[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Board of Aldermen of the Town
of Dover: Art. I, 3-13-1979 as Ord. No. 5-1979.
Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 3-13-1979 as Ord. No. 5-1979]
For purposes of this Article, the following words shall have the following
meanings:
Any building or structure or portion thereof or mobile homes and/or
land appurtenant thereto rented or offered for rent or lease to three or more
tenants or family units for living purposes. Exempt from this Article are
motels, hotels or other premises primarily serving transient guests. Also
exempt from this Article are public housing and buildings, structures and
mobile home parks containing fewer than three housing units.
An owner, sublessor, assignee or other person receiving or entitled
to receive rent or any agent of a person receiving or entitled to receive
rent.
The amount of consideration, including any bonus, benefit or gratuity,
demanded or received by virtue of any agreement between the parties whereby,
upon the payment of a certain sum by the tenant, the landlord allows to him
the peaceful and quiet enjoyment of the use and occupation of the housing
space for that time period. If the parties agree that "rent" is to be paid
upon some interval other than one month, then that shall be construed as an
alternative method of payment, and the monthly "rent" shall be calculated
by apportioning the "rent" so as to determine the sum due for the term of
one month.
Any month-by-month tenant or any tenant at will, or sufferance, or
any tenant having a lease for a term of less than one year.
In the event that the landlord is successful in the prosecution of a
tax appeal for the reduction of municipal taxes requiring the Town of Dover
to rebate certain funds, the tenants shall be entitled to and shall receive
from the landlord a refund of 65% of said tax reduction after deducting a
sum not to exceed 20% of the total moneys required to be rebated by the Town
of Dover to the landlord as a result of the judgment, said allowance being
designed to compensate the landlord for the expenses in connection with the
appeal.
The rebate to each tenant shall be computed by first determining the
percentage of each tenant's annual rent to the total rents for the complex.
Each tenant's rebate shall then be fixed by taking his percentage of
the total rents times the amount of tax reduction, which the landlord is required
to remit under the terms of this Article. In the event that persons who were
tenants for the tax year for which the tax reduction occurs are no longer
tenants and the landlord cannot determine their whereabouts, said tenants'
share of the reduction shall lapse and become part of the tax reduction to
be divided among all tenants.
The landlord in all cases under the terms of this Article shall make
the required tax rebates to his tenants within 30 days after receipt from
the Town of Dover of the sum due the landlord under any judgment obtained
by the landlord for a tax reduction. The landlord shall file with the Clerk
of the town details of the computations prepared by the landlord under the
terms of this Article, together with proof of payment of all sums due tenants
under the terms of this Article, within 60 days of receipt by the landlord
of the sums that may be due the landlord under any tax appeal proceeding.
Failure of the landlord to comply with any of the terms of this Article
shall constitute a violation of this Article punishable by one or more of
the following: a fine not exceeding $1,000, a term of imprisonment not exceeding
90 days or a period of community service not exceeding 90 days. Failure to
remit the sums due each tenant of the landlord's apartment complex shall,
for purposes of the enforcement of this Article, be considered a separate
violation as to each tenant.
For purposes of this Article, the Town Clerk is hereby
designated as the enforcement officer.
