Borough of Maywood, NJ Article III Administration

§ 211-21 Municipal Housing Liaison.

A. The position of Municipal Housing Liaison for the Borough of Maywood is hereby established. The Municipal Housing Liaison shall be appointed by duly adopted resolution of the Borough Council and be subject to the approval by the Superior Court. The Borough of Maywood shall appoint a specific municipal employee to serve as a Municipal Housing Liaison responsible for overseeing the Borough's affordable housing program, including overseeing the administration of affordability controls on the affordable units and the affirmative marketing of available affordable units in accordance with the Borough's Affirmative Marketing Plan; fulfilling monitoring and reporting requirements; and supervising Administrative Agent(s). Maywood shall adopt an ordinance creating the position of Municipal Housing Liaison and a resolution appointing the person to fulfill the position of Municipal Housing Liaison. The Municipal Housing Liaison shall be appointed by the governing body and may be a full-or part-time employee.

B. The Municipal Housing Liaison must be duly qualified through a training program sponsored by Affordable Housing Professionals of New Jersey and meet the requirements for qualifications, including initial and periodic training found in N.J.A.C. 5:93[1] before assuming the duties of Municipal Housing Liaison.

[1] Editor's Note: N.J.A.C. 5:93 expired 10-16-2016.

C. The Municipal Housing Liaison shall be responsible for oversight and administration of the affordable housing program for the Borough of Maywood, including the following responsibilities which may not be contracted out to the Administrative Agent:

(1) Serving as the municipality's primary point of contact for all inquiries from the state, affordable housing providers, Administrative Agents and interested households;

(2) The implementation of the Affirmative Marketing Plan and affordability controls;

(3) When applicable, supervising any contracting Administrative Agent;

(4) Monitoring the status of all restricted units in the Borough of Maywood's Fair Share Plan;

(5) Compiling, verifying and submitting annual reports as required by the Superior Court;

(6) Coordinating meetings with affordable housing providers and Administrative Agents, as needed; and

(7) Attending continuing education opportunities on affordability controls, compliance monitoring and affirmative marketing at least annually and more often as needed.

D. Subject to the approval of the Court, the Borough of Maywood shall designate one or more Administrative Agent(s) to administer and to affirmatively market the affordable units constructed in the Borough in accordance with UHAC and this chapter. An operating manual for each affordable housing program shall be provided by the Administrative Agent(s) to be adopted by resolution of the governing body and subject to approval of the Court. The operating manual(s) shall be available for public inspection in the office of the Borough Clerk, in the office of the Municipal Housing Liaison, and in the office(s) of the Administrative Agent(s). The Municipal Housing Liaison shall supervise the work of the Administrative Agent(s).

§ 211-22 Administrative Agent.

A. The Borough shall designate by resolution of the Borough Council, subject to the approval of the Superior Court, one or more Administrative Agents to administer newly constructed affordable units in accordance with N.J.A.C. 5:93[1] and UHAC. An Administrative Agent shall be an independent entity serving under contract to and reporting to the municipality. The fees of the Administrative Agent shall be paid by the owners of the affordable units for which the services of the Administrative Agent are required.

[1] Editor's Note: N.J.A.C. 5:93 expired 10-16-2016.

B. An operating manual shall be provided by the Administrative Agent(s) to be adopted by resolution of the governing body and subject to approval of the Superior Court. The operating manuals shall be available for public inspection in the office of the Municipal Clerk and in the office(s) of the Administrative Agent(s).

