[1969 Code § 62A-1; Ord. No. 71-14; Ord. No. 82-28]
The Borough Council hereby finds that a serious public emergency
exists due to the critical shortage of housing space within the Borough
of Elmwood Park.
It is hereby declared to be in the interest of the health, safety
and general welfare of the people of Elmwood Park to prevent unwarranted
and abnormal increases in rents; to alleviate the effects of the critical
housing shortage, and to protect persons living in the Borough of
Elmwood Park from undue impairment of their standard of living during
the housing crisis. To the end that these purposes may be effectively
carried out, the provisions hereof are enacted.
[1969 Code § 62A-2; Ord. No. 71-14; Ord. No. 82-28]
As used in this chapter:
Shall mean fit for habitation as defined by the statutes,
codes and ordinances in full force and effect in the State of New
Jersey, County of Bergen and Borough of Elmwood Park and occupied
or unoccupied and offered for rent.
Shall mean any building or structure or garage space which
may be rented or offered for rent, to one or more tenants or family
units. Exempted from this chapter are dwellings containing less than
four units of housing space providing the landlord rents or offers
for rent no other housing space in the Borough of Elmwood Park. Also
exempted is any motel, hotel or other premises primarily serving transient
persons within the Borough of Elmwood Park.
Shall mean that portion of a dwelling rented or offered for
rent for living and dwelling purposes to one individual or family
unit together with all privileges, services, furnishings, furniture,
equipment, facilities and improvements, including, but not limited
to parking space, garage space, storage space connected with the use
or occupancy of such portion of the property.
Shall mean any person, firm, partnership, association, corporation
or other entity and any officer, agent or employee, or any of the
foregoing, which is the owner, rental agent, manager of, or otherwise
has authority to rent any rental unit to a tenant.
Shall mean any occupant of a rental unit.
[1969 Code § 62A-3; Ord. No. 71-14; Ord. No. 82-28; Ord. No. 85-26; Ord. No.
88-20; Ord. No. 91-24; Ord. No. 94-21; Ord. No. 97-19 § 1; Ord.
No. 00-19 § 1; Ord. No.
01-22 § 1; Ord. No. 02-20 § 1; Ord. No. 03-31 § I; Ord. No. 07-18; Ord. No. 10-20]
Establishment of rent between a landlord and a tenant to whom
this act is applicable shall hereafter be determined by the provisions
of this chapter. At the expiration of a lease or determination of
this increase by a periodic tenant, no landlord may receive or request
a percentage increase in rent greater than 2.5% in any calendar year.
[1969 Code § 62A-3; Ord. No. 71-14; Ord. No. 82-20; Ord. No. 85-26; Ord. No.
88-20; Ord. No. 91-24; Ord. No. 94-21]
Notwithstanding any limitation upon permissible rent increase
under any other provision of this chapter upon voluntary, uncoerced
vacation of any apartment, rent increases for which are controlled
in this chapter, the landlord shall have the right to fix the rent
for such vacated apartment at an increase price figure not to exceed
65% greater than the previous rent paid on said apartment prior to
its being vacated. In addition, thereto, the landlord shall be entitled
to a second 65% increase upon a second vacancy in any one year, not
to exceed the fair market value in that year.
a.
Housing accommodations which are the subject of this chapter which
become physically vacant after the passage of this chapter or are
physically vacant at the time of passage qualify for vacancy decontrol.
b.
Once the vacant apartment has been rented, it shall immediately be
subject to all the other terms and provisions of this chapter including,
but not limited to, maximum amounts of increases of rent thereafter,
unless and until it shall become vacant and again qualify for vacancy
decontrol.
c.
In order for a landlord to qualify for vacancy decontrol rent increase,
the landlord shall first be required to file with Rent Stabilization
Board a written statement, signed by the vacating tenant, certifying
the Board that the landlord has not, in any way, harassed or pressured
the tenant into vacating the housing space and that the vacation of
such unit was a voluntary act on the part of the tenant. Such noncoercion
certification shall not be required in order for the landlord to qualify
for the vacancy decontrol increase, if:
1.
The increase does not exceed the total of all permissible increase
authorized by any other provisions of this chapter;
2.
The tenant has moved from the unit without notice to the landlord;
3.
The unit has been vacated pursuant to a judicially mandated eviction;
or
4.
