[HISTORY: Adopted by the City Council of
the City of Trenton 9-7-1967 as § 12-20 of the Revised General
Ordinances. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Housing standards — See Ch. 132.
The City Council of the City of Trenton finds
that:
A.
There has existed for many years a shortage of affordable
rental housing in the City of Trenton.
B.
Without some controls, such shortage will lead to
excessive and unconscionable rents and rent increases.
C.
In order to provide appropriate controls, the City
Council has enacted ordinances to control rent and rent increases
and to establish a Rent Stabilization Board to oversee such controls.
D.
It is necessary for the protection of the health,
welfare and safety of the residents of the City that the previously
imposed controls on rents effective prior to January 1, 1997, be continued
uninterrupted and that rents be rolled back to the levels in existence
on December 31, 1996, and that rental provisions inconsistent with
the requirements of this chapter contained in any agreements entered
in subsequent to December 31, 1996, be invalidated.
As used in this chapter, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
A permanent improvement that is reasonably expected to last
more than one year. The improvement must benefit the dwelling and
must be subject to allowances and depreciation under the United States
Internal Revenue Code, except that any improvement in a Historic District
established by the City, other than painting, may be considered a
capital improvement according to the Rent Stabilization Ordinance,
without regard to its status under federal or state tax law.
Any use for nonresidential business activity such as retail,
office, warehouse or similar uses. Whenever an entire building is
rented to a single tenant for a combination of commercial and residential
uses under a single lease without an allocation of the rental between
the commercial and residential portions, the entire tenancy shall
be deemed to be commercial and exempted under the definition of "dwelling."
The cost of an asset whose term of life is more than one
year, the expense of which shall be in accordance with the applicable
time schedules then in existence under the United States Internal
Revenue Code.
Any building or structure rented to one or more individuals
or households. Exempt from this chapter are owner-occupied one- and
two-family dwellings; public or other federally subsidized housing;
any motel, hotel or other premises primarily serving transient guests;
or any portion of a building or structure rented for commercial use.
Newly created housing units, whether through new construction or conversion
from nonresidential use and rented for the first time, are exempt,
and the initial rent may be established by the landlord without reference
to the provisions of this chapter. All subsequent changes in rent
in such units will be subject to the provisions of this chapter.
That portion of a dwelling rented or offered for rent for
living and dwelling purposes to one individual or household unit,
together with all privileges, services, furnishings, furniture, equipment,
facilities and improvements connected with the use or occupancy of
such portion of the property.
Any person who, under written or oral agreement, leases real
property to another either as lessor or sublessor. When used in relation
to petitions for rent increases, the term "landlord" shall include
any person who is either a contract purchaser or assignee of the landlord
regarding such real property that is the subject of the petition,
and who has the written consent of the landlord to petition the Rent
Stabilization Board for relief.
The sum of money actually charged as rent for the rental
unit calculated on the basis of one year's occupancy, whether or not
actually rented. The current fair market rental value of the unit
as determined by the Board shall be deemed to be the present annual
rental value of any unit not actually rented at the time in question.
The statistical index governing rent increases under this
chapter. The rent index shall be subject to change every six months
commencing with January 1 and July 1 of each year, and shall remain
unchanged during each six-month period. The rent index shall be computed
by taking the twelve-month average of the United States Housing Component
of the Consumer Price Index-U for Rent (Residential) immediately preceding
the beginning of each six-month period. For example: if the twelve-month
average of the United States Housing Component of the Consumer Price
Index-U for Rent (Residential) for the period of January 1 through
December 31, 1995, was 2.83%, then the rent index in effect for the
period January 1 through June 30, 1996, would be 2.83%. If the twelve-month
average of the United States Housing Component of the Consumer Price
Index-U for Rent (Residential) for the period July 1, 1995, through
June 30, 1996, is 2.90%, then the rent index for the six-month period
commencing July 1, 1996, will be 2.90%.
The total portion of a dwelling rented or offered for any
purposes or uses, including commercial, professional, industrial or
residential.
Any space in a dwelling, whether or not governed by this
chapter, offered for rent or actually rented as residential, commercial
or other space as a single, individual unit.