C. An operating manual shall be provided by the Administrative Agent(s) to be adopted by resolution of the governing body and subject to approval of the Superior Court. The operating manuals shall be available for public inspection in the office of the Municipal Clerk and in the office(s) of the Administrative Agent(s). The Borough Administrative Agent shall monitor the designated Administrative Agent of the developer in the initial sales and rental transactions for low- and moderate-income dwellings in accordance with N.J.A.C. 5:80-26.14, as it may be amended or superseded. The developer's administrative agent shall have all of the responsibilities as put forth in this rule. After the initial sales and rental transactions, the Borough Administrative Agent shall monitor the activities of the developer's or owner's Administrative Agent for any resales or rerentals. If the person is the Borough's Administrative Agent, then he or she shall assume all of the duties and responsibilities set forth in N.J.A.C. 5:80-26.14 following the initial renting, sales and occupancy of low- and moderate-income dwellings. The affordability controls set forth in this article shall be administered and enforced by the Administrative Agent regardless of association. The primary responsibility of the Administrative Agent shall be to ensure that the restricted units are sold or rented, as applicable, only to low- and moderate-income households in accordance with the Fair Housing Act.

D. The Administrative Agent, whether the Borough's representative, developer's agent, or a delegated agent, shall have the responsibility to income qualify low- and moderate-income households, to place income-eligible households in low- and moderate-income units upon initial occupancy, to provide for the initial occupancy of low- and moderate-income units with income-qualified households, to continue to qualify households for reoccupancy of units as they become vacant during the period of affordability controls, to assist with advertising and outreach to low- and moderate-income households, and to enforce the terms of the deed restriction and mortgage loan. All Administrative Agents shall provide counseling services to low- and moderate-income applicants on subjects such as budgeting, credit issues, mortgage qualification, rental lease requirements and landlord/tenant law.

E. The Municipal Housing Liaison shall supervise the work of the Administrative Agent(s) and shall coordinate his or her activities with the Borough Administrative Agent to ensure the accurate tracking of the progress of the occupancy of affordable housing in the municipality, answer inquiries regarding affordable housing from the public or direct same to the appropriate official or agency, and comply with the affordable housing monitoring and reporting requirements of the state.

F. The Borough Council may establish a reasonable fee to program participants for the administration of the affordability controls program. The fees of the Administrative Agent shall be paid by the owners of the affordable units for which the services of the Administrative Agent are required.

G. In order to ensure an orderly transfer of control responsibility from a municipality to an Administrative Agent, from one Administrative Agent to another Administrative Agent, or other transfer, the requirements as set forth in N.J.A.C. 5:80-26.17 shall apply as are necessary before or during the transition. The Administrative Agent's enforcement responsibility for implementing such practices and procedures shall not be delegated or otherwise transferred to any other party, except to a successor Administrative Agent.

H. By accepting state funds for affordable housing purposes, or by submitting to the jurisdiction of the court, the Borough of Maywood shall be deemed to have delegated to the Administrative Agent the day-to-day responsibility for implementing practices and procedures designated to ensure effective compliance with the controls set forth in this article. The governing body of the municipality, however, shall retain the ultimate responsibility for ensuring effective compliance with the requirements as set forth in UHAC and any settlement agreements pertaining to affordable housing matters.

I. The Administrative Agent shall perform the duties and responsibilities of an Administrative Agent as are set forth in UHAC and which are described in full detail in the operating manual, including those set forth in N.J.A.C. 5:80-26.14, 5:80-26.16 and 5:80-26.18 thereof, which includes:

(1) Attending continuing education opportunities on affordability controls, compliance monitoring, and affirmative marketing as offered or approved by the Superior Court.

(2) Affirmative marketing:

(a) Conducting an outreach process to affirmatively market affordable housing units in accordance with the Affirmative Marketing Plan of the Borough of Maywood and the provisions of N.J.A.C. 5:80-26.15; and

(b) Providing counseling or contracting to provide counseling services to low- and moderate-income applicants on subjects such as budgeting, credit issues, mortgage qualification, rental lease requirements, and landlord/tenant law.