The tenant has refused to sign such certification and, upon appeal
by the landlord, the Rent Stabilization Board has found that such
refusal was unwarranted and there was, in fact, no coercion exerted
by the landlord upon the vacating tenant.
A hearing pursuant to paragraph 4 above, shall be held before
the Rent Stabilization Board upon at least seven days' notice
to the public and vacating tenant.
d.
Upon vacation of any apartment hereafter, the landlord shall file
a statement with the Rent Stabilization Board, certifying to the Board:
1.
The apartment and building numbers of such dwelling unit;
2.
The rent paid by the vacating tenant;
3.
The maximum rent increase which would be permissible under the other
provisions of this chapter;
4.
The number of days such apartment remains vacant;
5.
The rent agreed to by the new tenant for such apartment; and
6.
That the vacation of such apartment was the voluntary act of the
vacating tenant and that such vacation was not the result of landlord
harassment or pressure upon such vacating tenant.
The Rent Stabilization Board shall submit monthly reports to
the Governing Body summarizing the number of apartments vacated during
each month and the differences, if any, between the permissible rent
increases in rent due to the application of this subsection. Such
monthly reports shall also include the statement of the number of
complaints received by the Rent Stabilization Board with respect to
alleged coercion by landlords for the purpose of forcing tenants to
vacate apartments.
e.
Each landlord subject to this chapter shall post a notice, in a conspicuous
place or places within each apartment complex, notifying the tenants
of the nature of vacancy decontrol, and advising the tenants that
they have a right to notify the Rent Stabilization Commission, care
of Municipal Building, Market Street, Elmwood Park, New Jersey, of
any undue pressure which they may feel is exerted in order to influence
them to vacate their apartment. All such notices shall be posted on
8 1/2 inches by 11 inches paper and shall be clearly legible
at a distance of five feet.
f.
Where any apartment has been rented by the same tenant for a continued
period of at least seven years, upon that apartment being vacated
by the tenant, the landlord shall have the right, subject to the Rent
Stabilization Board of the Borough of Elmwood Park, to bring the rental
of that apartment up to the fair market value.
[1969 Code §§ 64A-4, 64A-5; Ord. No. 71-14; Ord. No. 82-28; Ord. No. 98-22 A.IV]
a.
A landlord may seek a tax surcharge from a tenant because of an increase
in municipal property taxes. The tax surcharge shall not exceed that
amount authorized by the following provisions; the landlord shall
divide the increase in the present property tax over the property
tax of the previous year by the number of rooms in the dwelling to
obtain the tax increase per room. The tenant shall not be liable for
a tax surcharge exceeding the tax increase per room multiplied by
the number of rooms occupied by the tenant.
b.
Any landlord seeking a tax surcharge shall notify the tenant of the
calculations involved in computing the tax surcharge including the
present property tax for the dwelling, the property tax for the dwelling
for the previous year, the number of rooms in the dwelling, the tax
increase per room, the number of rooms occupied by the tenant and
the maximum allowable surcharge. Notification must be made to the
tenant within three months after the landlord receives notice of tax
increase.
Any landlord seeking a tax surcharge shall compute same as spelled
out in this section. Before notifying the tenant, the landlord shall
submit all calculations to the Rent Stabilization Board for their
concurrence as to accuracy of these computations and shall be done
within the three month time frame.
c.
The tax surcharge each tenant is liable for shall be paid in 12 monthly
payments, and shall not be considered as part of the base rent.
d.
The tax surcharge shall not be considered rent for purposes of computing
the allowable rental increase.
e.
In the event that a landlord perfects a successful tax appeal, the
tenant shall receive 100% of all reductions as applied pro rata to
the tenant's living space so leased, after deducting all reasonable
expenses incurred by the landlord in perfecting the tax appeal. The
landlord shall compute the rebate to which the tenant is entitled
by the same formula used in paragraph a for the computing of a tax
surcharge. Payment shall be made in the form of a credit against monthly
rent or a check made payable to the tenant within three months following
the landlord's receipt of said rebate. The landlord shall be
deemed to have received the said rebate upon the receipt thereof in
cash from the Tax Collector of Elmwood Park, or upon the making of
any agreement with the Tax Collector to credit the amount of rebate
to any outstanding of future tax bill of the landlord.
f.
