[1980 Code § 121-47]
a.
Residential. Occupants shall not, after notice as required under § 13-63, occupy or continue to occupy premises which are substandard by reason of the failure of the dwelling unit or rooming unit occupied by them or of the dwelling or premises to conform to and comply with the requirements of this Code. Upon discovery by an occupant of any condition on premises occupied by the occupant which constitutes a violation of this Code, said occupant shall provide notice to the owner or operator pursuant to § 13-55. Should relief be denied, said occupant shall report same to the Division Manager responsible for enforcement hereunder.
b.
Nonresidential. Upon discovery by an occupant of any condition of
the premises which constitutes a violation hereof, the occupant shall
report the same to the Division Manager responsible for enforcement
hereunder.
[1980 Code § 121-48]
All parts of the premises under the control of the occupant
or operator shall be kept in a clean and sanitary condition, and the
occupant, shall refrain from performing any acts which would render
other parts of the premises unclean or unsanitary or which would obstruct
the owner or operator from performing any duty required hereunder
or maintaining the premises in a clean and sanitary condition.
[1980 Code § 121-49; amended 9-14-2021 by Ord. No. O-24-2021]
Occupants shall place all garbage in the receptacles provided
for garbage disposal and shall, where janitor service is not supplied,
place for disposal all garbage and other refuse in garbage cans located
in the exterior of the premises in an area designated and set apart
for the same. Where janitorial service for the removal of garbage
and other refuse to the exterior of the premises is provided by the
owner or operator, then the occupant shall dispose of garbage and
other refuse in containers provided therefor by the owner or operator
in designated and enclosed areas in the interior of the premises.
All such garbage shall be in a securely tied plastic bag before placed
in any garbage can or other receptacle for garbage disposal. Garbage
and other refuse shall not be thrown out of windows or down dumbwaiters,
nor shall garbage and refuse be set out on stairways or fire escapes
or in common hallways. All fire escapes, stairways, common areaways
and common hallways shall be kept free of accumulations of personal
belongings. All dumbwaiters shall be operable at all times where in
existence and used as a regular part of the garbage disposal systems.
[1980 Code § 121-50]
a.
Residential. Every occupant of a single-family dwelling shall be
responsible for the elimination of infestation in the dwelling and
on the premises. Every occupant of a dwelling unit or rooming unit
in a dwelling other than a single-family dwelling shall be responsible
for eliminating all conditions causing infestation which are caused
by the occupant and also those conditions which are subject to and
under his exclusive control.
b.
Nonresidential. Every operator shall be responsible for the elimination
of infestation in and on the premises subject to his control.
[1980 Code § 121-51]
Every occupant or operator shall be responsible for willfully
or maliciously causing damage to any part of the premises.
[1980 Code § 121-52]
No occupant shall cause excessive discoloration of the sidewalls
or ceilings of any part of the premises by improper use of heating
or cooking equipment.
[1980 Code § 121-53]
Where any occupant undertakes by contract or as a condition of his letting to supply his own heat through a furnace or boiler which also heats a dwelling unit or rooming unit occupied by other persons, the occupant shall be responsible for supplying heat in accordance with the provisions of § 13-39.
[1980 Code § 121-54]
Where any occupant undertakes to install heating equipment, the same shall conform to the requirements of §§ 13-34 through 13-39, Paragraphs a and b. The occupant shall thereafter be responsible for maintaining such equipment installed by him in good repair and operating condition during all times that the heating equipment shall remain under his control.
[1980 Code § 121-55]
Every occupant or operator shall maintain all plumbing fixtures
used by him in a clean and sanitary condition, and he shall not deposit
any material in any fixture or sewer system which would result in
stoppage of or damage to the fixture or sewer system.
[1980 Code § 121-56]
Where the owner or operator would not otherwise know of a defect
of any facility, utility or equipment required to be furnished hereunder
and the same is defective or inoperable, each occupant or operator
affected thereby shall, upon learning of the defect, provide notice
to the owner, operator or other person in charge of the premises.
Nothing herein shall be construed to provide a defense to any owner
or operator violating this Code.
[1980 Code § 121-57; Ord. No. O-30-01; Ord. No. O-5-03; Ord. No. O-28-12]
b.
Relocation assistance for tenants displaced due to illegal occupancy.
1.
Relocation assistance fund. The Town shall establish a Relocation
Assistance Fund to be administered by the Director of Code Enforcement.
The Fund shall accept relocation assistance payments, as required
by this section, and distribute them to eligible displaced tenants.
2.
Eligibility for relocation assistance.
(a)
Any tenant who receives a notice of eviction pursuant to N.J.S.A.
2A:18-61.2 that results from zoning or code enforcement activity for
an illegal occupancy, as set forth N.J.S.A. 2A:18-61.1, shall be considered
a displaced person and shall be entitled to relocation assistance
in an amount equal to six times the monthly rental paid by the displaced
person. The owner-landlord of the structure shall be liable for the
payment of relocation assistance pursuant to this section.
