The Rent Control Board is hereby granted and shall have and
exercise, in addition to other powers herein granted, all the powers
necessary and appropriate to carry out and execute the purposes of
this chapter, including but not limited to the following:
A. To issue and promulgate such rules and regulations as it deems necessary
to implement the purposes of this chapter, which rules and regulations
shall have the force of law until revised, repealed or amended from
time to time by the Board in the exercise of its discretion, provided
that such rules are filed with the City Clerk.
B. To supply information and assistance to landlords and tenants to
help them comply with the provisions of this chapter.
C. To hold hearings and adjudicate applications from landlords for additional
rental as hereinafter provided.
D. To hold hearings and adjudicate applications from tenants as to probable
violations of this chapter.
E. As to judicial determinations, to give both landlord and tenant reasonable
opportunity to be heard before making any determination.
F. To advise and give direction to the Administrator of the Rent Control Board and approve and/or disapprove any determinations outlined under §
218-3 of this chapter. The Administrator to the Board shall not be the Rent Regulation Officer. The Administrator to the Board shall attend hearings of the Rent Control Board and perform in a secretarial capacity at such hearings in taking minutes and preparing determinations in accordance with decisions made at such hearings. The Administrator to the Board shall also perform such other duties as the Rent Control Board may specifically direct.
[Amended 11-27-2023 by Ord. No. 30-2023]
G. To administer and implement the amendatory and supplementary Act
of P.L. 1981, c. 226, which provided protection to senior citizens and disabled
tenants against rent increases and relocation as a result of rental
housing conversion to a condominium or cooperative.
[Amended 4-9-2018 by Ord.
No. 9-2018; 3-25-2019 by Ord. No. 6-2019; 11-27-2023 by Ord. No. 30-2023]
There is hereby established the position of Rent Regulation
Officer, who shall have the following powers and functions:
A. To obtain, keep and maintain all relevant records and other data
and information.
B. To supply information and assistance to landlords and tenants and
to bring together tenants and landlords in formal conferences and
suggest resolutions of conflicts between them in order to assist them
in complying with the provisions of this chapter.
C. To notify landlords that there is no record of compliance by the landlord with the provisions of §
218-14.
D. To remedy violations of this chapter by ordering rent rebates, deductions
and increases and bring appropriate legal charges as provided by this
chapter. No order for a rent deduction shall be effective for any
period prior to the date the complaint for the deduction was received
by the Rent Regulation Officer unless the violation has been previously
investigated and found to exist by an appropriate City agency. Any
order for a rent rebate, deduction or increase issued by the Rent
Regulation Officer shall be final unless a hearing before the Rent
Leveling Board is requested, in writing, by the party objecting to
it within 30 days of the date of said determination. The refusal of
the Rent Regulation Officer to order a rent rebate, deduction or increase
shall be final unless a hearing before the Rent Control Board is requested,
in writing, by the party objecting to it within 30 days from the date
of said refusal.
E. To accept and process complaints from tenants of illegal rental increases
and to investigate said complaints prior to any decisions being rendered.
F. To accept, process, review and investigate applications from landlords
for rental increases and/or surcharges under the hardship increase
and/or capital improvement recovery sections of this chapter.
G. Determinations.
(1) Any rebate ordered by the Rent Regulation Officer or the Board shall
be considered a penalty by the landlord. If said rebate is not received
by the tenant within 30 days of the date of said determination, the
tenant may file suit in the Municipal Court against the landlord for
violation of this section of this chapter.
(2) Any rental increase granted to the landlord shall be paid the following
calendar month rent becomes due from the date of said determination.
In the event of failure by the tenant to pay the rents as determined
by the Rent Regulation Officer or the Board, the landlord may exercise
appropriate legal action in a court of law for nonpayment of rent.
(3) Determinations of the Rent Regulation Officer shall be deemed final unless, within 30 days of the date of such determination, an aggrieved party appeals for a hearing before the Rent Control Board under §
218-5 of this chapter.
H. To receive notification from any owner of his/her intention to convert
any rental premises to a condominium or cooperative and to thereafter,
within 10 days, notify each residential tenant, in writing, of the
owner's intention and of the applicability of the provisions of the
act.
I. To provide affidavits to the Department of Community Affairs of the
compliance with the Act by the owner of any proposed conversion site.
J. To review the applications for protected tenancy status submitted
by a tenant and to make a determination of eligibility and ineligibility
under the criteria set forth by the Act and to further solicit any
documents and information necessary to establish a tenant's eligibility
for a protected tenancy status.
