[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Commissioners (now Borough Council) of the Borough of Beach Haven 11-10-1997 by Ord. No. 97-21; amended in its entirety 3-12-2007 by Ord. No. 2007-2. Subsequent amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Peace and good order — See Ch. 141.
Property maintenance — See Ch. 151.
All rental units, hereby defined as any "apartment," "dwelling," "building," "dwelling unit," "habitable room" or "lodging unit," as defined by this chapter, regardless of the consideration for occupancy, including but not limited to money paid, services rendered or an accommodation incident to employment, shall not for inhabitation purposes permit more than the number of persons which has been computed in accordance with the following:
A. 
Every room occupied for sleeping purposes by one occupant shall contain at least 70 square feet of floor area, and every room occupied for sleeping purposes by more than one person shall contain at least 50 square feet of floor area for each occupant thereof.
B. 
Rental units shall not be occupied by more occupants than permitted by the minimum occupancy area requirements of Table 155-1B.
Table 155-1B
Minimum Occupancy Area Requirements
Minimum Occupancy Area in Square Feet
Space
1 to 2 occupants
3 to 5 occupants
6 or more
Living room
No requirements
120
150
Dining room
No requirements
80
100
Kitchen
50
50
60
Bedrooms
Shall comply with § 155-1A
C. 
Combined living-room and dining-room spaces shall comply with the requirements of Table 155-1B if the total area is equal to that required for separate rooms and if the space is so located that it functions as a combination living room/dining room.
D. 
Decks/porches. The maximum allowable occupancy on any deck shall be one person per nine square feet.
A. 
It shall be unlawful and in violation of this chapter for an owner, permittee, lessor or tenant of any rental unit dwelling to allow a number of people greater than the posted maximum number of occupants, which number is to be posted on a register in the dwelling. It shall also be a violation of this chapter for the owner, permittee, lessor or tenant to lease a dwelling unit to a number or group of tenants which exceeds the total number of sleeping accommodations which has been set forth under this chapter. It shall also be unlawful for an owner, permittee, lessor or tenant to allow a number of people greater than the maximum number of people permitted to occupy the decks or porches of a dwelling unit.
B. 
The owner, permittee, lessor or tenant of a dwelling unit must post a register in a conspicuous location in the dwelling. Such register must contain the name(s) of the owner, permittee, lessor or tenant, the maximum number of tenants permitted to occupy the dwelling according to the permit, the maximum number of sleeping accommodations and the maximum number of persons permitted on the decks or porches of the dwelling.
C. 
It shall be unlawful and a violation of this chapter for an owner, permittee, lessor or tenant to fail to post the required register or for an owner, permittee, lessor or tenant to remove the required register.
D. 
The required register must be readily available for inspection upon demand by the police officers of the Borough of Beach Haven or officials of the Borough of Beach Haven Code Enforcement Office. It shall be unlawful and a violation of this chapter for an owner, permittee, lessor or tenant to refuse to allow the inspection of said register upon demand by an officer of the Beach Haven Police Department or an official from the Beach Haven Code Enforcement Office.
E. 
The police officers of the Beach Haven Police Department or the officials of the Beach Haven Code Enforcement Office are authorized to issue a summons for a violation of this chapter to any owner, permittee, lessor or tenant found to be in violation of any of the provisions of this chapter.
[Amended 9-13-2010 by Ord. No. 2010-20; 2-9-2015 by Ord. No. 2015-6C]
A. 
For the purposes of this section, the terms used herein are defined as follows:
HEARING OFFICER
A person designated to hear and determine proceedings pursuant to this section.
LANDLORD
The person or persons who own or purport to own a building in which there is rented or offered for rent housing space for living or dwelling under either a written or oral lease. In the case of a mobile home park, "landlord" shall mean the owner of an individual dwelling unit within the mobile home park.
MINIMUM SIZE OF SLEEPING QUARTERS
The minimum occupancy area requirements as set forth in Table 155-1B of this chapter.
