[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:
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.
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.
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.
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.
