[Adopted 2-22-1994 by Ord. No. 4293 (Ch.
221, Art. I, of the 2004 Code)]
All multifamily buildings, structures and units
thereof that are leased or rented, regardless of the term, in the
Township of Union for living or sleeping purposes shall be inspected
by the code official on every initial occupancy or change of occupancy
after the effective date of this article, but there shall not be more
than one such inspection biannually of any apartment or units thereof.
All buildings, structures and units thereof which are leased or rented,
and not currently occupied at the time this article takes effect,
shall be considered an initial occupancy and shall be subject to the
inspection provisions hereof.
All buildings, structures and units thereof
which are inspected pursuant to this article shall comply in all respects
with the requirements of Township ordinances and the applicable provisions
of the New Jersey Uniform Construction Code and the provisions of
N.J.S.A. 55:13A-1 et seq. and 55:13B-1 et seq.
The owner, rental agent or manager of all buildings
and structures and units thereof which are subject to inspection pursuant
to this article shall be responsible for notifying, in writing, the
code official that such premises are leased or rented or being offered
to be leased or rented so that an inspection or reinspection may be
made.
Upon completion of an inspection of the premises and the same being determined by the code official to comply with § 447-1 et seq., a rental certificate of occupancy shall be issued. A copy of the certificate shall be posted by the owner, rental agent or manager of the inspected property in each separate leased or rented unit. No tenant shall occupy any building, structure or any units thereof until a rental certificate of occupancy has been issued.
In the event that the code official determines, after an inspection, that the premises in question are in violation of § 447-1 et seq., the code official shall notify, in writing, the owner, rental agent or manager of the violations noted. Upon correction of the violations, the owner, rental agent or manager shall notify, in writing, the code official that the corrections have been made so that a reinspection of the property may occur. If upon reinspection of the property, the code official determines that previous violations were not corrected or new violations exist, then the code official shall, again in writing, notify the owner, rental agent or manager of the inspected property of the violations, and this process shall continue until all violations have been corrected.
Notice shall be deemed to be properly served
upon such owner if a copy thereof is delivered to the owner, rental
agent or manager personally; or by leaving the notice at the usual
place of abode in the presence of someone in the family of suitable
age and discretion who shall be informed of the contents thereof;
or by certified or registered mail addressed to the owner at the last
known address with return receipt requested; or, if the certified
or registered letter is returned with receipt showing that it has
not been delivered, by posting a copy thereof in a conspicuous place
in or about the structure affected by such notice; and there shall
be at least one publication of such notice in a local newspaper of
general circulation.
If, subsequent to the issuance of a rental certificate of occupancy, the code official learns or becomes aware of violations of § 447-1 et seq., an inspection shall be made of the subject premises. If violations are found to exist, then notification in writing shall be given to the owner, rental agent or manager, and said person shall have 10 days from service of the notice to correct all deficiencies noted therein. In the event that the same have not been corrected within 10 days, then the rental certificate of occupancy may be revoked by the Construction Code Official by mailing a notice of revocation by certified mail to the owner, rental agent or manager and to the tenant or tenants, and the premises will be vacated.
A.
Any person, firm
or corporation which shall violate any provision of this article shall,
upon conviction thereof, be subject to a fine of not less than $100
nor more than $2,000 for each violation and/or imprisonment for a
term not to exceed 90 days and/or community service not to exceed
90 days, at the discretion of the court. Each day that a violation
continues, after due notice has been served, in accordance with the
terms and provisions hereof, shall be deemed a separate offense.
[Amended 10-26-2004 by Ord. No. 4842; at time of adoption of Code (see
Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
B.
Notwithstanding
any of the aforementioned and not in limitation thereof, in case any
violation order is not promptly complied with, the code official may
request the jurisdiction's legal representative to institute an appropriate
action or proceeding at law or equity to exact the penalty provided
as indicated above or may ask the legal representative to proceed
at law or in equity against the persons responsible for the violation
for the following purposes:
(1)
To restrain,
correct or remove the violation or refrain from any further execution
of work;
(2)
To restrain
or correct the erection, installation or alteration of each structure;
(3)
To require
the removal of work in violation; or
(4)
To prevent
the occupation or use of the structure or part thereof which was erected,
constructed, installed or altered in violation of, or not in compliance
with, the provisions of this Code or in violation of a plan or specification
under which an approval, permit or certificate was issued.
As used in this article, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
The Township Construction Code Official, his designee or
any agency authorized to perform inspections on behalf of the Township.
Any building or buildings or structure comprising 20 or more
separate dwelling or apartment units.
The fee for each apartment inspection shall be $75 payable at the time of application, which shall include one reinspection required by § 447-5. Each additional reinspection shall require an additional fee of $50.