(b)
The Town shall pay relocation assistance to any displaced person
who has not received the required payment from the owner-landlord
of the structure at the time of eviction pursuant to Paragraph b2(a),
Relocation Assistance Fund. All relocation assistance costs incurred
by the Town pursuant to this subsection shall be repaid by the owner-landlord
of the structure to the Town in the same manner as relocation costs
are billed and collected under N.J.S.A. 20:4-4.1 and N.J.S.A. 20:4-4.2.
These repayments shall be deposited into the Town's revolving Relocation
Assistance Fund.
(c)
In addition to relocation reimbursement from the owner-landlord
of the structure for relocation assistance paid to a displaced tenant
the owner-landlord shall pay the Town a fine for zoning or housing
code violation for an illegal occupancy, in an amount equal to six
times the monthly rental paid by the displaced person.
(d)
In addition to this penalty, the Town, after affording the owner-landlord
an opportunity for a hearing on the matter before the Director of
Code Enforcement, may impose upon the owner-landlord, for a second
or subsequent violation for an illegal occupancy, a fine equal to
the annual tuition cost of any resident of the illegally occupied
unit attending a public school, which fine shall be recovered in a
civil action by a summary proceeding in the name of the municipality
pursuant to "The Penalty Enforcement Law of 1999," N.J.S.A. 2A:58-10
et seq. The Municipal Court and the Superior Court shall have jurisdiction
of proceedings for the enforcement of the penalty provided by this
section. The tuition cost shall be determined in the manner prescribed
for nonresident pupils pursuant to N.J.S.A. 18A:38-19 and the payment
of the fine shall be remitted to the appropriate school district.
For the purposes of this section, a "second or subsequent violation
for an illegal occupancy" shall be limited to those violations that
are new and are a result of distinct and separate zoning or code enforcement
activities, and shall not include any continuing violations for which
citations are issued by a zoning or code enforcement agent during
the time period required for summary dispossession proceedings to
conclude if the owner has initiated eviction proceedings in a court
of proper jurisdiction.
(e)
For the purposes of this section, the owner-landlord of a structure
shall exclude mortgagees in possession of a structure through foreclosure.
c.
Maintenance and operation of the relocation fund.
1.
In the case of any displacement of persons by housing or construction
code enforcement, including any rehabilitation necessitated by that
enforcement, in which the owner of the real property has, in any final
court adjudication, been held liable for a civil or criminal penalty,
all relocation costs incurred pursuant to N.J.S.A. 20:4-4 and 20:4-6
shall be paid by the owner of the real property to the Town of Morristown
Relocation Assistance Fund. The payment shall be made within 10 days
of presentation of a statement setting forth those relocation costs.
2.
In the event that the relocation costs shall not be paid within 10
days after the date due, interest shall accrue and be due to the Town
on the unpaid balance at the rate of 18% per annum until the costs,
and the interest thereon, shall be fully paid.
3.
In the event that the relocation costs shall not be paid within 10
days after the date due, the unpaid balance thereof and all interest
accruing thereon shall be a lien on the property where the tenants
were living. To perfect the lien granted by this section, a statement
showing the amount and due date of the unpaid balance and identifying
the property by street address and lot and block number, which shall
be recorded with the Morris County register of deeds and mortgages.
Upon recording, the lien shall have the priority of a mortgage lien.
Whenever relocation costs with regard to the parcel and all interest
accrued thereon shall have been fully paid, the statement shall be
promptly withdrawn or cancelled by the Town.
4.
The Tax Collector shall enforce, with and as any other municipal
liens on real property in the municipality, all relocation costs and
lien thereof shown in any statement filed with him by any public agency
pursuant to Paragraph c3 of this section. The sums realized upon enforcement
or upon liquidation of any property acquired by the municipality by
virtue of enforcement shall be deposited in the municipal treasury.
5.
The owner of any real property which housed tenants needing relocation
in accordance with this subsection shall have the right to appeal
the requirement that relocation costs be paid, on the grounds that
the cause of the violations was outside his control and the abatement
of code violations is economically unfeasible. Appeal shall be to
the Superior Court, Law Division, in summary proceedings.
6.
This section shall not require the Town to enforce a lien for relocation
costs with respect to any real property the title to which it has
acquired and which has been transferred pursuant to a rehabilitation
agreement.
7.
In the event that relocation costs shall not be paid as and when
due, the unpaid balance thereof and all interest accrued thereon,
together with attorneys' fees and costs, may be recovered in a civil
action as a personal debt of the owner of the real property. If the
owner of the real property is a corporation, the directors, officers,
and each shareholder who controls more than 5% of the total voting
shares of the corporation, shall be personally liable, jointly and
severally, for the relocation costs.
[1980 Code § 121-58; Ord. No. O-37-05 § I]
No occupant shall cook in any dwelling unit or independent rooming unit except where all the required sanitary facilities are installed as required under § 13-45c.
[Ord. No. O-37-05 § I]
[1980 Code § 121-60]
Any adult member of the family shall be responsible and liable
for any violation of this article caused by minors under the adult's
care or custody occupying the same dwelling unit if the violations
were created or permitted to continue with the knowledge or acquiescence
or consent of the adult member.
