[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Committee of the Township
of Boonton 10-11-2022 by Ord. No. 913. Amendments noted where applicable.]
A.
This chapter shall be known as the "Short Term Rental Properties
Code of the Township of Boonton" and may be referred to in this chapter
in short form as the "Short Term Rental Code" or "this code."
B.
Authority. In accordance with New Jersey law, a municipality may
make and enforce within its limits all ordinances and regulations
not in conflict with general laws, as it may deem necessary and proper
for the good government, order and protection of persons and property,
and for the preservation of the public health, safety and welfare
of the municipality and its inhabitants. The Township of Boonton hereby
adopts this chapter in accordance with said authority.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
Any form of solicitation, promotion and communication for
marketing, used to solicit, encourage, persuade, or manipulate viewers,
readers, or listeners into contracting for goods and/or services in
violation of this chapter, as same may be viewed through various media,
including, but not limited to, newspapers, magazines, flyers, handbills,
pamphlets, commercials, radio, direct mail, internet websites, or
text or other electronic messages for the purpose of establishing
occupancies or uses of rental property, for consideration, which are
prohibited by this chapter.
Soliciting, charging, demanding, receiving or accepting any
legally recognized form of consideration, including a promise or benefit,
a quid pro quo, rent, fees, monetary compensation, other form of payment
or compensation, or thing of value.
Any building, structure, or portion thereof, whether furnished or unfurnished, which is used or occupied, in whole or in part, or intended, arranged or designed to be occupied for sleeping, dwelling, cooking, gathering and/or entertaining, as a residential occupancy, by one or more persons. This definition shall also include the phrases "dwelling, one-family," "dwelling, two-family," and a "multifamily housing development" as those terms are defined in § 102-4 of the "Land Use Ordinance of the Township of Boonton;" and any unit therein, include any apartment, condominium, building, cooperative, converted space, or portions thereof, that are offered for use, made available for use, or are used for accommodations, lodging, cooking, sleeping, gathering and/or entertaining of occupants and/or guest(s).
Refer to a family-type situation involving one or more persons
living together as a single, nonprofit unit and whose relationship
is of a permanent, stable and domestic character, and exhibits the
kinds of qualities and characteristics of stability, permanency and
functional lifestyle equivalent to that of a traditional single-family
unit. The term shall not include nonfamilial institutional uses, boarding
homes, fraternities, sororities, clubs, associations, as further described
in the applicable reported and unreported decisions of the New Jersey
Superior Court. The term shall not include housing for fraternal sorority
organizations, fraternal organizations, rooming houses, boarding houses.
Any individual using, inhabiting, living, gathering, entertaining,
being entertained as a guest, or sleeping in a dwelling unit, or portion
thereof, or having other permission or possessory right(s) within
a dwelling unit.
Any individual person(s) or entity(ies), association, limited
liability company, corporation, or partnership, or any combination
thereof, holding title to property, or who legally use, possess, own,
lease, sublease or license (including an operator, principal, shareholder,
director, agent, or employee, individually or collectively) that has
charge, care, control, or participates in the expenses and/or profit
of a dwelling unit pursuant to a written or unwritten agreement, rental,
lease, license, use, occupancy agreement or any other agreement.
An individual, firm, corporation, association, partnership,
limited liability company, entity, and any other person(s) and/or
entity(ies) acting in concert or any combination thereof.
The address: (1) where at least one of the property owners
spends the majority of his or her nonworking time, and (2) which is
most clearly the center of his or her domestic life; and (3) which
is identified on his or her driver's license or state identification
card as being his or her legal address. All of the above requirements
must be met in order for an address to constitute a principal residence
for purposes of this chapter.
The use, in exchange for compensation or gift, of a dwelling
unit for occupancy by one or more persons other than the owner or
permanent resident for a period of 30 consecutive days or less, except
that licensed hotels and motels shall not be considered short-term
rental property.
A residential dwelling unit that is used or advertised by
the owner or the owner's agent for rent by transient occupants
and/or their guests, as those terms are defined in this section, for
a period of 30 consecutive days or less, except that licensed hotels
and motels shall not be considered short-term rental property.
Any person or guest or invitee of such person, who in exchange
for compensation or gift, occupies or is in actual or apparent control
or possession of residential property, for a period of 30 consecutive
days or less.
A.
It shall be unlawful for any owner of any dwelling, regardless of
whether or not the dwelling is the owner's principal residence,
within the geographic bounds of the Township of Boonton, to rent and/or
offer for rent a dwelling, or part thereof, for use or occupancy as
a short-term rental or short-term rental property, or to otherwise
operate a short-term rental in manner that is contrary to the procedures
and regulations established hereinafter or pursuant to any applicable
state statute, regulation or other law.
