A tenant or tenants may apply to the Borough Administrator, or his or her designee, in the event that the landlord has received a tax refund but has not distributed it to the tenant or tenants in compliance with the provisions of Article IV, Tax Appeals and Refunds, or in the event the tenant or tenants believe that the expenses incurred by the landlord in connection with an appeal are not reasonable.
The tenant or tenants shall bring their complaints to the attention of the Borough Administrator, or his or her designee. The application shall include the information listed in Article IV, Tax Appeals and Refunds, which is available to the tenants.
The tenant or tenants shall provide a copy of the application
to the landlord at the time of the application.
A.
The Borough Administrator, or his or her designee, shall convene
the Rent Control Board to hold a hearing on the application, giving
the tenant or tenants and the landlord, or their representatives,
the opportunity to testify and to present witnesses on their behalf.
Each party will be permitted reasonable cross-examination of opposing
witnesses.
B.
Prior to the hearing, the Borough Administrator, or his or her designee,
shall obtain from the landlord, using his subpoena power as necessary,
information as to the total tax refund, expenses incurred in the case
of a tax appeal, and each tenant's proportionate share of the
refund.
A.
The Rent Control Board shall make a determination as to what refund
the landlord shall make to each tenant.
B.
The decision of the Rent Control Board shall be in writing and shall
state the factual findings on which it is based.
C.
In rendering a decision requiring a landlord to make a refund, the
Rent Control Board also may order the payment of interest if required
in the interest of justice. Interest, if ordered, shall be computed
at the rate allowed on judgments pursuant to New Jersey Court Rules
from the date the landlord received the tax refund.