That portion of the total local real estate taxes assessed
against a dwelling which is allocable to each separate rental unit
as determined by reference to the following formula: divide the total
present tax assessment levied upon the entire dwelling by the sum
of the present annual rental value of every rental unit therein and
multiply the number thus obtained by the present annual rental value
of each unit.
A.
There is hereby created a Rent Stabilization Board
within the City of Trenton. The Board shall consist of seven members.
The makeup of the Board shall be two landlords, including for this
purpose managerial agents of the landlords, who own rental property
in the City; two tenants who live in the City; and three persons who
are neither landlord nor tenants in the City, and who shall be residents
of the City.
B.
Appointment of members and alternates.
(1)
The Mayor shall appoint the members of the Rent Stabilization
Board with the advice and consent of City Council; two appointees
serving initial terms which shall expire on December 31, 1997, three
appointees serving initial terms which shall expire on December 31,
1998; and two appointees serving initial terms which shall expire
on December 31, 1999. Following the initial term of each appointee
the term of each set on the Board shall be three years. Board members
shall continue to serve after the expiration of their respective terms
until their successor has been appointed and qualified. All members
of the Board shall serve without compensation.
(2)
The Mayor shall also appoint three alternate members
to the Rent Stabilization Board with the advice and consent of City
Council, one of whom shall be a landlord, one of whom shall be a tenant;
and one of whom shall be neither a landlord nor a tenant. Alternate
members shall satisfy the residency requirements of regular members.
Each alternate member shall be appointed for a term of one year and
shall serve upon the Board without compensation.
(3)
The Board shall be assisted in its operations by a
City employee to be designated as the Rent Stabilization Board administrative
officer, whose duties shall include the initial review of all petitions
and other pleadings addressed to the Board for compliance with the
procedural rules of this chapter and the procedural rules adopted
by the Board. The administrative officer shall also be responsible
for the preparation of all properly filed pleadings for hearing by
the Board. The administrative officer shall also provide information
and guidance to any landlord or tenant seeking guidance with respect
to the procedural requirement of his/her case and shall take charge
generally of all administrative matters necessary to the smooth and
efficient operation of the Board.
(4)
If, in the opinion of the Board, the calendar of hearings
should exceed the capacity of the Board to give proper attention to
each case in timely fashion, or that a case is of such a nature that
it deems it appropriate, it shall have the power to assign cases to
a hearing officer, who shall be knowledgeable in law, accounting,
real estate or related matters, and who shall preside over hearings,
receive evidence and report his/her findings of fact and conclusions
of law, in writing, to the Board which, after review of such findings
of fact and conclusions of law and the documentary evidence, shall
either approve or modify the findings and enter a final ruling consistent
with the evidence, all within such time periods and according to such
procedural rules as the Board shall prescribe. In so doing, members
of the Board shall have access to a transcript or tape recording of
the testimony and all documentary evidence received by the hearing
officer.
The Rent Stabilization Board shall study local
problems and issues relating to landlord-tenant relations, supply
information to the public and advise the Mayor and City Council from
time to time or as requested on any such issue as may concern the
conduct of City government. The Board shall further be responsible
for establishing reasonable rules for the conduct of its own business,
including the election of its officers, and shall recommend to the
Mayor and City Council rules, regulations and ordinances necessary
and desirable to supplement and to implement the purposes of this
chapter. In addition to the powers expressly granted thereby, the
Board shall have all other powers necessary and proper to carry out
and execute the purposes of this chapter. The funds necessary to establish
and sustain the activities of the Board shall be provided by the City
from time to time in such amounts as are appropriated by the City
Council.
A.
Any rental increase at a time other than at the expiration
of a lease or termination of a periodic lease shall be void unless
provided for in the terms of such lease agreement or by mutual agreement
between the landlord and the tenant. Notwithstanding any such agreement,
any rental increase in excess of that authorized by the provisions
of this chapter shall be void and may be the subject of action by
the Board.
B.
No landlord shall be eligible for any rent increase
requiring approval by the Board or by a hearing officer designated
by the Board as provided by this chapter, except where the landlord
provides evidence acceptable to the Board that no delinquent property
taxes or sewer and water payments are owing on the property which
is the subject of the proposed rent increase.