(3) Household certification:

(a) Soliciting, scheduling, conducting and following up on interviews with interested households;

(b) Conducting interviews and obtaining sufficient documentation of gross income and assets upon which to base a determination of income eligibility for a low- or moderate-income unit;

(c) Providing written notification to each applicant as to the determination of eligibility or noneligibility;

(d) Requiring that all certified applicants for restricted units execute a certificate substantially in the form, as applicable, of either the ownership or rental certificates set forth in Appendixes J and K of N.J.A.C. 5:80-26.1 et seq.;

(e) Creating and maintaining a referral list of eligible applicant households living in the housing region and eligible applicant households with members working in the housing region where the units are located;

(f) Employing a random selection process as provided in the Affirmative Marketing Plan of the Borough of Maywood when referring households for certification to affordable units; and

(g) Notifying the following entities of the availability of affordable housing units in the Borough of Maywood: Fair Share Housing Center, the New Jersey State Conference of the NAACP, the Latino Action Network, NORWESCAP, the New Jersey Resource Center, and the Supportive Housing Association.

(4) Affordability controls:

(a) Furnishing to attorneys or closing agents forms of deed restrictions and mortgages for recording at the time of conveyance of title of each restricted unit;

(b) Creating and maintaining a file on each restricted unit for its control period, including the recorded deed with restrictions, recorded mortgage and note, as appropriate;

(c) Ensuring that the removal of the deed restrictions and cancellation of the mortgage note are effectuated and properly filed with the Bergen County Register of Deeds or Bergen County Clerk's office after the termination of the affordability controls for each restricted unit;

(d) Communicating with lenders regarding foreclosures; and

(e) Ensuring the issuance of continuing certificates of occupancy or certifications pursuant to N.J.A.C. 5:80-26.10.

(5) Records retention;

(6) Resales and rerentals:

(a) Instituting and maintaining an effective means of communicating information between owners and the Administrative Agent regarding the availability of restricted units for resale or re-rental; and

(b) Instituting and maintaining an effective means of communicating information to low- (or very-low-) and moderate-income households regarding the availability of restricted units for resale or rerental.

(7) Processing requests from unit owners:

(a) Reviewing and approving requests for determination from owners of restricted units who wish to take out home equity loans or refinance during the term of their ownership that the amount of indebtedness to be incurred will not violate the terms of this chapter;

(b) Reviewing and approving requests to increase sales prices from owners of restricted units who wish to make capital improvements to the units that would affect the selling price, such authorizations to be limited to those improvements resulting in additional bedrooms or bathrooms and the depreciated cost of central air-conditioning systems;

(c) Notifying the municipality of an owner's intent to sell a restricted unit; and

(d) Making determinations on requests by owners of restricted units for hardship waivers.

(8) Enforcement, although the ultimate responsibility for retaining controls on the units rests with the municipality:

(a) Securing annually from the municipality a list of all affordable housing units for which tax bills are mailed to absentee owners, and notifying all such owners that they must either move back to their unit or sell it;

(b) Securing from all developers and sponsors of restricted units, at the earliest point of contact in the processing of the project or development, written acknowledgement of the requirement that no restricted unit can be offered, or in any other way committed, to any person, other than a household duly certified to the unit by the Administrative Agent;

(c) Posting annually, in all rental properties (including two-family homes), a notice as to the maximum permitted rent together with the telephone number of the Administrative Agent where complaints of excess rent or other charges can be made;

(d) Sending annual mailings to all owners of affordable dwelling units, reminding them of the notices and requirements outlined in N.J.A.C. 5:80-26.18(d)4;

(e) Establishing a program for diverting unlawful rent payments to the municipality's Affordable Housing Trust Fund; and

(f) Creating and publishing a written operating manual for each affordable housing program administered by the Administrative Agent, to be approved by the Borough Council and the Court, setting forth procedures for administering the affordability controls.

(9) Additional responsibilities:

(a) The Administrative Agent shall have the authority to take all actions necessary and appropriate to carry out its responsibilities hereunder.

(b) The Administrative Agent shall prepare monitoring reports for submission to the Municipal Housing Liaison in time to meet the Court-approved monitoring and reporting requirements in accordance with the deadlines set forth in this chapter.

