall be deemed to have appointed the Township Clerk as his agent
for the acceptance of process against him in any proceeding issuing
out of the Municipal Court of the Township by reason of a violation
of this article. In such case, the Township Clerk shall accept service
of the original and a copy of the summons and two copies of the complaint,
and the Township Clerk shall forthwith send a copy of the summons
and complaint by certified mail to the last known address of the owner
of the premises as designated by the records of the Tax Office of
the Township, and the mailing of such notice of service of process
shall be deemed full compliance with the jurisdictional requirements
of due process and shall give the Municipal Court of the Township
jurisdiction over the owner of the premises and to constitute personal
service of process on the owner.
In the alternative, the service of process against
the owner in any proceeding issuing out of the Municipal Court of
the Township by reason of violation of this article may be made by
the Construction Official or his designee by affixing a copy of the
summons and complaint onto the door of the main entrance of the premises,
and the Construction Official or his designee, on the same day, shall
mail a copy of the summons and complaint by certified mail to the
last known address of the owner or agent of the premises as the name
may be disclosed by the records of the Tax Office of the Township
and notify the owner of a hearing regarding the alleged violation.
Such notice shall be given at least 10 days before the day of the
hearing.
A.
If the Code of the Township of South Hackensack provides
for the licensing or permitting of the violator, the Township Committee
reserves the right to revoke such permit or license, following a conviction
of the violation of the provisions of this article.
B.
Any person found guilty of violating this article
of the Code of the Township of South Hackensack shall be subject to
a penalty consisting of a fine or imprisonment, or both, subject to
the discretion of the Judge, the maximum of which shall be the maximum
fine or term of imprisonment permitted to be imposed by the court
having jurisdiction over the violation of this article of the Code
of the Township of South Hackensack.
C.
In the event of a continuing violation, each day shall
constitute a separate offense.