K. To prepare and submit a yearly report to the Housing, Licensing and
Inspection Committee.
L. To audit rent rolls that are submitted by property owners and inform
tenants of their right to take action that is consistent with the
East Orange City Code.
In applying and interpreting this chapter, the following definitions
shall be used:
APPLICATION FOR REGISTRATION OF CONVERSION
An application for registration filed with the Department
of Community Affairs in accordance with the Planned Real Estate Development
Full Disclosure Act. P.L. 1977, c. 419 (N.J.S.A. 45:22A-21 et seq.).
AVAILABLE FOR RENT TO TENANTS
Suitable for habitation as defined by the statutes, codes
and ordinances in full force and effect in the State of New Jersey
and the City of East Orange and occupied or unoccupied and offered
for rent.
COMPLETED HARDSHIP APPLICATION
Any application which has not been returned due to deficiency
in supportive documentation, i.e., copies of canceled checks, executed
statements, proof of expenditures, etc., nor due to a failure of said
application to be completed in every section and thereafter dated
and duly executed by an authorized agent of a corporate applicant
or by an individual applicant. If the application has been returned
by the Rent Control Board, it shall be deemed incomplete and will
not be considered as duly filed until such time as the specified deficiency
has been cured.
[Amended 11-27-2023 by Ord. No. 30-2023]
CONVERSION RECORDING
The recording with the appropriate county officer of a master
deed for a condominium or a deed to a cooperative corporation for
a cooperative or the first deed of sale to a purchaser of an individual
unit for a planned residential development or separable fee simple
ownership of the dwelling units.
CONVERT
To convert one or more buildings or structures containing,
in the aggregate, not fewer than five dwelling units from residential
development separable fee-simple ownership of the dwelling units.
DISABLED TENANT
A person who has been deemed 100% disabled by the United
States government or an agency operating under its authority.
[Amended 5-14-2018 by Ord. No. 24-2018]
DWELLING OR HOUSING SPACE
Includes any building or structure rented or offered for
rent to one or more tenants or family units, either occupied or unoccupied.
HOUSING SPACE
Includes that portion of a dwelling, rented or offered for
rent for living and dwelling purposes to one individual or family
unit, together with all privileges, services, furnishings, furniture,
equipment, facilities and improvements connected with the use or occupancy
of such portion of the property.
PARKING SPACE
Includes all spaces used for the parking of motor vehicles,
whether indoor or outdoor, when rented by a tenant from his landlord,
landlord's agent, concessionaire or assignee and when such spaces
are rented in conjunction with apartment rentals. For the purposes
of this chapter, "parking spaces" shall not include spaces owned by
and rented to a tenant by persons other than the landlord, landlord's
agent, concessionaire or assignee and located at a location different
from the rented housing space.
PROTECTED TENANCY PERIOD
The 40 years following the conversion recording for the building
or structure in which is located the dwelling unit of the senior citizen
tenant or disabled tenant.
QUALIFIED SENIOR TENANT
One shall be deemed a qualified senior tenant if they are
65 years of age or older.
[Added 5-14-2018 by Ord.
No. 24-2018]
REGISTRATION OF CONVERSION
An approval of an application for registration by the Department
of Community Affairs in accordance with the Planned Real Estate Development
Full Disclosure Act, P.L. 1977, c. 419 (N.J.S.A. 45:22A-21 et seq.).
RENT
A regular recurring payment that grants tenants the right
to remain or reside at a dwelling or housing space within the City
of East Orange. As used herein, the term "rent" shall not include
late fees, attorneys' fees or any other fee that causes a tenant's
monthly rent to exceed the percentage increase that is provided for
in the City's Rent Control Ordinance. This provision shall expire
on December 31, 2020, unless the City's governing body agrees to extend
same.
[Added 6-22-2020 by Ord. No. 21-2020]
REPRISAL
Action by a landlord as defined by N.J.S.A. 2A:42-10.10.
SENIOR CITIZEN TENANT
A person who is at least 62 years of age on the date of the
conversion recording for the building or structure in which is located
the dwelling unit of which he is a tenant, or the surviving spouse
of such a person if the person should die after the owner files the
conversion recording, provided that the building or structure has
been the principal residence of the "senior citizen tenant" or the
spouse for the two years immediately preceding the conversion recording
or the death, as the case may be.
TENANT'S ANNUAL HOUSEHOLD INCOME
The total income from all sources during the last full calendar
year for all members of the household who reside in the dwelling unit
at the time the tenant applies for protected tenant status, whether
or not such income is subject to taxation by any taxing authority.