(c) The Administrative Agent shall attend continuing education sessions on affordability controls, compliance monitoring, and affirmative marketing at least annually and more often as needed.

§ 211-23 Affirmative marketing requirements.

A. The Borough of Maywood shall adopt by resolution an Affirmative Marketing Plan, subject to the approval of the Court, that is compliant with N.J.A.C. 5:80-26.15, as may be amended and supplemented.

B. The Affirmative Marketing Plan is a regional marketing strategy designed to attract buyers and/or renters of all majority and minority groups, regardless of race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, marital or familial status, gender, affectional or sexual orientation, disability, age or number of children, to housing units which are being marketed by a developer, sponsor or owner of affordable housing. The Affirmative Marketing Plan is intended to target those potentially eligible persons who are least likely to apply for affordable units in that region. It is a continuing program that directs marketing activities toward Housing Region 3 and is required to be followed throughout the period of restriction.

C. The Affirmative Marketing Plan shall provide a regional preference for all households that live and/or work in Housing Region 1, comprising Bergen, Hudson, Passaic and Sussex Counties.

D. The municipality has the ultimate responsibility for adopting the Affirmative Marketing Plan and for the proper administration of the Affirmative Marketing Program, including initial sales and rentals and resales and rerentals. The Administrative Agent designated by the Borough of Maywood shall implement the Affirmative Marketing Plan to assure the affirmative marketing of all affordable units.

E. In implementing the Affirmative Marketing Plan, the Administrative Agent shall provide a list of counseling services to low- and moderate-income applicants on subjects such as budgeting, credit issues, mortgage qualification, rental lease requirements, and landlord/tenant law.

F. The Affirmative Marketing Plan shall describe the media to be used in advertising and publicizing the availability of housing. In implementing the Affirmative Marketing Plan, the Administrative Agent shall consider the use of language translations where appropriate.

G. The affirmative marketing process for available affordable units shall begin at least four months (120 days) prior to the expected date of occupancy.

H. Applications for affordable housing shall be available in several locations, including, at a minimum, the County Administration Building and/or the County Library for each county within the housing region; the municipal administration building and the municipal library in the municipality in which the units are located; and the developer's rental office. Applications shall be mailed to prospective applicants upon request.

I. In addition to other affirmative marketing strategies, the Administrative Agent shall provide specific notice of the availability of affordable housing units in Maywood, and copies of the application forms, to the following entities: Fair Share Housing Center, the New Jersey State Conference of the NAACP, the Latino Action Network, STEPS, NORWESCAP, the New Jersey Housing Resource Center, and the Supportive Housing Association.

J. The costs of advertising and affirmative marketing of the affordable units shall be the responsibility of the developer, sponsor or owner.

§ 211-24 Enforcement of affordable housing regulations.

A. Upon the occurrence of a breach of any of the regulations governing the affordable unit by an owner, developer or tenant, the municipality shall have all remedies provided at law or equity, including but not limited to foreclosure, tenant eviction, municipal fines, a requirement for household recertification, acceleration of all sums due under a mortgage, recoupment of any funds from a sale in the violation of the regulations, injunctive relief to prevent further violation of the regulations, entry on the premises, and specific performance.

B. After providing written notice of a violation to an owner, developer or tenant of a low- or moderate-income unit and advising the owner, developer or tenant of the penalties for such violations, the municipality may take the following action(s) against the owner, developer or tenant for any violation that remains uncured for a period of 60 calendar days after service of the written notice:

(1) The municipality may file a court action pursuant to N.J.S.A. 2A:58-11 alleging a violation, or violations, of the regulations governing the affordable housing unit. If the owner, developer or tenant is found by the court to have violated any provision of the regulations governing affordable housing units the owner, developer or tenant shall be subject to one or more of the following penalties, at the discretion of the court:

(a) A fine of not more than $500 per day or imprisonment for a period not to exceed 90 days, or both, provided that each and every day that the violation continues or exists shall be considered a separate and specific violation of these provisions and not as a continuing offense;

(b) In the case of an owner who has rented his or her low- or moderate-income unit in violation of the regulations governing affordable housing units, payment into the Borough of Maywood Affordable Housing Trust Fund of the gross amount of rent illegally collected;

(c) In the case of an owner who has rented his or her low- or moderate-income unit in violation of the regulations governing affordable housing units, payment of an innocent tenant's reasonable relocation costs, as determined by the court.