Any rental increase or surcharge herein permitted shall be of no
effect unless the same is set forth by the landlord in a written notice
which shall be served upon the tenant personally or by certified mail
no later than one month prior to the proposed effective date thereof,
in compliance with all pertinent laws of New Jersey. Nor shall any
such notice be effective unless it states with particularity the basis,
as herein provided for the increase or surcharge has been determined
and computed.
[1969 Code § 62A-6; Ord. No. 71-14; Ord. No. 82-28]
There is hereby created a Rent Stabilization Board within the
Borough of Elmwood Park. The Board shall consist of five members.
The members of the Board shall be appointed by the Mayor, with the
advice and consent of the Borough Council. The terms of office of
the members of Rent Stabilization Board shall be for a period of three
years each, with each member serving without compensation. Any of
the powers hereinafter granted to the Rent Stabilization Board are
exclusively advisory powers and the action of the Board shall not
be deemed final until acted upon by the Governing Body of the Borough.
[1969 Code § 62A-6; Ord. No. 71-14; Ord. No. 82-28]
The Rent Stabilization Board is hereby granted and shall have
and exercise, in addition to other powers herein granted, all the
powers necessary and appropriate to carry out and execute the purposes
of this chapter including but not limited to the following:
a.
To issue and promulgate such rules and regulations as it deems necessary
to implement the purposes of this chapter which rules and regulations
shall have the force of law until the Board in the exercise of its
discretion, providing that such rules are filed with the Borough Clerk
within 10 days from their issuance or promulgation;
b.
To supply information and assistance to landlords and tenants, to
help them comply with the provisions of this chapter;
c.
To hold hearings and adjudicate applications from landlords for additional
rental as herein provided;
d.
To hold hearings and adjudicate applications from tenants for reduced
rental as herein provided.
[1969 Code § 62A-6; Ord. No. 71-14; Ord. No. 82-28]
The Rent Stabilization Board shall afford reasonable opportunity
to both the landlord and the tenant to be heard concerning the application
of either the landlord or the tenant to be heard concerning the application
of either the landlord and/or the tenant before making any determination.
The determination of the Rent Stabilization Board shall be given at
a public meeting of the Board. All determinations of the Rent Stabilization
Board shall be forwarded to the Mayor and Borough Council and acted
upon in not less than 15 days nor more than 60 days from the date
of the determination of the Board. Any applicant who wishes to contest
the decision or recommendations of the Rent Stabilization Board shall
give written notice to the Board and to the Mayor and Council of intent
within 15 days from the date of the decision of the Rent Stabilization
Board.
[1969 Code § 62A-6; Ord. No. 71-14; Ord. No. 82-28]
The Mayor shall, with the advice and consent of the Borough
Council, appoint two alternate members for terms of one year who shall
serve in rotation during the absence or disqualification of any regular
member or members.
[1969 Code § 62A-6; Ord. No. 71-14; Ord. No. 82-28]
The Mayor shall, with the advice and consent of the Borough
Council, appoint the regular members of the Board to staggered terms
so that the Board shall consist of one member appointed for one year,
two members appointed for two years, and two members appointed for
three years and thereafter, as each term expires, to a full term of
three years each.
[1969 Code § 62A-6; Ord. No. 71-14; Ord. No. 82-28]
Every landlord shall, by the 28th day of February of each year,
supply to the Rent Stabilization Board of the Borough of Elmwood Park
a certified rent roll setting forth the following information:
[1969 Code § 62A-6; Ord. No. 71-14; Ord. No. 82-28]
The information to be supplied as heretofore stated in subsection 13-5.1 shall be completed and submitted to the Rent Stabilization Board on forms promulgated by the Rent Stabilization Board and supplied to the landlord for submission.
[1969 Code § 62A-7; Ord. No. 71-14; Ord. No. 82-28]
The landlord may seek additional rental for major capital improvements
or services. The landlord must notify each tenant by certified mail
of the total cost of the completed capital improvement or service,
the number of years of useful life of the improvement as claimed by
the landlord for purposes of depreciation, for income tax purpose,
the average cost of the improvement, the total number of square feet
of the dwelling or garden apartment complexes, the total square feet
occupied by the tenant and the capital improvement surcharge he is
seeking from each tenant. The landlord seeking a capital improvement
or service surcharge shall appeal for said surcharge to the Rent Stabilization
Board, who shall determine if said improvement is major improvement
and, if so, shall permit such increase to take place. If said increase
is granted it shall not be considered rental and calculated in the
cost of living increases. In any event, no increase authorized by
this section shall exceed 10% of the tenant's rent.
