The purpose of this chapter is to license rooming and boarding
houses as authorized by N.J.S.A. 40:52-1 et seq.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
OPERATOR
Any person, including for the purposes of this chapter any
corporation or association of persons and any agency or instrumentality
of state or local government, which operates or proposes to operate
a rooming or boarding house.
OWNER
The holder of title in fee simple to premises and any lessor
or sublessor of whom an operator is, or proposes to become, a sublessor
in connection with an application for a license or for renewal thereof
pursuant to this chapter.
No rooming or boarding house shall hereafter be located or operated
except upon premises licensed for that purpose by the licensing authority.
It shall be the duty of the licensing authority to receive applications made pursuant to §
70-4 of this chapter and to conduct such investigations as may be necessary to establish:
A. With respect to the premises for which a license is sought, that
they are in compliance with all applicable building, housing, health
and safety codes and regulations and that the location of the premises
will not, in conjunction with the proximity of other rooming and boarding
houses, lead to an excessive concentration of such facilities in the
municipality or a particular section thereof.
B. With respect to the owner or owners of the premises:
(1) If a natural person or persons, that he or they are 21 years of age
or older, citizens of the United States and residents of the State
of New Jersey and never convicted, in this state or elsewhere, of
a crime involving moral turpitude or of any crime under any law of
this state licensing or regulating a rooming or boarding house and
have never had a license required pursuant to P.L. 1979, c.496 (N.J.S.A.
55:13B-1 et seq.) revoked.
(2) If a corporation, that all officers and members of the board of directors,
and every stockholder holding 10% or more of the stock of the corporation,
directly or indirectly, having a beneficial interest therein, have
the same qualifications as set forth in this subsection for an applicant
who is a natural person.
C. With respect to the operator or proposed operator, that he meets
the requirements for licensure by the Department of Community Affairs.
D. That the owner and operator, either individually or jointly, have
established sufficient guarantee of financial and other responsibility
to assure appropriate relocation of the residents of the rooming or
boarding house to suitable facilities in the event that the license
is subsequently revoked or its renewal denied. The Department of Community
Affairs shall determine, in the case of each type of rooming and boarding
house under its jurisdiction, what constitutes suitable facilities
for this purpose.
Upon determination by the licensing authority to refuse the
granting or renewal of a license or to revoke a license, the licensee
affected shall be entitled to appeal to the Commissioner of Community
Affairs for a review of that determination; and the Commissioner shall
have authority to reverse the licensing authority's determination
if it concludes that the application was improperly denied or the
revocation improperly imposed. Such review by the Commissioner shall
be in conformity with the provisions of the Administrative Procedure
Act, P.L. 1968, c.410 (N.J.S.A. 52:14B-1 et seq.). The decision of
the Commissioner in such cases shall be subject to appeal to the Appellate
Division of the Superior Court. If an applicant for the license renewal
has made timely and sufficient application for a renewal, in accordance
with the provisions of this chapter and the rules of licensing pursuant
thereto, his license shall not expire until any appeals under this
section have been finally determined and disposed of.