[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Council of the Township of Livingston
as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 11-5-1979 as §§ 15-7 to 15-20 of the 1979
Revised General Ordinances]
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings
indicated:
Any building, or structure, or part thereof, whether used for human
habitation or otherwise, and includes any outhouses, and appurtenances belonging
thereto or usually enjoyed therewith.
The holder or holders of the title in fee simple.
All individuals, associations and corporations who have interests
of record in a building and any who are in actual possession thereof.
The Construction Official, Fire Chief, Chief of Police or Health
Officer of the Township.
The Township Manager.
It has been found and declared that there exists in the Township building
or buildings, or parts thereof, which are unfit for human habitation or occupancy
or use, due to dilapidation, defects increasing the hazards of fire, accidents
or other calamities, lack of ventilation, light or sanitation facilities,
or due to other conditions rendering such building or buildings, or part thereof,
unsafe, or unsanitary, or dangerous or detrimental to the health or safety
or otherwise inimical to the welfare of the residents of the Township. It
is therefore necessary to exercise the police powers of the Township to repair,
close or demolish, or cause or require the repairing, closing or demolition
of such building or buildings, or part thereof, in the manner provided, pursuant
to the statute applicable thereto.
The Manager is hereby designated and appointed as the public officer
to exercise the powers prescribed by this article.
Whenever a petition is filed with the public officer by a public authority or by at least five residents of the Township charging that a building is unfit for human habitation or occupancy or use, or whenever it appears to the public officer that any building is unfit for human habitation or occupancy or use, the public officer shall make a preliminary investigation. If the investigation discloses a basis for such charges, he shall issue and cause to be served, upon the owner and parties in interest of such building, a complaint stating the charges in that respect. The complaint shall also contain a notice that a hearing will be held before the public officer (or his designated agent) at a place therein fixed not less than seven days nor more than 30 days after the serving of said complaint. The notice shall state that the owner and parties in interest have the right to file an answer to the complaint and to appear in person, or otherwise, and give testimony at the place and time fixed in the complaint; and that the rules of evidence prevailing in the courts shall not be controlling in hearings before the public officer. The complaint shall be served in the manner provided in § 162-7 hereof.
After notice and hearing, the public officer may determine that the
building under consideration is unfit for human habitation or occupancy or
use if he finds that conditions exist in such building which are dangerous
or injurious to the health or safety of the occupants of such building, the
occupants of neighboring buildings or other residents of the Township. Such
conditions may, among other things, include the following:
A.
If, after the notice and hearing, the public officer
determines that the building under consideration is unfit for human habitation
or occupancy or use, he shall state in writing his findings of fact in support
of such determination. He shall then issue and cause to be served, upon the
owner thereof and parties in interest, an order. The order shall require the
repair, alteration or improvement of the said building to be made by the owner,
within a reasonable time, which time shall be set forth in the order, and
it shall give the option to the owner to vacate or have the said building
vacated and closed within the time set forth in the order.
B.
If the building is in such a condition as to make it dangerous to the health and safety of persons on or near the premises, and the owner fails to repair, alter or improve said building within the time specified in the order described in Subsection A hereof, then the owner shall be required by a further order to remove or demolish said building within a reasonable time as specified in the said order of removal.
Complaints, notices and orders issued by the public officer pursuant
to this article shall be served upon persons either personally or by registered
mail. If the whereabouts of such persons is unknown and the same cannot be
ascertained by the public officer in the exercise of reasonable diligence,
and he shall make an affidavit to that effect, then the serving of such complaint,
notice or order upon such persons may be made by publishing the same once
in a newspaper printed and published in the Township or, in the absence of
such newspaper, in one printed and published in the county and circulating
in the Township. A copy of such complaint, notice or order shall be posted
in a conspicuous place on the premises affected by the complaint notice or
order. A copy of such complaint, notice or order shall be duly recorded with
the Register's Office of Essex County.
A.
If the owner fails to comply with an order to repair,
alter or improve, or, at the option of the owner, to vacate and close the
building, the public officer may cause such building to be repaired, altered
or improved, or to be vacated and closed. The public officer may cause to
be posted on the main entrance to any building so closed a placard with the
following words, "This building is unfit for human habitation or occupancy
or use; the use or occupation of this building is prohibited and unlawful."
B.
If the owner fails to comply with an order to remove
or demolish the building, the public officer may cause such building to be
removed or demolished, or he may contract for the removal or demolition thereof
after advertisement for, and receipt of, bids therefor.
A.
The amount of the cost of filing of legal papers, expert
witnesses' fees, search fees and advertising charges incurred in the
course of any proceeding taken under this article determined in favor of the
Township; and such repairs, alterations or improvements, or vacating and closing,
or removal or demolition, as the case may be, shall be a municipal lien against
the real property upon which such cost was incurred. If the building is removed
or demolished by the public officer, he shall sell the materials of such building.