B.
Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in the Township
of Boonton Code, it shall be unlawful for an owner, lessor, sublessor,
any other person(s) or entity(ies) with a right of title, possession
or use in a dwelling, including a one-family dwelling, two-family
dwelling, or a unit within a multifamily housing development, and/or
their principals, partners or shareholders, or their agents, employees,
representatives and other person(s) or entity(ies), acting in concert
or a combination thereof, to receive or obtain actual or anticipated
consideration for soliciting, advertising, offering, permitting and/or
allowing the use and or occupancy of a dwelling unit as a short-term
rental property; and/or for failing to discontinue the use or occupancy
of any dwelling unit as a short-term rental property.
C.
Nothing in this section shall prevent the lawful use and/or occupancy
of a licensed hotel or motel for temporary lodging, or the lawful
rental and occupancy of a dwelling unit to the same person for a period
of more than 30 consecutive days so long as such use is otherwise
permitted in the applicable zone.
The residential use and occupancy of an otherwise lawful and
lawfully occupied dwelling unit for a period of 30 consecutive days
or less by any person who is a member of the housekeeping unit of
the owner, occupying a dwelling unit which is the principal residence
of the owner, at the permission of the owner, without consideration
or the exchange of anything of value, such as social guests, is permitted.
It shall be unlawful to advertise, solicit or promote by any
means actions in violation of this article for the rental of a dwelling
for a period of 30 days or less.
Any change of occupancy for a residential dwelling unit as permitted
pursuant to this chapter shall be required to obtain a certificate
of smoke alarm, carbon monoxide alarm, and portable fire extinguisher
compliance pursuant to the New Jersey Uniform Fire Code (N.J.A.C.
5:70-2.3).
A.
Any person who is renting their dwelling unit for consideration on
a temporary basis for a period greater than 30 days shall be required
to register with the Township Clerk by completing a registration form
approved by the Township Administrator.
B.
The registration shall include the property location, owner contact
information, emergency contact information, the names of the occupants
and the term of residence.
C.
The registration shall include an administrative fee in the amount
of $150, which shall be paid through the Office of the Township Clerk
at the time of filing for registration.
A.
The provisions of this chapter shall be enforced by the Building
Code Official, Fire Official, Health Department, other Subcode or
Code Official, or law enforcement agent of the Boonton Township Police
Department, as their jurisdiction may arise, including legal counsel
for the Township or other persons designated by the Township of Boonton
to file civil complaints to enforce the provisions of this chapter
or any other local ordinances as to the use of property within the
Township, to issue local summonses and complaints for criminal and/or
quasi-criminal violations and infractions directing alleged violators
of this chapter to appear in court.
B.
A violation of this chapter is hereby declared to be a public nuisance,
a nuisance per se, and is hereby further found and declared to be
offensive to the public health, safety and welfare.
C.
Any person(s), firm(s) or corporation(s) found in violation of any
provision(s) of this code, without regard to intent or knowledge,
shall be guilty of a disorderly person's offense, punishable
by imprisonment for not more than 90 days, and/or shall be subject
to a civil fine and penalty not exceeding $2,000 or the maximum fine
otherwise permitted by N.J.S.A. 40:49-5, or both. Each day such violation
continues shall be a new and separate violation of this chapter.
D.
Each and every day any property remains in violation of the provisions
of this code after the deadline for compliance set forth in any notice
of violation issued by the enforcing officer(s) shall be considered
a continuing violation punishable as a separate and distinct offense
and subject to a separate fine and penalty for each and every day
the violation continues.
E.
The penalty imposed herein shall be in addition to any other remedies
that may accrue under any other law, including, but not limited to,
eviction proceedings and/or injunction, reasonable attorney's
fees or other fees and costs, in the Township's Municipal Court
or the Superior Court of New Jersey in the vicinage of Morris County,
or in such other court or tribunal of competent jurisdiction, by either
summary disposition or by zoning or construction code municipal proceeding.
F.
The Municipal Court or Superior Court shall have jurisdiction to
hear and decide any action(s) brought to enforce the provisions of
this code, the hearing for which shall be conducted in a summary manner
pursuant to N.J.S.A. 2B12-16a, and any final order imposing fines
and penalties for a violation of this code shall be enforceable in
the Municipal Court or Superior Court and collectible as a lien against
the property of the violator in accordance with the Penalty Enforcement
Law of 1999,