THE ACT
The Senior Citizens and Disabled Protected Tenancy Act, P.L.
1974, c. 49, and P.L. 1975, c. 311, and amending and supplementing
legislation P.L. 1981, c. 226.
The right of appeal from a decision of the Rent Control Board
by either landlord or tenant, or both, to an appropriate court of
law shall be reserved as a matter of right. Said appeal shall be filed
within the time limitations for appealing municipal administrative
rulings as established by the rules governing the courts of the State
of New Jersey.
No landlord shall, after the effective date of this chapter,
charge any rents in excess of what he was receiving from the effective
date of this chapter, except for increases as permitted by this chapter
or as heretofore provided in this chapter from the effective dates
of Ordinance No. 1 of 1973, Ordinance No. 42 of 1973, Ordinance No.
1 of 1974 and Ordinance No. 52 of 1975.
Establishment of rents between a landlord and a tenant to whom
this section is applicable shall hereafter be determined as follows:
A. For a periodic tenant (i.e., month-to-month, week-to-week) whose lease term is less than one year, said owner, agent or employee of the same shall not demand, receive or accept any rent increase which is greater than 4% of the existing rent at the time the notice of increase is delivered to the tenant. Simultaneously with the delivery of a notice of increase in rent, the landlord shall notify the tenant that he/she has complied fully with the provisions of §
218-14. Said notice shall be delivered in accordance with the provisions of §
218-19. No rental increase of any amount or percent shall be demanded, received or accepted, however, unless the landlord has complied fully with the provisions of §
218-14 of this chapter as confirmed in writing by the Rent Regulation Officer. In the event that a landlord fails to have a current rent roll on file in accordance with the provisions of §
218-14 of this chapter at the time he demands a rental increase from a tenant, the landlord's increase shall automatically be denied, and he shall be precluded from obtaining any increase from said tenant for a period of 12 months from the date that the proposed increase was to take effect. Any complaint of a tenant challenging the propriety of an increase based on violation of §
218-14 shall be filed within 12 months of the date when the proposed increase is to take effect.
[Amended 11-27-2023 by Ord. No. 30-2023]
B. For a year-to-year tenant or for a tenant under a lease term in excess of one year, said landlord, owner or agent of the same shall not seek or demand an increase in rent which exceeds 4% of the prior rent for each twelve-month period that the existing lease has been in effect. (Example: A written lease runs for three consecutive years at a fixed rent without increases. At the end of the third year, the landlord is entitled to a maximum increase in rent of 12% or $120.) Simultaneous with the delivery of a notice of increase in rent, the landlord shall notify the tenant that he/she has complied fully with the provisions of §
218-14. Said notice shall be delivered in accordance with the provisions of §
218-19. No rental increase of any amount or percent shall be demanded, received or accepted, however, unless the landlord has complied fully with the provisions of §
218-14 of this chapter as confirmed in writing by the Rent Regulation Officer. In the event that a landlord fails to have a current rent roll on file in accordance with the provisions of §
218-14 of this chapter at the time he demands a rental increase from a tenant, he shall be precluded from obtaining any increase from said tenant for a period of 12 months from the date the proposed increase was to take effect. Any complaint of a tenant challenging the propriety of an increase based on violation of §
218-14 shall be filed within 12 months of the date when the proposed increase is to take effect.
[Amended 11-27-2023 by Ord. No. 30-2023]
C. The limitations in rental increases set forth above shall be retroactive
to February 1, 1975, and any rents increased on or after that date
shall be reduced to reflect an increase of no more than that allowed
under this section. Any moneys paid over and above the allowable rent
for any apartment shall be credited to the tenant through a reduction
in rent in the month following enactment of this section; or, in the
case of a tenant who has moved, the excess moneys paid will be sent
to the former tenant in the form of a check within 30 days of enactment
of this section.
D. All limitations on rental increases as applied to housing space under Subsections
A,
B and
C of this section also apply as limitations on rental increases for parking spaces. All notice requirements, time limitations and other applicable duties or obligations of the landlord to the tenant as set forth in this chapter are hereby made applicable to increases in rent for parking spaces.
E. Each landlord is required to complete a rental increase application and pay a nonrefundable application fee to the City. The City will not process any application until the landlord: 1) submits the completed application; 2) pays the nonrefundable application fee; and 3) delivers the notice to quit, under §
218-12, to the City's Rent Control Office. The nonrefundable application fee shall be an amount equal to $5 multiplied by each unit owned by an owner or the owner's agent seeking an increase.
