[Added 1-13-2021 by Ord. No. 1185-20]
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 Board
of Commissioners has determined that there is a need for such an ordinance
in the City of Wildwood.
[Added 1-13-2021 by Ord. No. 1185-20]
As used in this article of this chapter:
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 City of Wildwood,
nor hold any interest in the assets of or profits arising from the
ownership or lease of such property.
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 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 III pertaining to the requirement for posting of a bond by landlords under certain circumstances.
Any rental of residential accommodations for a term of less
than one 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.
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.
[Added 1-13-2021 by Ord. No. 1185-20]
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.
[Added 1-13-2021 by Ord. No. 1185-20]
If in any twenty-four month period there shall be four 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 I 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]
[Added 1-13-2021 by Ord. No. 1185-20]
a.
Upon the filing of such written complaint, the City 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 City of Wildwood. Said hearing shall be held no sooner
than 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 Permit Application. Such notices
shall also be sent to the owner-licensee at the address appearing
on the City tax records provided that such address is different from
the address appearing on the Rental Permit Application.
4.
A copy of the complaint and notice of hearing date shall be provided
to the Hearing Officer, Municipal Prosecutor, City 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.
[Added 1-13-2021 by Ord. No. 1185-20]
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.
[Added 1-13-2021 by Ord. No. 1185-20]
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 event shall the bond be in
an amount less than $500 or more than $5,000. The City may enforce
the bond thus required by action in the Superior Court and the City
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 City.
[Added 1-13-2021 by Ord. No. 1185-20]
The bond or other security deposited in compliance with this
section shall remain in force for a period of three 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.
[Added 1-13-2021 by Ord. No. 1185-20]
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 Board of Commissioners or any of the persons authorized in Section 22-28 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.
[Added 1-13-2021 by Ord. No. 1185-20]
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 Section 22-28 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 Section 22-28 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 Section 22-28.
[Added 1-13-2021 by Ord. No. 1185-20]
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 Section 22-29.
[Added 1-13-2021 by Ord. No. 1185-20]
The Board of Commissioners 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 City, nor hold any interest in the
assets of or profits arising from the ownership or lease of such property.
[Added 1-13-2021 by Ord. No. 1185-20]
The appointment of the Hearing Officer shall be by resolution
of the Board of Commissioners. The appointment shall be for a term
specified by the Board of Commissioners, but in no event to exceed
one year. The Hearing Officer shall be eligible for reappointment.
The services of the Hearing Officer may be terminated without cause
upon the giving of 30 days' notice. The services of the Hearing
Officer may be terminated for cause immediately.
[Added 1-13-2021 by Ord. No. 1185-20]
The Hearing Officer may be compensated by salary or a Professional
Services Contract in the discretion of the Board of Commissioners.
[Added 1-13-2021 by Ord. No. 1185-20]
In the event that the Hearing Officer should deem it necessary to recuse him/herself, for whatever reason, the Board of Commissioners 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 Subsection 22-30.1 and State statute.