At the expiration or termination of a formal
lease or a periodic tenancy, no landlord may receive a percentage
increase in rent for that housing space from any tenant which is greater
than the rent index based upon the rent index in effect 90 days prior
to the expiration or termination of the lease. For a periodic tenant
whose base sum shall be less than one year, such tenant shall not
be cause to pay any increase in any rent based upon a rent index more
than once during any twelve-month period, and may only be caused to
pay a rent increase based upon the rent index in effect 90 days prior
to the effective date of the proposed increase.
A.
In accordance with the procedural provisions of this chapter and such procedural regulations as may be adopted by the Board, a landlord may receive an increase in excess of that permitted by § 222-6 above in the rent of any dwelling unit because of a current increase in local property taxes directly affecting that dwelling, but only when such taxes increase by a percentage greater than the applicable rent index percentage increase last applied to the dwelling unit under § 222-6 over the twelve-month period immediately preceding.
B.
The increase permitted under this section shall be computed in the following manner: the percentage increase in the rent index used in § 222-6 shall be subtracted from the percentage increase in property taxes for the dwelling. The percentage difference shall then be multiplied by the appropriate unit tax burden to determine the amount of increase allowable as a result of a property tax increase. If the percentage increase in the rent index used in this computation is greater than the percentage increase in property tax, no increase in rent shall be permitted. The landlord, prior to the imposition of any such increase in rent, shall notify the tenant in the manner prescribed in § 222-14 hereinafter of his/her intentions and shall provide a clear statement of the manner in which the increase was calculated.
C.
No rent increase under this section may take effect
until or unless the landlord has documented the increase on a form
which the Board shall prescribe and make available, a copy of which
form shall be completed in full and filed with the Board and copies
served on all tenants affected by the rent increase prior to the effective
date of the increase.
A.
In the event a tax appeal is taken by the landlord
and the landlord is successful in such appeal and the taxes are reduced,
or if the taxes on the property are reduced as a result of any other
circumstance, whether or not at the initiative of the landlord, the
tenant shall receive 50% of the reduction as applied to his/her unit
tax burden after deducting all expenses incurred by the landlord in
prosecuting such appeal. In the event taxes are decreased by virtue
of any other circumstances, 50% of the benefit of the decrease shall
be credited to each rental unit in proportion to its unit tax burden.
B.
The landlord shall notify any tenants eligible for
such a reduction in rent of the total decrease in property taxes resulting
from such appeal or other circumstances, and the amount of the decrease
to which each tenant is entitled within 30 days of the landlord receiving
formal notification of the decrease. Such notification shall be filed
with the Board. The rent reduction shall be reflected in the first
rental payment coming due from the tenant after 30 days from the date
on which the landlord received formal notification of the decrease
in taxes.
C.
In the event that the landlord fails to provide for the appropriate rent reduction in a timely fashion, as set forth in Subsection B above, the Board may determine the amount owed to the tenant and order its immediate payment with a penalty that the Board may impose at its discretion, but not in excess of 20% of the amount owed.
A.
In accordance with the procedural provision of this section and such procedural regulations as may be adopted by the Board, a landlord may receive an increase exceeding the limitation of § 222-6 above in the rent of any dwelling unit because of a current increase in local sewer and water charges directly affecting his/her dwelling only when such charges increase by a percentage greater than the applicable rent index percentage increase last applied to the dwelling unit, pursuant to § 222-6, over the twelve-month period immediately preceding. The increase permissible under this section shall be computed in the following manner:
(1)
Where the increase applies to a single unit, or where all of the units to which the increase applies contain the same number of bedrooms, the increase shall be applied as in § 222-7.
(2)
Where the increase applies to a building containing more than one unit and where units in such building contain different numbers of bedrooms, the landlord shall total the number of bedrooms in the building and divide the number of bedrooms in each unit by that total in order to obtain the pro rata share for each unit. The landlord shall allocate the increase calculated as in § 222-7 among the units in the building according to the pro rata share of each as so determined.
B.
No sewer or water charge increase under this section
may take effect until or unless the landlord has documented the increase
on a form which the Board shall prescribe and make available, a copy
of which form shall be completed in full and filed with the Board
and copies served on all tenants affected by the increase prior to
the effective date of the increase.