[Amended 4-9-2018 by Ord.
No. 9-2018]
F. The landlord shall have a registered rent roll with the Department
of Property Maintenance to qualify for any rental increase. The landlord
shall file the registered rent roll annually. Any rental increase
application not in compliance with this subsection will automatically
be denied.
[Amended 11-27-2023 by Ord. No. 30-2023]
G. Pursuant to §
159-1 et seq. of the Code of the City of East Orange, the landlord shall file an updated rent roll within 30 days of any change to the rent roll. Any rental increase application not in compliance with this subsection will automatically be denied.
[Amended 11-27-2023 by Ord. No. 30-2023]
H. For a qualified senior tenant, said landlord, owner or agent of the
same shall not seek or demand an increase in rent which exceeds 2%
of the rent charged during the preceding twelve-month period. In apartments
that contain multiple persons, the 2% cap shall only apply if a senior
qualified tenant is identified on the lease as tenant in the subject
apartment.
[Added 5-14-2018 by Ord.
No. 24-2018]
[Amended 4-9-2018 by Ord.
No. 9-2018]
A. Any owner, landlord or agent or employee of a landlord seeking an
increase in rent shall give the affected tenant written notice of
termination of the existing lease or tenancy (commonly called "notice
to quit") 60 days prior to the increase. Said notice shall have annexed
thereto and delivered simultaneously a written and signed statement
setting forth the following data:
(1) The name and address of the tenant and the apartment number.
(2) The date the tenant's existing lease began or the date the tenant
took possession of the premises.
(3) The present rent of the tenant.
(4) The date of the last increase in rent prior to the notice of increase.
(5) The actual dollar amount of the proposed increase.
(6) The amount of the proposed increase in terms of percentage.
B. No application will be processed until all requirements highlighted
under this chapter are satisfied by an owner or such owner's agent
seeking an increase. The owner or owner's agent seeking an increase
must attach the notice, and proof of service of such notice, to the
application in order for the application to be considered.
[Amended 11-27-2023 by Ord. No. 30-2023]
[Added 4-9-2018 by Ord.
No. 9-2018]
A. This section shall be consistent with the terms highlighted under
the truth-in-renting statement.
B. The Truth-in-Renting Act requires the distribution of the truth-in-renting
statement to all tenants with a rental term of at least one month
living in residences with more than two dwelling units (or more than
three if the landlord occupies one).
C. Each landlord shall provide a copy of the current truth-in-renting
statement to each tenant when a lease is entered into, and shall make
available the current statement in the building where the tenants
can easily review it.
D. Each landlord shall keep documentation or receipts verifying the
distribution of the truth-in-renting statement to each new tenant.
A signature from each tenant is required for verification of the distribution
of the most current version of the truth-in-renting statement.
[Amended 7-24-2023 by Ord. No. 15-2023]
E. Each landlord who does not properly distribute the truth-in-renting
statement is subject to a penalty of up to $100 for each offense.
Enforcement of this section is handled through the Superior Court,
Special Civil Part, Landlord-Tenant Section of the county where the
building is located or of the county where the defendant resides.
All technical data presented to the Rent Control Board pursuant to §§
218-16 and
218-17 of this chapter shall be reviewed and investigated by a professional designated by the Office of the Mayor.
All required notices hereinabove mentioned, except as otherwise
provided, may at the option of the landlord be either hand-delivered
and personally served by the landlord or his agents and employees
or delivered by certified mail, return receipt requested. In any event,
the burden of proof of actual delivery shall be on the landlord.
[Amended 4-9-2018 by Ord.
No. 9-2018]
A. A willful
violation of any provision of this chapter, including but not limited
to the willful filing with the Rent Control Board of any material
misstatement of fact, shall be punishable by a fine of not less than
$300 and not more than $2,000 per day and imprisonment for not more
than 120 days, or by both fine and imprisonment. A violation affecting
more than one leasehold shall be considered a separate violation as
to each leasehold. All violations of this chapter shall be prosecuted
in the Municipal Court of the City of East Orange upon a complaint
and summons signed by either the affected tenant, his authorized agent,
the Chairman of the Rent Control Board or its agent(s) or the Rent
Regulation Officer.
B. The City of East Orange adopts the State of New Jersey's Reprisal
Law, which prohibits a landlord from retaliating against a tenant
exercising a legal right under the law. This section shall be consistent
with the terms highlighted under said law, N.J.S.A. 2A:42-10.10 et
seq.
