[Ord. #99-14, § 1, 2-8-99; Ord. #2001-2, § 1, 4-9-01; Ord. #2014-9, 7-28-14]
No person, group of persons, association, partnership, business or corporation or any combination thereof, who owns, manages, conducts or operates a dwelling unit, shall rent, lease, let, sublet or permit the same to be occupied or re-rented by another without first securing from the Township Construction Official or his/her designee a Certificate of Occupancy for said dwelling unit. This Article specifically applies to all rental dwelling units, including Section 8, ARHAT and all low and moderate income rental housing. This includes apartments as well as privately-owned houses, duplexes, condominiums and townhouses in the Township.
[Ord. #2014-9, 7-28-14]
Inspections of rental dwelling units are conducted to protect the public health, safety and welfare of the Township and its residents, while improving rental housing conditions within the Township.
[Ord. #2014-9, 7-28-14]
No Certificate of Occupancy shall be issued for the rental of a dwelling unit unless the condition of the unit complies with one or more of the following: (a) Township Residential Property Maintenance Code; (b) New Jersey State Housing Code (N.J.A.C. 5:28); (c) New Jersey Uniform Construction Code; and (d) New Jersey Hotels and Multiple Dwellings Act (N.J.S.A. 55:13A-12). The scope of the inspection of the dwelling unit for a Certificate of Occupancy shall include the interior and exterior of the property and all common areas.
[Ord. #2014-9, 7-28-14]
A Rental Housing Inspection Checklist shall be prepared by and maintained at the Township Department of Community Development. All violations shall be cited from the appropriately adopted code or regulation.
[Ord. #2014-9, 7-28-14]
A "dwelling unit" shall be defined as a single unit providing complete, independent living facilities for one (1) or more persons, including permanent provisions for living, sleeping, eating, cooking, and sanitation.
[Ord. #2014-9, 7-28-14]
For allowable occupant loads for any rental structure or unit, the load shall be defined by the New Jersey Uniform Construction Code.
[Ord. #99-14, § 1, 2-8-99; Ord. #2001-2, § 1, 4-9-01; Ord. #2014-9, 7-28-14]
The landlord of a single unit dwelling or two (2) unit dwelling not owner-occupied shall be registered with the Clerk of the Township of Cherry Hill, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 46:8-28. For multi-family dwellings, a copy of the certificate of registration filed with the New Jersey Bureau of Housing Inspection shall be filed with the Clerk of the Township of Cherry Hill.
[Ord. #99-14, § 1, 2-8-99; Ord. #2001-2, § 1, 4-9-01; Ord. #2014-9, 7-28-14]
All applications for the issuance of a Rental Housing Certificate of Occupancy shall be accompanied by a fee of sixty-five ($65.00) dollars made payable to the Township of Cherry Hill. This fee shall include the initial inspection. An additional fee of sixty-five ($65.00) dollars shall be paid for each subsequent reinspection. All fees shall be paid before the inspection is conducted.
[Ord. #2014-9, 7-28-14]
All inspections for a Rental Housing Certificate of Occupancy shall be conducted by the Cherry Hill Township Housing Inspector or his/her designee.
[Ord. #99-14, § 1, 2-28-99; Ord. #2001-2, § 1, 4-9-01; Ord. #2014-9, 7-28-14]
Any individual person, group of persons, association, partnership, business or corporation, or any combination thereof, shall be subject to a fine not less than one hundred ($100.00) dollars and not more than five hundred ($500.00) dollars and/or a term of imprisonment for not more than thirty (30) days and/or up to ninety (90) days community service for each day each dwelling unit is occupied without a Certificate of Occupancy.
[Ord. #2014-9, 7-28-14]
The Township shall not be liable to any person or entity by reason of the inspections required by this Article or the issuance of a Rental Housing Certificate of Occupancy. The issuance of a Rental Housing Certificate of Occupancy by the Township of Cherry Hill is not a warranty or guarantee that there are no defects in the non-owner occupied residential dwelling or unit. The inspection of the land use, exterior and interior of the dwelling unit is limited to the visual inspection only. The Township does not guarantee or approve, and shall not be responsible for, defects not noted in any inspection report or for any latent, structural or mechanical defects thereto.