A landlord may petition the Board to permit
an increase in rent by an amount exceeding all other limitations imposed
hereby upon one or more of the following grounds:
A.
Present rents are insufficient to enable the landlord
to maintain the dwelling unit in conformity with local or state housing
codes or other appropriate legal requirements; provided, however,
that no such increase shall be approved in the absence of clear and
convincing evidence that, despite diligent efforts and reasonable
measures to economize within financial constraints affecting the operation
and management of the dwelling, the necessary funding cannot be provided
without resort to a rental increase.
B.
Present rents are insufficient to enable the landlord to satisfy reasonable mortgage or other normal and customary financial obligations directly related to the normal maintenance and operation of the dwelling; provided, however, that on the basis of the same proofs that are required under Subsection A above, as well as documentation of the particular financing provisions underlying the petition, and that an increase under this Subsection B shall only be approved where the Board finds that resort to rental increases is necessary to prevent a default in such obligations entered into in good faith, and not for the purpose of qualifying for an increase hereunder. The applicant for an increase under this section shall further have the burden of showing that the purchase price, mortgage terms and other financial obligations which form the basis for the request for an increase in rent are:
C.
The landlord has made or proposes to make capital
improvements or service improvements to the dwelling which directly
or indirectly have or will have a substantial effect upon the dwelling
unit for which the increase is sought. The landlord shall compute
the average cost of the improvement per year of useful life by dividing
the cost of the completed capital improvement by the number of years
of useful life of the improvement as claimed by the landlord for income
tax depreciation purposes. The amount of the monthly increase which
a landlord may charge shall be prorated among all tenants benefiting
from such improvement by dividing 1/12 of the annual cost of the capital
improvement by the total rent roll of the units affected by the improvement
in the dwelling, occupied or unoccupied. No tenant who receives no
benefit from the improvement shall be liable for a capital improvement
increase, and no tenant who benefits from an improvement shall be
liable for an increase exceeding the percentage of rent paid by him/her
as calculated above, and all such rent increases shall be charged
for no period greater than the depreciation period of such improvements.
The landlord shall notify the tenants at least 60 days before the
effective date of the increase. The notice shall include the amount
of increase. The tenant may request a hearing within 30 days of receipt
of notice from the landlord. Any increase may be approved prior to
improvements being made, but the increase shall not take effect until
after the improvements have been completed.
D.
Any substantial hardship created by circumstances
beyond the control of the landlord or his/her agent which arose or
substantially changed during the term of the lease or period of tenancy
under which the present rent is fixed.
E.
As a result of the landlord's past failure to impose the rent increases permitted under § 222-6, the rent is now significantly below prevailing market rents for units of comparable size and location. Where the Board finds that such is the case, the landlord shall compute the maximum rent that would be in effect if all increases had been made as permitted under § 222-6, and shall submit documentation of the base rent used for purposes of this showing, and the calculations made to determine the maximum rent that would be in effect at the time of the petition. Where the Board finds that such documentation is in order, it shall permit maximum rent, provided that:
(1)
If the increase from the current rent is less than
15%, the increase may be imposed at the next anniversary of the tenant's
occupancy.
(2)
If the increase is more than 15% but less than 30%,
it shall take place in two equal annual installments.
(3)
If the increase is more than 30% but less than 50%,
it shall take place in three equal annual installments.
(4)
If the increase is more than 50% but less than 65%,
it shall take place in four equal annual installments.
(5)
If the increase is more than 65% but less than 80%,
it shall take place in five equal annual installments.
(6)
If the increase is 80% or more, it shall take place
in such number of years as the Board shall prescribe.
A.
No landlord shall impose upon any tenant an increase in rent exceeding the amount permitted under §§ 222-6, 222-7 and 222-9 without first obtaining the approval of the Board by way of petition. It shall be within the discretion of the Board to fix the effective date of any approved increase at any reasonable time prior to or after the determination of the Board; provided, however, that in no case shall the Board permit any increase applied for under § 222-10C to become effective prior to the completion of the capital project, which completion shall be certified to the Board upon notice to the tenants and which certificate and notice shall contain an accurate statement of the total cost of the improvement and the sum allocated to each unit of the dwelling and, provided that, except as explicitly provided in this section, the Board shall not have the power to ignore or supersede the terms of a lease agreement, written or oral, with respect to rent increase or any other condition of tenancy. Nothing herein shall limit the authority of the Board to order a landlord to rescind any rent increase illegally or improperly imposed and to repay such increase to the tenant with or without interest on such terms and conditions that the Board shall impose.
