Borough of Highland Park, NJ Administration

Conducting an outreach process to affirmatively market affordable housing units in accordance with the affirmative marketing plan of the Borough of Highland Park and the provisions of N.J.A.C. 5:80-26.15; and

Providing counseling or contracting to provide counseling services to low- and moderate-income applicants on subjects such as budgeting, credit issues, mortgage qualification, rental lease requirements, and landlord/tenant law.

(3)

Household certification:

Soliciting, scheduling, conducting and following up on interviews with interested households;

Conducting interviews and obtaining sufficient documentation of gross income and assets upon which to base a determination of income eligibility for a low- or moderate-income unit;

Providing written notification to each applicant as to the determination of eligibility or noneligibility;

Requiring that all certified applicants for restricted units execute a certificate substantially in the form, as applicable, of either the ownership or rental certificates set forth in Appendixes J and K of N.J.A.C. 5:80-26.1 et seq.;

(e)

Creating and maintaining a referral list of eligible applicant households living in the housing region and eligible applicant households with members working in the housing region where the units are located;

(f)

Employing a random selection process as provided in the affirmative marketing plan of the Borough of Highland Park when referring households for certification to affordable units; and

(g)

Notifying the following entities of the availability of affordable housing units in the Borough of Highland Park: the Fair Share Housing Center, the New Jersey State Conference of the NAACP, the Latino Action Network, the Middlesex County NAACP, the Middlesex Urban League, and the Middlesex County Housing Coalition.

(4)

Affordability controls:

Furnishing to attorneys or closing agents forms of deed restrictions and mortgages for recording at the time of conveyance of title of each restricted unit;

Creating and maintaining a file on each restricted unit for its control period, including the recorded deed with restrictions, recorded mortgage and note, as appropriate;

Ensuring that the removal of the deed restrictions and cancellation of the mortgage note are effectuated and properly filed with the Middlesex County Register of Deeds or Middlesex County Clerk's office after the termination of the affordability controls for each restricted unit;

Communicating with lenders regarding foreclosures; and

(e)

Ensuring the issuance of continuing certificates of occupancy or certifications pursuant to N.J.A.C. 5:80-26.10.

(5)

Records retention.

(6)

Resale and re-rental:

Instituting and maintaining an effective means of communicating information between owners and the administrative agent regarding the availability of restricted units for resale or re-rental; and

Instituting and maintaining an effective means of communicating information to low- (or very-low- ) and moderate-income households regarding the availability of restricted units for resale or re-rental.

(7)

Processing requests from unit owners, and:

Reviewing and approving requests for determination from owners of restricted units who wish to take out home equity loans or refinance during the term of their ownership so that the amount of indebtedness to be incurred will not violate the terms of this chapter;

Reviewing and approving requests to increase sales prices from owners of restricted units who wish to make capital improvements to the units that would affect the selling price, such authorizations to be limited to those improvements resulting in additional bedrooms or bathrooms and the depreciated cost of central air-conditioning systems;

Notifying the municipality of an owner's intent to sell a restricted unit; and

Making determinations on requests by owners of restricted units for hardship waivers.

(8)

Enforcement, although the ultimate responsibility for retaining controls on the units rests with the municipality:

Securing annually from the municipality a list of all affordable housing units for which tax bills are mailed to absentee owners, and notifying all such owners that they must either move back to their unit or sell it;

Securing from all developers and sponsors of restricted units, at the earliest point of contact in the processing of the project or development, written acknowledgement of the requirement that no restricted unit can be offered, or in any other way committed, to any person, other than a household duly certified to the unit by the administrative agent;

Posting annually, in all rental properties (including two-family homes), a notice as to the maximum permitted rent together with the telephone number of the administrative agent where complaints of excess rent or other charges can be made;

Sending annual mailings to all owners of affordable dwelling units, reminding them of the notices and requirements outlined in N.J.A.C. 5:80-26.18(d)4;

(e)

Establishing a program for diverting unlawful rent payments to the municipality's affordable housing trust fund; and

(f)

Creating and publishing a written operating manual for each affordable housing program administered by the administrative agent, to be approved by the Borough Council and the Court, setting forth procedures for administering the affordability controls.

(9)

The administrative agent shall, as delegated by the Borough Council, have the authority to take all actions necessary and appropriate to carry out its responsibilities hereunder.

§ 86-26 Enforcement of affordable housing regulations.

Upon the occurrence of a breach of any of the regulations governing the affordable unit by an owner, developer or tenant, the municipality shall have all remedies provided at law or equity, including but not limited to foreclosure, tenant eviction, municipal fines, a requirement for household recertification, acceleration of all sums due under a mortgage, recoupment of any funds from a sale in the violation of the regulations, injunctive relief to prevent further violation of the regulations, entry on the premises, and specific performance.

After providing written notice of a violation to an owner, developer or tenant of a low- or moderate-income unit and advising the owner, developer or tenant of the penalties for such violations, the municipality may take the following action against the owner, developer or tenant for any violation that remains uncured for a period of 60 days after service of the written notice:

(1)

The municipality may file a court action pursuant to N.J.S.A. 2A:58-11 alleging a violation, or violations, of the regulations governing the affordable housing unit. If the owner, developer or tenant is found by the Court to have violated any provision of the regulations governing affordable housing units, the owner, developer or tenant shall be subject to one or more of the following penalties, at the discretion of the Court:

A fine of not more than $500 or imprisonment for a period not to exceed 90 days, or both. Each and every day that the violation continues or exists shall be considered a separate and specific violation of these provisions and not as a continuing offense;

In the case of an owner who has rented his or her low- or moderate-income unit in violation of the regulations governing affordable housing units, payment into the Borough of Highland Park affordable housing trust fund of the gross amount of rent illegally collected;