The proceeds of any sale of such materials or any sum derived from any contract
for the removal or demolition of the building shall be credited against the
cost of the removal or demolition thereof, including the clearance and, if
necessary, leveling of the site. If there are no such credits, or if the total
sum of such costs exceeds the total of such credits, a detailed statement
of the aforesaid costs and the amount so due shall be filed as a lien certificate
with the Township Tax Assessor and a copy thereof shall be sent forthwith
to the owner by registered mail.
B.
If the total of the credits exceeds such costs, the balance remaining
shall be deposited by the public officer in the Superior Court of New Jersey
and shall be secured in such manner as may be directed by such court. The
proceeds shall be disbursed according to the order or judgment of such court
to the persons found entitled thereto by final order or judgment of the court.
Any owner or party in interest may, within 30 days from the date of the filing
of the lien certificate, proceed in a summary manner in the Superior Court
of New Jersey to contest the reasonableness of the amount or the accuracy
of the costs set forth in the lien certificate.
The public officer is hereby authorized to exercise such powers as may
be necessary or convenient to carry out and effectuate the purposes and provisions
of this article, including the following powers, in addition to others herein
granted:
A.
To investigate building conditions in the Township in
order to determine which buildings therein are unfit for human habitation
or occupancy or use.
B.
To administer oaths and affirmations; examine witnesses
and receive evidence.
C.
To enter upon premises for the purpose of making examinations,
provided that such entries shall be made in such manner as to cause the least
possible inconvenience to the persons in possession.
D.
To delegate any of his functions and powers under this
article to such assistants and other employees as he may require in the performance
of his duties.
Any person aggrieved by an order issued by the public officer under
this article shall be entitled to the remedies prescribed by N.J.S.A. 40:48-2.8.
The Township Manager shall prepare an estimate of the annual expenses
or costs to provide the equipment, personnel and supplies necessary for periodic
examinations and investigations of the buildings in the Township, for the
purpose of determining the fitness of such buildings for human habitation
or occupancy or use, and for the enforcement and administration of this article,
and submit same to the Council. The Council shall make such appropriations
from its revenues as it may deem necessary, for the purposes of this article.
The Council may accept and apply grants or donations to assist it in carrying
out the provisions of this article.
A.
This article shall not be construed to impair or limit
in any way the power of the Township to define and declare public nuisances
and to cause their removal or abatement by summary proceedings or otherwise,
nor is anything in this article intended to limit the authority of the enforcing
agency or construction official under the State Uniform Construction Code
Act, (N.J.S.A. 52:27D-119 et seq.) or any rules and regulations adopted thereunder.
B.
If an actual and immediate danger to life is posed by
the threatened collapse of any fire-damaged or other structurally unsafe building,
the public officer may, after taking such measures as may be necessary to
make such building temporarily safe, seek a judgment in summary proceedings
for the demolition thereof.
Nothing in this article shall be construed to abrogate or impair the
powers of any department of the Township to enforce any provisions of its
charter or its ordinances or regulations, or to prevent or punish violations
thereof; and the powers conferred by this article shall be in addition and
supplemental to the powers conferred by any law or ordinance.
[Adopted 11-5-1979 as §§ 15-21 to 15-22 of the 1979
Revised General Ordinances]
A.
CONTRACTED or AGREED
As used in this article, the following terms shall have
the meanings indicated:
Includes a written, verbal or implied contract or agreement. The
presence of heating outlets, radiators, risers, or returns in any hall or
apartment, or subdivision of a house shall be prima facie evidence of an implied
contract or agreement.
B.
Wherever a building or any portion thereof is heated
or is to be heated by means of a furnace, boiler or other apparatus under
the control of the owner's lessee, sublessee, assignee or the agent of
any of them, he shall be deemed to have contracted, agreed, undertaken or
to be bound to furnish heat in accordance with the provisions of this article.
In buildings, designed to be occupied, or occupied, as residences by
two or more families and when the owners have agreed to supply heat, that
from October 1 of each year to the next succeeding May 1, every unit of dwelling
space and every habitable room therein shall be maintained at least at 68°
F. whenever the outside temperature falls below 55° during daytime hours
from 6:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. At times other than those specified, interiors
of units of dwelling space shall be maintained at least at 55° F. whenever
the outside temperature falls below 40°. In meeting the aforesaid standards,
the owner shall not be responsible for heat loss and the consequent drop in
the interior temperature arising out of action by the occupants in leaving
windows or doors open to the exterior of the building. The owner shall be
obligated to supply required fuel or energy and maintain the heating system
in good operating condition so that it can supply heat as required herein
notwithstanding any contractual provision seeking to delegate or shift responsibility
to the occupant or third person, except that the owner shall not be required
to supply fuel or energy for heating purposes to any unit where the occupant
thereof agrees in writing to supply heat to his own unit of dwelling space
and the said unit is served by its own exclusive heating equipment for which
the source of heat can be separately computed and billed.