B.
Notwithstanding the language above, no rent increase granted by the Board shall be made retroactive to a date prior to the determination of the Board where the landlord previously imposed the increase, in whole or in part, without Board approval and has been the subject of an order disallowing such increase pursuant to § 222-12.
A.
A tenant may petition the Board pursuant to the rules of procedure for an order disallowing an increase in rent proposed by the landlord pursuant to §§ 222-6, 222-7, 222-9 and 222-10 upon one or more of the following grounds:
(1)
The landlord has failed to provide, during the term
of the current tenancy, essential, normal services to the tenant;
and/or the landlord has failed to maintain the dwelling in a safe,
sanitary or habitable condition during all or part of the term of
the tenancy.
(2)
An increase, as imposed or proposed, is calculated
improperly or without proper notice or in any other manner which violates
this chapter.
(3)
The proposed increase does not relate to a capital
or service improvement which substantially affects the tenant's housing
space directly or indirectly.
B.
Nothing in this or any other section shall prevent
any tenant of any dwelling unit subject to the provisions of this
chapter from bringing a petition to the Board where the tenant believes
that the landlord has illegally or improperly increased the rent of
the unit or reduced services to the unit, whether or not the landlord
has sought approval of such rent increase from the Board.
It shall be unlawful for any landlord to evict
or fail to renew the lease of any tenant or to take any other steps
whatsoever in reprisal regarding the performance of services or otherwise
because of a tenant's petition for an order disallowing a proposed
rent increase or because of the exercise of any other power or procedure
provided herein, or in order to compel, induce or encourage a tenant
to vacate the premises.
The Board shall hear and determine petitions
for an adjustment in rent for any individual dwelling unit subject
to this chapter according to the following rules of procedure or according
to regulations adopted by the Board with the approval of City Council
not inconsistent herewith:
A.
A landlord of any dwelling or a tenant of any dwelling
unit subject to this chapter may petition the Board for an adjustment
of the rent for any individual dwelling unit or units by first giving
notice, in writing, of the proposed filing of a petition for rent
adjustment and the precise form of relief requested, citing the appropriate
section of this chapter under which (s)he requests relief.
B.
A landlord shall serve notice upon the record tenant
of the affected dwelling unit by certified mail, return receipt requested,
addressed to him/her at the dwelling unit and by posting a copy of
the notice conspicuously in a central location within the dwelling.
A tenant shall mail such notice to the landlord by mail addressed
to him/her or his/her agent at the dwelling affected or at any other
known address of the landlord or his/her agent.
C.
Service shall be made or attempted no less than 10
days prior to the filing of the petition.
D.
A petition for rent adjustment shall be filed together
with an affidavit of service of proper notice with the secretary of
the Board. Upon receipt of a properly filed petition, the Board shall
cause the matter to be set down for a hearing and shall notify all
persons affected thereby of the time and place of the hearing.
E.
Every hearing shall be conducted by a quorum of the
Board consisting of a simple majority of the full Board membership
and which quorum shall also consist of at least one member who is
a landlord, one member who is a tenant and one member who is neither
a landlord nor tenant. Two or more petitions involving the same landlord,
in the discretion of the Board, may be consolidated for a single hearing.
The Board shall reduce its findings of fact and conclusions to writing
and shall serve such written opinion upon all parties and shall file
the original thereof with the City Clerk.
F.
Any party may appeal the final determination of the
Board to the court of proper jurisdiction.
G.
The failure of any party to a rent adjustment proceeding
to appear in defense of or in response to a petition shall not be
cause for the granting of the relief petitioned for; provided, however,
that the Board shall not be obligated to await the appearance of any
party failing to respond to a notice of a hearing and may proceed
to a hearing and determination upon whatever evidence is produced
before it.
H.