SUBSTANTIATED COMPLAINT
A complaint which may form the basis for proceedings in accordance with Subsection B hereof.
B. 
Complaints. If in any twenty-four-month period two complaints, on separate occasions, of disorderly, indecent, tumultuous or riotous conduct, or violations of Chapters 155; 151, 134; 141; 136; complaints in occupation in excess of the minimum size of sleeping quarters, or other ordinance violations of such character upon or in proximity of any rental premises, and attributable to the acts or incitements of any of the tenants of those premises or their guests, have been substantiated by prosecution and conviction in any court of competent jurisdiction, the Borough governing body or any officer or employee of the Borough designated by the governing body for the purpose may institute proceedings to require the landlord of those premises to post a bond against the consequences of future incidents of similar character.
C. 
Notice requirements. The Mayor and Council, or person designated pursuant to Subsection B hereof, shall cause to be served upon the landlord, in person or by registered mail to the address appearing on the tax records of the Borough, notice advising of the institution of such proceedings, together with particulars of the substantiated complaints upon which those proceedings are based, and of the time and place at which a hearing will be held in the matter, which shall be in the Borough Hall, Municipal Court or other public place within the Borough of Beach Haven, and which shall be no sooner than 30 days from the date upon which the notice is served or mailed.
D. 
Hearings.
(1) 
Hearings and decisions held and made under this section are to be conducted and decided by a licensed attorney of the State of New Jersey who shall not be an owner or lessee of any real property within the Borough of Beach Haven, nor hold any interest in the assets of or profits arising from the ownership or lease of such property.
(2) 
The hearing officer shall give full hearing to both the complaint on behalf of the Borough of Beach Haven, and to any evidence in contradiction or mitigation that the landlord, if present or represented and offering such evidence, may present. The hearing officer may consider, to the extent deemed relevant by the hearing officer, prior complaints about the property, even if those complaints did not result in a conviction. 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 this section.
E. 
Posting of bond required.
(1) 
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 complaints upon which the proceedings are based, to be adequate in the case of subsequent offenses to make reparation for:
(a) 
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 this premises.
(b) 
Securing the payment of fines and penalties likely to be levied for such offenses.
(c) 
Compensating the Borough for the cost of repressing and prosecuting such incidents of disorderly behavior.
(2) 
No such bond shall be in an amount less than $500 or more than $5,000.
F. 
Enforcement of bond. The Borough may enforce the bond required by action in Superior Court and shall, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:48-2.12q.d., be entitled to an injunction prohibiting the landlord from making or renewing any lease of the affected premises for residential or other purposes until that bond or equivalent security, in satisfactory form and amount, has been deposited with the Borough.
G. 
Term of bond. A bond or other security deposited in compliance herewith shall remain in force for a period of not less than two or more than four years as determined in accordance with the discretion of the hearing officer. 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 effected, in which case the security shall be renewed, in an amount and for a period that shall be specified by the hearing officer.
H. 
Forfeiture, extension, increase in amount of security; proceedings thereon.
(1) 
If a substantiated complaint is recorded against the property in question during the period for which a landlord is required to give security pursuant to this section, the Mayor and Council, or their designees, may institute proceedings against the landlord for the forfeiture or the partial forfeiture of the security, for an extension as provided herein for the period for which security is required, for an increase in the amount of the security required, or for any or all of those purposes.
(2) 
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 herein. 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 and shall be taken only to the extent that the nature of the substantiated complaint or complaints out of which proceedings arise indicates the appropriateness of such change in order to carry out the purposes of this section effectually. The decision of the hearing officer in such circumstances shall be enforceable in the same manner as provided.
[Amended 9-13-2010 by Ord. No. 2010-20]
Any of the violations referred to in this chapter may be enforced, as applicable, by the Police Department, the Building Department, or such other persons designated by the Borough Manager, or having such authority by law.