[Amended 4-22-1986 by Ord. No. 1271]
There is hereby established in the City of Long Branch a voluntary Landlord-Tenant
Dispute Review Board, hereinafter referred to as the "Board." The membership
of the Board shall consist of five members, two of whom shall be tenants,
two of whom shall be landlords and a fifth member from the community who shall
be neither a landlord nor tenant. Each member shall be a resident of the city.
The Chairman shall be chosen from among the members. The Board may have available
to it the services of a Secretary, who shall be a person presently employed
by the City of Long Branch in a secretarial position. The members of the Board
shall serve without compensation.
Members of the Board shall be appointed by the City Council of the City
of Long Branch for a one-year term.
It is the intent of the City Council of the City of Long Branch that
the Board be a totally voluntary mechanism which may be used by landlords
and/or tenants as an aid to resolve disputes. As such, the Board shall have
no legal authority to issue subpoenas, require oaths or make any legally binding
determinations with regard to the landlord-tenant relationship of the parties
that appear before it. The Board shall be acting solely in an advisory capacity
to the parties in the hopes of amicably resolving any existing disputes without
the necessity of time consuming and expensive legal proceedings. In furthering
its purposes, the Board shall conduct itself as follows:
A. The Board may consider complaints, in writing, from either
a landlord or a tenant with regard to the issues of rental increases, repairs
to the premises or maintenance items.
B. Upon receipt of the written complaint, the Chairman or
his designee shall contact the parties involved in order to determine whether
they wish to appear before the Board. Upon confirmation of an agreement to
appear before the Board, the Chairman shall schedule an informal hearing at
which the landlord and tenant may appear to present their respective positions.
C. A copy of the written complaint shall be made available
to the responding party by the Board, prior to the informal hearing.
D. At the informal hearing, testimony shall not be required
to be under oath. The Board members may make inquiries of those persons appearing
before them. The individuals appearing before the Board shall be allowed to
make a statement as to their respective positions prior to any questioning
by Board members. The proceedings shall not be considered an adversary proceeding
requiring testimony under oath, cross examination or appearances of corporate
or partnership entities through attorneys.
E. Upon completion of the informal hearing, the Board may
either immediately render a recommendation or, in its discretion, advise the
parties of its recommendations, in writing, within seven days after the informal
appearance before the Board. All recommendations shall be nonbinding on the
parties. There shall be no method of appeal from the recommendations of the
Board.
The Board shall have the authority to hear complaints concerning any
and all rental units except for housing units of two units or less.