If the Board shall determine that a tenant has been
caused to pay excessive rents in excess of the limitations provided
herein, it shall incorporate in its final determination an order compelling
an appropriate reimbursement or credit to be made by the landlord.
I.
All rules, regulations, notices or other literature
for general informational purposes issued by the Board, or required
to be issued, or served by any landlord or tenant shall be written
in English and in Spanish.
J.
The Board shall have the authority to approve a petition
for a rent increase in an amount less than the entire amount sought
by the petition or, if the petition seeks relief in separate categories,
to approve or reject them individually.
During the term of this chapter, the landlord shall maintain the same standards of service, maintenance, furniture, furnishings and equipment in the housing space and dwelling as was provided or was required to be provided by law or lease at the date the lease was entered into. Any transfer from the landlord to the tenant of the costs or responsibilities for supplying essential services such as public utilities and heat shall be deemed a rental increase, the amount of which shall be determined by computing or estimating the average monthly costs of providing the same projected on the basis of current costs for such services or supplies and upon prior actual consumption rates to the extent known. It shall be the responsibility of the landlord to produce adequate records of prior costs and volumes equitably allocated for each rental unit for which such a transfer is sought. The projected amount of the increase in rent resulting from such transfer shall not exceed the amount resulting from application of the rent index permitted by § 222-6, except where the landlord has obtained approval of an increase greater than the index under the provisions of § 222-10.
A.
Nothing in this chapter shall restrict the owner of
a newly created unit, either through new construction, rehabilitation
of a previously uninhabitable structure or conversion of a nonresidential
structure, in the initial rent charged.
B.
Upon a previously occupied unit being vacated by its
tenant, the landlord may increase the rent charged for the unit for
the new tenant without application to the Board; provided, however,
that where the rent charged the new tenant exceeds the last rent charged
the previous tenant by more than 25%, the tenant shall have the right
to seek a reduction in the rent which shall be granted by the Board,
except where the landlord can demonstrate that the rent increase is
justified under the provisions of this chapter, or can demonstrate
that the previous tenancy was not based on an arms-length business
relationship.
A willful violation of any provisions of this chapter, including, but not limited to, the willful filing with the Board of any material misstatement of fact or any violation of an order duly issued by the Board, shall be punishable as provided in Chapter 1, Article III, General Penalty. A violation affecting more than one leasehold shall be considered a separate violation as to each leasehold.
This chapter being necessary for the welfare
of the City of Trenton and its inhabitants shall be liberally constructed
to effectuate the purposes thereof.
This chapter shall become effective upon final
adoption and approval as provided by law but, for the protection of
the health, welfare and safety of the residents of the City, in order
that the previously imposed controls on rents effective prior to January
1, 1997, continued uninterrupted it shall have retroactive effect
to January 1, 1997, and rents shall be rolled back to the levels in
existence on December 31, 1996, and any rental provisions inconsistent
with the requirements of this chapter contained in any agreements
entered into subsequent to December 31, 1996, are hereby invalidated.
[Added 5-21-2020 by Ord.
No. 20-38]
A.
LANDLORD
Definitions.
For this section, shall mean the person or persons who own
or purport to hold, or exercise control of, any building or project
in which there is rented or offered for rent housing space for living
or dwelling purposes under either a written or oral lease, provided
that this definition shall not include owner-occupied two-unit premises.
This definition shall include but not be limited to any multiple dwelling
subject to the Hotel and Multiple Dwelling Law, P.L. 1967, c. 76 (N.J.S.A.
55:13A-1 et seq.).
B.
Certificate of registration; filing, content. At the time of the
creation of a new tenancy, every landlord shall provide each occupant
or tenant in any one-dwelling unit rental or a two-dwelling unit nonowner
occupied rented housing space for living or dwelling purposes under
either a written or oral lease, and file with the Trenton City Clerk
or with such other municipal official as is designated by the Clerk,
or with the Bureau of Housing Inspection in the Department of Community
Affairs in the case of a multiple dwelling as defined in Section 3
of the Hotel and Multiple Dwelling Law (N.J.S.A. 55:13A-3), a certificate
of registration on forms prescribed by the Commissioner of Community
Affairs, which shall contain the following information:
(1)
The name and address of the record owner of the premises and the
record owner of the rental business if not the same person;
(2)
If a corporation, the name and address of the registered agent and
corporate officers;
(3)
If the address of any record owner is not located in the county in
which the premises are located, the name and address of a person who
resides in the county in which the premises are located and is authorized
to accept notices;
(4)
The name and address of the managing agent of the premises, if any;
(5)
The name and address of the individual employed by the record owner
to provide regular maintenance service, if any;
(6)
The name, address and telephone number of an individual representative
of the record owner who may be reached in the event of an emergency;
(7)
The name and address of every holder of a recorded mortgage on the
premises;
(8)
If fuel oil is used to heat the building and the landlord furnishes
the heat in the building, the name and address of the fuel oil dealer
servicing the building, and the grade of fuel oil used.
