Borough of Neptune City, NJ Landlord Responsibility for Tenant Conduct.

Purpose and findings. The Borough finds, determines, and declares that:

Neptune City is a resort community, and its citizens have experienced disturbances, damage, and public expense resulting from carelessly granted and inadequately supervised rentals to irresponsible tenants by inept or indifferent landlords.

(2)

This section is enacted to preserve the peace and tranquility of the community for its residents and to maintain the municipality as a viable vacation resort for all persons and families availing themselves of the facilities in the community.

(3)

The enactment of this section is necessary and desirable to provide a means to curb and discourage those occasional excesses arising from irresponsible rentals.

(4)

The Legislature of the State of New Jersey enacted N.J.S.A. 40:48-2.12n et seq. to enable communities to take effective action to assure that excesses, when they occur, shall not be repeated and that landlords offering rentals shall be held to sufficient standards of responsibility. Pursuant to the legislative authority conferred therein, the Borough hereby adopts the regulatory measures set forth in this chapter.

(5)

In addition to the statutory authority set forth in N.J.S.A. 40:48-2.12n et seq., the Borough, pursuant to the legislative powers conferred by N.J.S.A. 40:48-1 et seq. and N.J.S.A. 40:60-6, hereby adopts the additional regulatory measures set forth herein.

Definitions. As used in this Article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:

HEARING OFFICER

A licensed attorney of the State of New Jersey appointed by the Borough of Neptune City. The hearing officer shall not own or lease any real property within the Borough of Neptune City, nor hold any interest in the assets of or profits arising from the ownership of such property.

LANDLORD

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, including, but not limited to, any building subject to the Hotel and Multiple Dwelling Law, P.L. 1967, c. 76 (N.J.S.A. 55:13A-1 et seq.) and owner-occupied two-unit premises.

RENTAL

Any rental of residential accommodations for any period of time. This section shall apply to rooming houses, boardinghouses, and lodging houses licensed or regulated under other ordinances of this Borough, as well as to single-family residential dwellings, apartments, or other multiunit dwellings.

SUBSTANTIATED COMPLAINT

An act of disorderly, indecent, tumultuous or riotous conduct, which shall include, but not be limited to, disorderly or petty disorderly persons' offenses, ordinance violations, drinking in public, lewdness, urinating in public, defecating in public, and acts of criminal mischief, committed upon or in proximity to any rental premises and attributable to the acts or incitements of any of the tenants of those premises which 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. For purposes of this definition, the phrase "upon or in proximity to" shall mean anywhere on the property or upon or within the adjacent right-of-way.

Hearing on proceedings to require posting of bond and assessment of penalties.

(1)

If, in any twenty-four-month period, two complaints, on separate occasions, of disorderly, indecent, tumultuous or notorious conduct, which shall include, but not be limited to, disorderly or petty disorderly persons' offenses, ordinance violations, drinking in public, lewdness, urinating in public, defecating in public, and acts of criminal mischief, shall be committed upon or in proximity to any rental premises and are attributable to the acts or incitements of any of the tenants of those premises and 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, the Borough Council, or any officer or employee of the Borough so designated by the Borough Council for this purpose, may institute proceedings to require the landlord of the seasonal rental premises to post a bond against the consequences of future incidents of the same character.

(2)

The Borough Council, or any such employee of the municipality designated by the Borough Council, shall cause to be served upon the landlord, in person, or by registered mail, to the address appearing on the tax records of the municipality, and to the agent of the owner identified by the owner pursuant to this chapter, by registered mail, notice advising of the institution of such proceedings together with particulars of the substantiated complaint upon which those proceedings are based and of the time and place at which the hearing will be held in the matter, which shall be in the municipal building, municipal court, or such other public place as designated by the Borough Council and which shall be no sooner than 30 days from the date upon which the notice is served or mailed.

(3)

At the hearing convened pursuant to Subsection C(2) above, 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.

(4)

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 complaints upon which the proceedings are based, to be adequate in the case of subsequent offenses to make reparation for:

(a)

Damages likely to be caused to public or private property and damages consequent upon disruption of affected residents' rights of fair use and quiet enjoyment of their premises; and

(b)

Securing the payment of fines and penalties likely to be levied for such offenses.

(5)

Any bond or other security deposited in compliance with Subsection C(4) above shall remain in force for a period of four years. Upon the lapse of the four-year period, the landlord shall be entitled to the discharge of the bond unless, prior thereto, further proceedings leading to a forfeiture or partial forfeiture of the bond or other security shall have been had under Subsection d below, in which case the security shall be renewed in an amount and for a period that shall be specified by the hearing officer. A transfer of ownership or control of the property shall not void a requirement for security imposed under this section. The person or persons to whom ownership or control is transferred shall maintain that security and shall be subject to injunctive proceedings as authorized by Subsection C(4) above in the same manner as the landlord upon which the requirement was originally imposed; provided, however, the Borough Council may, by resolution, shorten the period for which security is required to not less than one year from the date of the transfer of ownership or control if, during that year, no substantiated complaints are recorded with respect to the property in question.

Bond forfeiture; extension.

(1)

If, during the period for which a landlord is required to give security pursuant to Subsection C above, a substantiated complaint is recorded against the property in question, the Borough Council or its designee may institute proceedings against the landlord for the forfeiture or partial forfeiture of the security, for an extension, as provided in Subsection C(5) above, of the period for which the security is required, or for an increase in the amount of security required or for any or all of those purposes.

(2)

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 Subsection C(4) 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 Subsection C(4) above 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 effectually carry out the purposes of this section. The decision of the hearing officer in such circumstances shall be enforceable in the same manner as provided in Subsection C(4) above.

Revocation or suspension of licenses.

(1)

Causes. Any license granted or issued pursuant to this chapter may be suspended or revoked as provided herein, after notice and hearing, for any of the following causes:

(a)

In the event any tenant or occupant of any individual living unit upon the licensed premises is charged with a violation of a Borough ordinance, notice of the pending charge will be given by mail to the licensee and the person designated to receive notices on the licensee's behalf pursuant to this chapter.

(b)

In the event two such complaints are issued during one licensing year and result in convictions in municipal court, then such convictions may be grounds for suspension or revocation of the license. In the event the owner of the licensed premises is the complaining party and said complaint results in a conviction in municipal court, such conviction shall not be counted as a complaint for purposes of license suspension or revocation.