(2) The municipality may file a court action in the Superior Court seeking a judgment, which would result in the termination of the owner's equity or other interest in the unit, in the nature of a mortgage foreclosure. Any such judgment shall be enforceable as if the same were a judgment of default of the first purchase money mortgage and shall constitute a lien against the low- and moderate-income unit.

(a) Such judgment shall be enforceable, at the option of the municipality, by means of an execution sale by the Sheriff, at which time the low- and moderate-income unit of the violating owner shall be sold at a sale price which is not less than the amount necessary to fully satisfy and pay off any first purchase money mortgage and prior liens and the costs of the enforcement proceedings incurred by the municipality, including attorney's fees. The violating owner shall have the right to possession terminated as well as the title conveyed pursuant to the Sheriff's sale.

(b) The proceeds of the Sheriff's sale shall first be applied to satisfy the first purchase money mortgage lien and any prior liens upon the low- and moderate-income unit. The excess, if any, shall be applied to reimburse the municipality for any and all costs and expenses incurred in connection with either the court action resulting in the judgment of violation or the Sheriff's sale. In the event that the proceeds from the Sheriff's sale are insufficient to reimburse the municipality in full as aforesaid, the violating owner shall be personally responsible for the full extent of such deficiency, in addition to any and all costs incurred by the municipality in connection with collecting such deficiency. In the event that a surplus remains after satisfying all of the above, such surplus, if any, shall be placed in escrow by the municipality for the owner and shall be held in such escrow for a maximum period of two years or until such earlier time as the owner shall make a claim with the municipality for such. Failure of the owner to claim such balance within the two-year period shall automatically result in a forfeiture of such balance to the municipality. Any interest accrued or earned on such balance while being held in escrow shall belong to and shall be paid to the municipality, whether such balance shall be paid to the owner or forfeited to the municipality.

(c) Foreclosure by the municipality due to violation of the regulations governing affordable housing units shall not extinguish the restrictions of the regulations governing affordable housing units as the same apply to the low- and moderate-income unit. Title shall be conveyed to the purchaser at the Sheriff's sale, subject to the restrictions and provisions of the regulations governing the affordable housing unit. The owner determined to be in violation of the provisions of this plan and from whom title and possession were taken by means of the Sheriff's sale shall not be entitled to any right of redemption.

(d) If there are no bidders at the Sheriff's sale, or if insufficient amounts are bid to satisfy the first purchase money mortgage and any prior liens, the municipality may acquire title to the low- and moderate-income unit by satisfying the first purchase money mortgage and any prior liens and crediting the violating owner with an amount equal to the difference between the first purchase money mortgage and any prior liens and costs of the enforcement proceedings, including legal fees and the maximum resale price for which the low- and moderate-income unit could have been sold under the terms of the regulations governing affordable housing units. This excess shall be treated in the same manner as the excess which would have been realized from an actual sale as previously described.

(e) Failure of the low- and moderate-income unit to be either sold at the Sheriff's sale or acquired by the municipality shall obligate the owner to accept an offer to purchase from any qualified purchaser which may be referred to the owner by the municipality, with such offer to purchase being equal to the maximum resale price of the low- and moderate-income unit as permitted by the regulations governing affordable housing units.

(f) The owner shall remain fully obligated, responsible and liable for complying with the terms and restrictions of governing affordable housing units until such time as title is conveyed from the owner.

§ 211-25 Appeals.

Appeals from all decisions of an Administrative Agent designated pursuant to this chapter shall be filed in writing with the Superior Court.