[HISTORY: Adopted by the City Council of the City of Cape May as
indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Housing — See Ch. 295.
[Adopted by Ord. No. 1121-97 (Sec. 3-22 of the 1997
Revised General Ordinances)]
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings
indicated:
A person designated pursuant to this article to hear and determine
proceedings pursuant to this article and its enabling legislation, N.J.S.A.
40:48-2.12n et seq. As required by state statute, said hearing officer shall
be a licensed New Jersey attorney who shall not be an owner or lessee of any
real property within the City of Cape May, nor hold any interest in the assets
of or profits arising from the ownership or lease of such property.
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. In the case of a
mobile home park, "landlord" shall mean the owner of an individual dwelling
unit within the mobile home park.
Any rental of residential accommodations for a term of less than
one year and including any part of the period extending from May 15 to September
15.
A complaint which may form the basis for proceedings in accordance
with the authority conferred by N.J.S.A. 40:48-2.12q. A substantiated complaint
shall be one in which there was prosecution and conviction in any court of
competent jurisdiction.
Landlords of seasonal rentals shall be held to standards of responsibility
in the selection of tenants and supervision of the rental premises. Under
certain circumstances, a landlord shall be required to post an adequate bond
against the consequences of disorderly behavior of their tenants as hereinafter
provided.
A.
If in any one year there shall be three or more complaints,
on separate occasions, of disorderly, indecent, tumultuous or riotous conduct
upon or in proximity to any seasonal rental premises and attributable to the
acts or incitements of any of the tenants of those premises, and such complaints
have been substantiated by prosecution and conviction in any court of competent
jurisdiction, the City Council, as the municipal governing body, or the Code
Enforcement Official, Construction Official or Zoning Officer or any law enforcement
officer may institute proceedings to require the landlord of those premises
to post a bond against the consequences of future incidents of the same character.
B.
Notice of the institution of such proceedings shall be
served upon the landlord, in person or by registered mail, to the address
appearing on the tax records of the municipality advising said landlord of
the institution of such proceedings together with particulars of the substantiated
complaints upon which the proceedings are based, and of the time and place
at which a hearing will be held. Such hearing shall be held in the City Hall.
Said hearing shall be held no sooner than 30 days from the date upon which
the notice is served or mailed.
C.
At the hearing, 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. 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 the article.
D.
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 complaint upon which the proceedings
are based. Such bond shall be adequate in the case of subsequent offenses
to make reparation for damages likely to be caused to public or private property
and damages consequent upon disruption of affected residents' rights of fair
use and quiet possession of their premises; securing the payment of fines
and penalties likely to be levied for such offenses; and compensating the
municipality for the costs of repressing and prosecuting such incidents of
disorderly behavior. In no event shall the bond be in an amount less than
$500 nor more than $5,000. The City may enforce the bond thus required by
action in the Superior Court, and the City shall be entitled to an injunction
prohibiting the landlord from making or renewing any lease of the affected
premises for residential purposes until that bond or equivalent security,
in satisfactory form and amount, has been deposited with the City.
E.
The bond or other security deposited in compliance with
this article shall remain in force for a period of three years. Upon the lapse
of the specified period, the landlord shall be entitled to the discharge thereof,
unless prior thereto further proceedings leading to a forfeiture or partial
forfeiture of the bond or other security shall have been had in which case
the security shall be renewed, in an amount and for a period that shall be
specified by the hearing officer.
A.
If, during the period for which a landlord is required to give security pursuant to this article, a substantiated complaint is recorded against the property in question, the City Council or any of the persons authorized in § 401-3A hereof may institute proceedings against the landlord for the forfeiture or partial forfeiture of the security, or for an extension for the period for which such security is required, or for an increase in the amount of security required, or for any or all of these purposes.
B.
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 § 401-3D hereof. 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 § 401-3D hereof and shall be taken only to the extent that the nature of the substantiated compliant or complaints out of which proceedings arise under this subsection indicates the appropriateness of such change in order to carry out the purposes of this article and the enabling legislation (N.J.S.A. 40:48-2.12n et seq.). The decision of the hearing officer in such circumstances shall be enforceable in the same manner as provided in § 401-3 hereof.
A.
The City Council is hereby authorized to appoint a hearing
officer who is qualified pursuant to the requirements of N.J.S.A. 40:48-2.12p,
as amended and supplemented. Such hearing officer shall be a licensed attorney
of New Jersey who shall not be an owner or lessee of any property within the
municipality, nor hold any interest in the assets of or profits arising from
the ownership or lease of such property.
B.
The appointment of the hearing officer shall be by resolution
of the City Council. The appointment shall be for a term specified by the
City Council but in no event to exceed one year. The hearing officer shall
be eligible for reappointment. The services of the hearing officer may be
terminated without cause upon the giving of 30 days' notice. The services
of the hearing officer may be terminated with cause immediately.
C.
The hearing officer may be compensated by salary or a
professional services contract at the discretion of the City Council.
