It is the intent and purpose of this chapter to:
A. Provide uniform standards for rent control in the Township of Wayne.
B. Provide tenants with reasonable protection against abnormal, unwarranted, excessive and unpredictable increases, where such protection is necessary.
C. Provide property owners and tenants with simple, easily calculated, just and fair procedures to follow to obtain or to protect one's self against housing space rental increases.
D. Improve the ability of and to encourage owners of property to maintain standards of habitability commensurate with the quality of life of the Township of Wayne.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
BASE RENT The gross monthly rent, exclusive of all extraordinary charges paid by the tenant for the prior lease period. "Base rent" shall not include charges granted by the Rent Leveling Board due to hardship considerations or for capital improvement expenditures.
CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT The provision of an additional, permanent beneficial fixture, equipment, structure or service not previously afforded to tenants, which is provided by way of a one-time capital expenditure by the landlord, which expense qualifies and is depreciated under the rules and regulations of the Internal Revenue Service for depreciation over a period of at least 5 years and must be an additional and substantial benefit to the tenants. Excluded from this definition shall be the repair or replacement of existing fixtures, equipment, structures or services which constitute usual and/or normal maintenance or which provide services that the landlord was previously required to furnish. Improvements which are mandated by federal, state or local authorities are not excluded from consideration solely by virtue of that fact, but may be considered if all other criteria are met.
COMPLEX Includes all multiple-family housing projects advertised as available for rent to tenants under the same management or ownership or under the same name.
C.P.I. The housing component of the Consumer Price Index, New York Region, Northeastern New Jersey, all urban consumers, issued by the United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.
EXTRAORDINARY CHARGES Those charges made by the landlord for services which are or which were, when the housing space was first rented, optionally available to a tenant and/or which items are or have been previously shown separately in the most recent or a prior lease. Said charges are commonly for items, such as air conditioners, garages, swimming pool, carpeting and other items and services not necessarily furnished to all tenants in a complex.
HOUSING SPACE Includes that portion of a dwelling or apartment complex rented or offered for real for living and residential purposes to an individual or unit, together with all privileges, services, furnishings, furniture, equipment, facilities and improvements connected with the use or occupancy of such portion of the property, excluding mobile home rental units.
JUST CAUSE "Just cause" for eviction means that the landlord recovered possession of a housing space for one of the reasons outlined in N.J.S.A. 2A:18-53 or 2A:18-61.1.
LANDLORD Includes any person, firm, partnership, association, corporation or other entity and any officer, agent or employee of any of the foregoing which is the owner, rental agent, manager of or otherwise has authority to rent any rental unit to a tenant. "Landlord" may be used synonymously with "property owner."
PERIODIC TENANT A tenant that continues from month to month or other recurring period until terminated by the tenant or landlord as provided by lease. Month-to-month tenants are included and shall be entitled to the same rights, privileges and protection as tenants under written leases.
SERVICE Provision of light, heat, hot water, maintenance, elevator, air conditioning, bathing, storm windows, screens, superintendent services and any other benefit, privilege or facility connected with the use or occupancy of any housing space, covered under this chapter.
In the case of housing space which is controlled and/or regulated by the Federal Housing Administration of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development or the New Jersey Housing Finance Agency, whenever the controlling and/or regulating agency approves a rental increase during the term or portion of the term of the lease, said increase may be requested, implemented and received, subject, however, to the following conditions:
A. No landlord shall request or receive an increase in rental for any housing space more than once in any rental term.
[Ord. No. 53-2014]
B. No landlord shall request or receive an increase in rent during the term or portion of the term of a lease by reason of the special conditions set forth herein in §
145-4.1, unless the tenant, upon receipt of notice of an increase in rental, shall be given an option to vacate the housing space occupied by him without further penalty or liability to the landlord. Said tenant shall notify the landlord within 60 days of the first day of the first month following receipt of notice of increase in rental permitted in this section as to whether said tenant will vacate the multiple dwelling occupied by him/her. In the event that the tenant chooses to vacate the premises in accordance herewith, said tenant shall vacate said housing space within 120 days after the first day of the month following receipt of the notice of increasing rent as permitted by this section.
C. All of the provisions of §
145-4 A through H apply hereto as if stated in their entirety.
[Ord. No. 53-2014]
Either party may appeal any determinations of the Board to the Township Council by filing with the Township Clerk within 20 days from the date of said determination and requesting a hearing thereon by the Township Council. The Township Council shall hear said appeal within 30 days from the date of the filing of an appeal. The Township Clerk of Wayne Township shall notify the Board, the landlord and the tenant of the date upon which the appeal will be heard by the Township Council. There shall be a verbatim record made by electronic recording device of all proceedings held before the Rent Leveling Board. In the event of an appeal, the Board shall promptly furnish a typed transcript to the Township Council prior to the hearing of the appeal by the Council. The appellant shall bear any costs incurred in the preparation of said transcript. The Township Council may, by resolution, either affirm, reverse, remand or modify the findings and determination made by the Board. The Township Council shall make its findings and determination upon the record made before the Board, and no further evidence shall be taken, provided that the parties or their counsel may present summation-type argument.
[Ord. No. 53-2014]
The owner of a housing space or dwelling being rented for the first time and new multiple-family housing units shall establish the rental. Any subsequent rental increases, however, shall be subject to the provisions of this chapter.
Any provision in any lease concerning the rental of housing space, as herein defined, which purports to waive or nullify any of the provisions of this chapter shall be void and of no force and effect as against public policy.
Where no other penalty is provided, any person who violates any provision of this chapter shall, upon conviction, be liable to the penalty stated in Chapter
1, Section
1-15.
This chapter of the Code of the Township of Wayne shall operate prospectively from its effective date and thus does not affect leases or complaints entered into prior to said date.