The owner of any building or structure who seeks to convert
any premises shall, prior to his filing of the application for registration
of conversion with the Department of Community Affairs, notify the
Rent Regulation Officer of his intention to so file.
Protected tenancy status shall not be applicable to any eligible
tenant until such time as the owner has filed his conversion recording.
The protected tenancy status shall automatically apply as soon as
a tenant receives notice of eligibility and the landlord files his
conversion recording.
[Amended 11-27-2023 by Ord. No. 30-2023]
Any owner seeking to convert any premises pursuant to this chapter
shall, upon presentation to the Rent Control Board of the required
materials under this chapter for notification to be given to the tenant,
shall pay to the East Orange Rent Control Board the sum of $100 for
each unit being converted.
[Amended 11-27-2023 by Ord. No. 30-2023]
Tenants of a multidwelling unit may present to the Rent Control
Board a written petition signed by a majority of the tenants and consented
to by the landlord of the property agreeing to a specific rent surcharge
for a specific purpose or project. Said petition shall provide for
the landlord's permission to permit the tenants' representative to
review the expenditures involved for the particular purpose or project
surcharge. Upon approval by the Rent Control Board, the cost shall
be a surcharge and become a part of all the tenants' rents in the
property whether the individual tenant executed the petition or not.
Each dwelling unit shall be considered a single tenant for the purposes
of this section. If the aforementioned surcharge is approved by the
Rent Control Board, the surcharges shall run for a period of one year.
Said surcharge shall be renewed for an additional year unless a petition
for discontinuance of the surcharge is signed by a majority of the
tenants and filed with the Rent Control Board at least 60 days prior
to the expiration date of the approval order of the Rent Control Board.
If a landlord is found to have been in violation of §§
218-8B,
218-9,
218-10,
218-11,
218-12 and
218-14, then the tenant shall have a remedy to have the rent calculated in accordance with the last registered rent, plus the applicable percentage increase for each year as provided for in this chapter. [Example: Current tenant, year 2010: last registered rent is $600 in 2008. Tenant's rents shall be calculated at $648 for 2010. New tenant, year 2010: last registered rent at $600 in 2008. Tenant's rents shall be calculated at $648 for 2010 ($600 plus 4% for 2009 and 5% for 2010) if a five-percent increase is deemed the appropriate new tenant increase pursuant to the provisions of §
218-8B of this chapter.]
Prospectively, upon renewal of a lease or upon entering a new
lease, the landlord shall include a provision in the lease agreement
limiting fees for payment of rent by the tenant more than five days
late to a maximum of $50 and limiting fees for bounced checks to a
maximum of $35.
[Added 5-14-2018 by Ord.
No. 24-2018; amended 12-9-2019 by Ord. No. 46-2019]
A. Restrictions
on landlords.
(1) A landlord shall not enter into a residential lease, renewal or extension
agreement that limits the acceptable medium of rental payment. As
such, tenants may pay their rent via cash, personal check or money
order. Tenants may agree to remit payment in alternative mediums such
as debit cards, credit cards or via a cash payment application, provided
that the tenant does not incur any additional costs or fees in effectuating
the payment. Irrespective of the medium of payment, this provision
shall not be construed so as to require a landlord to accept payment
via a credit card, debit card or cash payment application.
(2) Landlords are also prohibited from entering into a residential lease,
renewal or extension agreement that requires the tenant to make rental
payments at any physical location outside of the building in which
the tenant resides. This provision shall not be construed so as to
prevent provisions that require the payment of rent via mail.
(3) A landlord may refuse to accept payment from a tenant via a personal
check if the tenant has provided the landlord with checks drawn on
accounts with insufficient funds on at least two prior occasions.
B. All
persons that lease dwelling units within the City of East Orange shall
provide rental receipts to all tenants reflecting rent that has been
paid. Receipts shall be provided either via email, regular mail or
hand delivery within seven days of the receipt of payment. They shall
also keep a record of said receipts on file at their listed business
address for review upon request by the rental officer.
If any section, subsection, paragraph, sentence or any other
part of this chapter is adjudged unconstitutional or invalid, such
judgment shall not affect, impair or invalidate the remainder of this
chapter, but shall be confined in its effect to the section, subsection,
paragraph, sentence or other part of this chapter directly involved
in the controversy in which such judgment shall have been rendered.
This chapter, being necessary for the welfare of the City of
East Orange and its inhabitants, shall be liberally construed to effectuate
the purposes thereof.