[Adopted 12-17-1987 by Ord. No. 1006-87]
The owner of any dwelling unit, except those
exempted below, shall be subject to the provisions of this article.
The following dwelling units shall be exempt
from the provisions of this article:
A.
Units in owner-occupied buildings of four or fewer
units.
B.
Units in buildings witch are totally vacant at the
time of enactment of this article and have been so for at least 30
days prior to October 1, 1987.
C.
Units in newly constructed buildings which are being
rented for the first time. Once rented, such units shall be governed
hereby.
D.
Units where the owner is participating in an affordable
housing project approved by the Department of Community Development
of the City of Passaic.
E.
All units in hotels, motels or rooming units.
F.
Units in a building whose owner has received a notice
of filing from the Department of Community Affairs upon the latter's
receipt of any application for registration for conversion to condominium
or cooperative ownership pursuant to N.J.S.A. 45:22A-30.
All dwelling units, except those expressly exempted in § 125-8 hereof, shall be rented and occupied by a new tenant within 60 days of the termination of the preceding tenancy, which shall be defined as, the last day of residence of the prior tenant or tenants, except where this requirement has been waived by the Rent Leveling Board under provisions of § 125-12 hereunder, in which case the unit shall be rented and occupied within the time set by the Board.
A.
The owner of any dwelling unit covered by § 125-9 of this article, which unit is still vacant 30 days after the termination of the preceding tenancy, shall notify the Rent Leveling Board within five days thereof of such continuing vacancy.
B.
Such notification shall contain the following:
(1)
The address of the building containing the dwelling
unit and the designation of such unit.
(2)
The rent last paid by the departed tenant and the
rent to be charged to the proximate incoming tenant.
(3)
The name, address and telephone number of the owner.
(4)
The name, address and telephone number of the owner's
agent and/or the resident manager.
Within 30 days of submission of the report required in § 125-10, the landlord shall notify the Rent Leveling Board that the unit has been rented and occupied, setting forth the name of the new tenant and the terms of tenancy. Failure to have the unit rented and occupied within 60 days of termination of prior tenancy, except where a waiver has been granted, shall be considered a violation of this article, and every day thereafter shall be considered a separate and distinct violation, subject to the penalties set forth in § 125-13 hereunder.
A.
A landlord may seek a waiver of the sixty-day requirement
set forth above where condition of the unit or other special circumstances
make rental within such time period impossible. To obtain a waiver,
the landlord must make application to the Rent Leveling Board within
10 days of the termination of the prior tenancy, setting forth specifically:
B.
Full documentation, such as code violation reports
or engineering reports, shall be provided by the landlord. Any waiver
granted by the Board under this section shall set forth a specific
date by which the unit shall be rented and occupied. The Board may
extend such date upon written request of the landlord, but in no case
shall the total elapsed time from termination of prior tenancy to
rental and occupancy by a new tenant exceed 180 days.
C.
The following circumstances shall constitute grounds
for granting of a waiver by the Rent Leveling Board:
(1)
The owner wishes to maintain a vacant unit to reserve
the same for a family member. The owner shall be required to provide
the name of the future tenant and the date of occupancy.
(2)
The owner wishes to improve the condition of the subject
unit. The owner shall be required to provide up-to-date building and
housing inspection reports, improvement plans, all related permits
and the date the unit shall be rented and occupied.
(3)
The owner wishes to correct code violations in the
subject unit. The owner shall be required to provide violation reports,
correction plans, permits and the date by which unit shall be rented
and occupied.
Violations of this article shall be punishable
by fines of not less than $100 nor more than $1,000 or 90 days in
jail, or both, for each unit found in violation and for each day such
violation shall be found to exist.
A.
The City Council of the City of Passaic, in enacting
this article, expresses its legislative intent as follows:
(1)
The article and its provisions are intended to avoid
conflict with any state statutes regulating possession of apartments
and regulating conversion of rental units into other forms of ownership.
If any ambiguity arises with respect to such conflict, this article
should be construed to carry out its purpose to avoid such conflict.
(2)
This article is intended to address a potentially serious diminution of rental housing within the City, and the City Council finds that violation of the provisions of § 125-9 is particularly deleterious to the welfare of the City and its residents and should be dealt with severely, especially in cases of repeat violations.
(3)
The article is intended to apply to any dwelling units currently vacant, and any landlord of any unit which has been vacant 30 days or more from the termination of the prior vacancy as of the effective date of this article shall be required to file the notification required under § 125-10 of this article and to comply with all other provisions of this article as set forth in §§ 125-11 and 125-12.
Upon final passage of this Article, a copy thereof
as adopted shall be sent to all known owners of property subject to
the provisions hereof. "Known owners" shall mean all owners who have
filed landlord registration certificates with the Division of Housing
in the Department of Community Development, which Department shall
be responsible for the notification. Such Department shall further
generally inform the public with respect to the terms and provisions
of this Article by placement of at least one display advertisement
in the legal newspapers designated for the City of Passaic.
