[Ord. No. 713-2014 §§ 3, 4]
N.J.S.A. 40:48-2.12n authorizes municipalities to enact an ordinance holding Landlords of rentals to standards of responsibility in the selection of Tenants and supervision of the rental premises. The Borough Council has determined that there is a need for such an ordinance in the Borough of Avalon.
[Ord. No. 713-2014 §§ 3, 4]
As used in this article of this chapter:
HEARING OFFICER
shall mean a person designated pursuant to this section to hear and determine proceedings pursuant to this section and its enabling legislation N.J.S.A. 40:48-2.12n, et seq. As required by State Statute, said Hearing Officer shall be a licensed New Jersey attorney who shall not be an owner or lessee of any real property within the Borough of Avalon, nor hold any interest in the assets of or profits arising from the ownership or lease of such property.
LANDLORD
shall mean the person or persons who own or purport to own any building in which there is rented or offered for rent housing space for living or dwelling under either a written or oral lease, which building contains no more than four (4) dwelling units. In the case of a mobile home park, "Landlord" shall mean the owner of an individual dwelling unit within the mobile home park. The limitation of not more than four dwelling units is limited solely to the provisions of this Article 4 pertaining to the requirement for posting of a bond by landlords under certain circumstances.
SEASONAL RENTAL
shall mean any rental of residential accommodations for a term of less than one (I) year and including any part of the period extending from May 1 to September 30. It shall also mean and include any tenancy, whether written or oral, for a term of less than 175 consecutive days for residential purposes by a person having a permanent place of residence elsewhere.
SUBSTANTIATED COMPLAINT
shall mean a complaint which may form the basis for proceedings in accordance with the authority conferred by N.J.S.A. 40:48-2.12(q). A substantiated complaint shall be one in which there was prosecution and conviction in any Court of competent jurisdiction.
[Ord. No. 713-2014 §§ 3, 4]
Landlords of rentals shall be held to standards of responsibility in the selection of tenants and supervision of the Rental Premises. Under certain circumstances, a Landlord shall be required to post an adequate bond against the consequences of disorderly behavior of their tenants as hereinafter provided; and in the case of subsequent violations forfeit such bond, in whole or in part, in consequences of such behavior.
[Ord. No. 713-2014 §§ 3, 4; Ord. No. 766-2017]
a. 
Action for Proceedings. If in any twenty-four (24) month period there shall be four (4) or more complaints, on separate occasions, of conduct upon or in proximity to any rental premises and attributable to the acts or incitements of any of the tenants of those premises, and such complaints have been substantiated by prosecution and conviction in any Court of competent jurisdiction, as a violation of any provision of Title 2C of the New Jersey Statutes or any municipal ordinance governing disorderly conduct, any person mentioned as an Enforcement Official in Article One of this chapter may institute proceedings to require the landlord of those premises to post a bond against the consequences of future incidents of the same character. [Source: N.J.S.A. 40:48-2.12q]
[Ord. No. 766-2017]
b. 
(Reserved)
[Ord. No. 713-2014 §§ 3, 4; Ord. No. 766-2017]
a. 
Upon the filing of such written complaint, the Borough Clerk shall promptly:
1. 
Consult with the Municipal Prosecutor and the Hearing Officer to determine a date when the required hearing shall be held which shall not be sooner than 30 days from the date of mailing as hereinafter provided;
2. 
Send a copy of the filed complaint to the landlord / Owner-Licensee and the Managing Agent, if any, together with a copy of the Notice of the Date, Time, and Place of the Hearing. Such hearing shall be held in the Municipal Building, Municipal Court or other public place within the Borough of Avalon. Said hearing shall be held no sooner than thirty (30) days from the date upon which the notice is served or mailed
3. 
The Complaint and Hearing Notice shall be sent certified mail with return receipt requested and simultaneously by regular first class mail to the landlord / Owner-Licensee and the Managing Agent, if any, at the address indicated on the Rental License Application. Such notices shall also be sent to the Owner-Licensee at the address appearing on the Borough tax records provided that such address is different from the address appearing on the Rental License Application.
4. 
A copy of the complaint and notice of hearing date shall be provided to the Hearing Officer, Municipal Prosecutor, Borough Licensing Clerk and the Business Administrator.
5. 
In addition to the complaint and notice of hearing date, the Owner-Licensee or landlord, and Managing Agent, if any, shall be informed of the particulars of the substantiated complaints upon which the proceedings are based.