C.
Certificates of occupancy required.
(1)
Section 315-55 of the City Code states, "It should be unlawful to use or permit the use of any structure or part(s) thereof, either occupied by a new use or occupant or hereafter erected, altered, converted or enlarged wholly or in part, until a certificate of occupancy shall have been issued by the Construction Official, as stipulated by the Uniform Construction Code."
(2)
A copy of the landlord identity registration statement and certificate
of occupancy shall bear the initials or signature of the tenant and
be attached to all written leases as an appendix or physically provided
to the tenant in the absence of a written lease.
D.
Certificate; indexing, filing; inspection; fee; validation.
(1)
In the case of a filing under Section 2 of P.L. 1974, c. 50 (N.J.S.A.
46:8-28) with the Municipal Clerk, or with such other municipal official
as is designated by the Clerk, the Clerk or designated official shall
index and file the certificate and make it reasonably available for
public inspection. In the case of a filing with the Bureau of Housing
Inspection, the Bureau shall review the document and, if it is found
to conform with the law and any regulations promulgated thereunder,
validate the certificate and issue a certified copy to the landlord
and a certified copy to the Clerk of the municipality in which the
building or project is located. The Clerk shall index the validated
certificates, or forward them to the designated official for indexing,
and the certificates shall be made available as with the documents
required of one- and two-dwelling-unit nonowner-occupied premises.
(2)
No fee shall be required for the filing.
E.
Certificate of registration; amendment; filing. Every landlord required
to file a certificate of registration shall file an amended certificate
of registration within 20 days after any change in the information
needed to be included thereon. No fee shall be required for the filing
of an amendment except where the ownership of the premises is changed,
a $10 filing fee will apply.
F.
Enforcement and compliance. No license or permit or other certification
of compliance with this Code shall constitute a defense against any
violation of any other ordinance of the City of Trenton applicable
to any structure or premises, nor shall any provision herein relieve
any owner, operator or occupant from complying with any such other
regulation, nor any official of the City of Trenton from enforcing
any such other regulation.
G.
Penalty for violation; recovery to municipalities.
(1)
Any landlord who shall violate any provision of this section shall
be liable to a penalty of not more than $500 for each offense, recoverable
by a summary proceeding under the Penalty Enforcement Law (N.J.S.A.
2A:58-1 et seq.). The Superior Court, Law Division, Special Civil
Part in the county or the Municipal Court of the municipality in which
the premises are located shall have jurisdiction to enforce the said
penalty.
(2)
The Attorney General, the municipality in which the premises are
located, or any other person may institute the proceeding; where the
municipality or any other person other than the Attorney General initiates
the action, a recovered penalty should be remitted by the court to
the municipality in which the premises subject to the proceeding are
located.
(3)
Consequently, a tenant could also enforce this provision against
a landlord if the tenant is not given the requisite disclosure.
H.
Service by mail upon record owner. In any action in Municipal Court
by an occupant or tenant or to recover penalties against a landlord
who has not complied with this section and who cannot be served within
the county or municipality, the summons and complaint may be served
by certified and regular mail upon the record owner at the last address
listed in the tax records of either the municipality or county. Service
of such summons and complaint by certified and regular mail shall
be sufficient to bring the landlord before the Municipal Court even
if it were not served within the county or municipality in which the
court issuing the summons is located.
I.
Waiver of rights by agreement; unenforceability. Any written or oral
provision in any agreement whereby any tenant waives any rights under
this section shall be deemed against public policy and unenforceable.