[1969 Code § 62A-8; Ord. No. 71-14; Ord. No. 82-28]
a.
No landlord shall charge any rents in excess of what he was receiving
from the effective date of this chapter except for increases as authorized
by this chapter.
b.
No landlord shall reduce service, amenities, maintenance, furnishings
or equipment in any rental unit, except with the prior consent of
the Rent Stabilization Board, following notice to all affected tenants,
and after such tenants shall have been given an opportunity to be
heard, and such consent shall be given only if the Board determines
that the same will not substantially impair the habitability of the
rental unit, and will not cause a hardship to any tenant, and only
in consideration of a commensurate reduction in the rent to be charged
for such rental unit.
c.
The Board may recommend in its discretion, an increased rental to
any landlord by reason of extraordinary and exceptional hardship,
upon written notice to the Board and tenants so affected, and upon
hearing to determine that such increase is warranted upon proofs submitted
by the landlord.
d.
The base rent shall be deemed to be the lawful rent for the housing
space which was in effect on January 1, 1982, and further provide
that rent for the housing space shall not exceed base rent plus any
surcharge or increase authorized by the provisions of this chapter.
The Rent Stabilization Board shall provide information on and in accordance
with the procedures hereinabove described shall be subject to any
Federal and/or State legislation or regulations which are preemptive
of this chapter.
e.
Nothing contained in this chapter shall be deemed to permit any landlord
to demand the payment of any rent or charge of any kind from a tenant
contrary to or greater than that permitted by any lease or agreement
made by the landlord with such tenant.
[1969 Code § 62A-9; Ord. No. 71-14; Ord. No. 82-28; New]
Any violation of the provisions of this chapter, including but not limited to, the willful filing with the Rent Stabilization Board of any material misstatement of fact shall be liable, upon conviction thereof, to the penalty stated in Chapter 1, Section 1-5. A violation affecting more than one leasehold shall be considered a separate violation as to each leasehold.
[1969 Code § 62A-10; Ord. No. 71-14; Ord. No. 82-28]
This chapter being necessary for the welfare of the Borough
and its inhabitants shall be liberally construed to effectuate the
purposes thereof.
[1969 Code § 62A-11; Ord. No. 71-14; Ord. No. 82-28]
Any lease entered into between a tenant and landlord after the
effective date of this chapter shall comply with the provisions hereof,
anything to the contrary notwithstanding.
[1969 Code § 62A-16; Ord. No. 85-6]
a.
All apartments occupied by tenants whose rents are subsidized in
whole or in part by Federal funds shall be exempt from the provisions
of this chapter while such tenants are so subsidized, providing all
of the following conditions are met:
Landlords shall not subject tenant to economic coercion or harass
tenant in any other manner whatever.
b.
Landlords shall provide the same standards of maintenance, service
and amenities for apartments of subsidized tenants as for all other
apartments in the complex and/or as required by Federal, State or
municipal law, code or ruling.
c.
Upon the termination of any subsidy for any tenant, the rent for
that apartment shall revert to that level at which it would have been
at the time of such subsidy termination had the apartment been occupied
by a nonsubsidized tenant or tenants, and that apartment shall immediately
become subject to all other provisions of this chapter, Rent Control.
d.
Immediately upon passage and publication of this amendment, and upon
subsequent commencement of subsidy for any tenant, landlord shall
submit to the Rent Stabilization Board a certified rent roll of such
subsidized apartments indicating thereon all of the following for
each such subsidized apartment:
1.
Apartment number.
2.
Commencement date of subsidized occupancy.
3.
Termination date of subsidy contract.
4.
Previous rent of apartment (and whether previous rent subsidized
or not).
5.
Landlord's certified statement confirming the following:
(a)
Apartment conformed to all local building codes and rulings
and was habitable when first occupied by subsidized tenant;
(b)
Apartment occupied by subsidized tenant will receive the same
standards of maintenance, service and amenities during occupancy by
subsidized tenant as those apartments which are not subsidized.