[Ord. No. 713-2014 §§ 3, 4]
At the hearing, the Hearing Officer shall give full hearing to both the complaint of the municipality and to any evidence in contradiction or mitigation that the landlord, if present or represented and offering such evidence, may present. The Hearing Officer may consider, to the extent deemed relevant by the Hearing Officer, prior complaints about the residents of the property, even if those complaints did not result in a conviction. At the conclusion of the hearing the Hearing Officer shall determine whether the Landlord shall be required to post a bond in accordance with the terms of this section.
[Ord. No. 713-2014 §§ 3, 4]
Any bond required to be posted shall be in accordance with the judgment of the Hearing Officer, in light of the nature and extent of the offenses indicated in the substantiated complaint upon which the proceedings are based. Such bond shall be adequate in the case of subsequent offenses to make reparation for: (1) damages likely to be caused to public or private property and damages consequent upon disruption of affected residents' rights of fair use and quiet possession of their premises; (2) securing the payment of fines and penalties likely to be levied for such offenses; and (3) compensating the municipality for the costs of repressing and prosecuting such incidents of disorderly behavior. In no shall the bond be in an amount less than five hundred ($500.00) dollars or more than five thousand ($5,000.00) dollars. The Borough may enforce the bond thus required by action in the Superior Court and the Borough shall be entitled to an injunction prohibiting the Landlord from making or renewing any lease of the affected premises for residential purposes until that bond or equivalent security, in satisfactory, form and amount, has been deposited with the Borough.
[Ord. No. 713-2014 §§ 3, 4]
The bond or other security deposited in compliance with this section shall remain in force for a period of three (3) years. Upon the lapse of the specified period, the landlord shall be entitled to the discharge thereof, unless prior thereto further proceedings leading to a forfeiture or partial forfeiture of the bond or other security shall have been had in which case the security shall be renewed, in an amount and for a period that shall be specified by the Hearing Officer.
[Ord. No. 713-2014 §§ 3, 4]
If during the period for which a Landlord is required to give security pursuant to this section, a substantiated complaint is recorded against the property in question, the Borough Council or any of the persons authorized in subparagraph 22-4.4.1 may institute proceedings against the Landlord for the forfeiture or partial forfeiture of the security, or for an extension for the period for which such security is required, or for an increase in the amount of security required, or for any or all of these purposes.
[Ord. No. 713-2014 §§ 3, 4]
Any forfeiture or partial forfeiture of security shall be determined by the Hearing Officer solely in accordance with the amount deemed necessary to provide for the compensatory purposes set forth in subparagraph 22-44.4.4 above. Any decision by the Hearing Officer to increase the amount or extend the period of the required security shall be determined in light of the same factors set forth in subparagraph 22-4.4.4 and shall be taken only to the extent that the nature of the substantiated complaint or complaints out of which proceedings arise under this section indicates the appropriateness of such change in order to carry out the purposes of this section and the enabling legislation N.J.S.A. 40:48-2.12n, et seq. The decision of the Hearing Officer in such circumstances shall be enforceable in the same manner as provided in subsection 22-4.4.
[Ord. No. 713-2014 §§ 3, 4]
In accordance with N.J.S.A. 40:48-2.12r 5(c.), a Landlord may recover from a Tenant any amounts of security actually forfeited pursuant to subparagraph 22-4.5.1.
[Ord. No. 713-2014 §§ 3, 4]
The Borough Council is hereby authorized to appoint a Hearing Officer who is qualified pursuant to the requirements of N.J.S.A. 40:48-2.12p, as amended and supplemented. Such Hearing Officer shall be a licensed attorney of New Jersey who shall not be an owner or lessee of any property within the Borough, nor hold any interest in the assets of or profits arising from the ownership or lease of such property.
[Ord. No. 713-2014 §§ 3, 4]
The appointment of the Hearing Officer shall be by resolution of the Borough Council. The appointment shall be for a term specified by the Borough Council, but in no event to exceed one (1) year. The Hearing Officer shall be eligible for reappointment. The services of the Hearing Officer may be terminated without cause upon the giving of thirty (30) days notice. The services of the Hearing Officer may be terminated for cause immediately.
[Ord. No. 713-2014 §§ 3, 4]
The Hearing Officer may be compensated by salary or a Professional Services Contract in the discretion of the Borough Council.
[Ord. No. 713-2014 §§ 3, 4]
In the event that the Hearing Officer should deem it necessary to recuse him/herself, for whatever reason, the Borough Council shall, by resolution, appoint another independent hearing officer to preside in the matter. Any substitute Hearing Officer shall possess all of the qualifications specified in Section 22-4.6.1 and State statute.