The Governing Body hereby finds and does declare that residents
of the Township have experienced disturbances; damage and public expense
resulting from inadequately supervised rentals. In order to preserve
the peace and tranquility of neighborhoods within the Township, it
is necessary and desirable that the Governing Body act to discourage
those occasional excesses arising from irresponsible rentals. It is
the purpose of this article to take effective action to assure that
excesses, when they occur, shall not be repeated, and that landlords
be held to sufficient standards of responsibility.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
HEARING OFFICER
A licensed attorney of the State of New Jersey who is not
an owner or lessee of any real property within the Township, and who
does not hold any interest in assets or profits arising from the ownership
or lease of such property and who shall hear and determine the proceedings
against landlords brought pursuant to the provisions of this article.
LANDLORD
The person(s) who owns or purports to own a 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 dwelling units.
SUBSTANTIATED COMPLAINT
A complaint alleging a violation of any provisions of Title
2C of the New Jersey Statutes or any municipal ordinance governing
disorderly conduct upon or in proximity of any rental premises and
attributable to the acts or incitement of any of the tenants of those
premises, which complaints have been prosecuted and a conviction has
been determined in a court of competent jurisdiction.
A bond in an amount of not less than $500 or more than $5,000
shall be posted by a landlord if, in any 24-month period, at least
two complaints on separate occasions alleging a violation of any provisions
of Title 2C of the New Jersey Statutes or any municipal ordinance
governing disorderly conduct upon or in proximity to any rental premises,
attributable to the acts or incitement of any of the tenants of those
premises have been substantiated by prosecution and conviction of
the tenants in a court of competent jurisdiction.
The decision of the Hearing Officer shall be enforceable in
an action brought by the Township in the Superior Court of New Jersey.
In addition to enforcement of the bond, the Township shall be entitled
to an injunction prohibiting the landlord from making or renewing
any lease of the affected premises for residential purposes, until
the bond has been deposited with the Township.