[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council of the Borough of Maywood
5-18-82 as Ord. No. 827. Amendments noted where applicable.]
The purpose of this chapter is to implement local responsibilities pursuant
to P.L. 1981, c. 266, commonly known as the "Senior Citizens and Disabled
Tenancy Act," hereinafter referred to as the "Act."[1] This chapter shall be construed as being consistent with said
law and shall further be construed with the definitions and intent of the
Act.
[1]
Editor's Note: See N.J.S.A. 2A: 18-61.22 et seq.
In the event that a landlord/sponsor determines an intent to convert
a rental property into a condominium, cooperative or similar conversion, he
shall submit to the Borough of Maywood the following (forms referred to herein
shall be those provided by the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs,
Division of Housing):
A.
A complete list of the names and addresses of all tenants
affected by the proposed conversion.
B.
Stamped envelopes addressed to each affected tenant.
C.
Sufficient copies of the notice of intent to convert
for each affected tenant.
D.
Sufficient copies of the tenant qualification requirement
for each affected tenant.
E.
Sufficient copies of the application form and fact sheet
for protected tenancies for all affected tenants.
A.
Upon receipt of the materials set forth in § 300-2 above, the Borough Clerk shall, within 10 days, mail a package of the relevant documents to each tenant affected by the proposed conversion.
B.
The Borough Clerk shall immediately notify the Rent Monitoring
Board of the Borough of Maywood of the filing of the landlord's notice
of intent and further notify the Board to arrange such meeting as may be necessary
to process the returns of applications as set forth below.
C.
Upon receiving applications for eligibility for protected
tenancy, the Borough Clerk shall forthwith forward the same to the Rent Monitoring
Board for processing.
D.
When the Rent Monitoring Board has compiled a list of
tenants who are qualified for tenancy protection under the Act, the Borough
Clerk shall immediately submit such list to the landlord and each qualified
tenant.
E.
Upon receipt of notification from the Rent Monitoring
Board of the list of tenants who have failed to qualify for protected tenancy
status, the Borough Clerk shall notify the landlord of the status of such
tenants and shall further notify each so disqualified tenant of the fact of
his disqualification and the reason therefor.
F.
The Borough Clerk shall assist the Rent Monitoring Board
in answering relevant inquiries from tenants and landlords or referring such
inquiries to the Department of Community Affairs of the State of New Jersey,
Bureau of Landlord/Tenant Relations.
The Act is not self-executing, and in order for tenants to enjoy the
protection provided for therein, they must assist the borough in determining
their eligibility for protection. To ensure that eligible tenants receive
such protection, tenants shall do the following:
A.
Upon receipt of the package relative to the proposed
conversion submitted to them by the Borough Clerk, each tenant shall carefully
examine the contents and pay particular attention to the application form
and fact sheet provided.
B.
Tenants should carefully read the fact sheet and application
form to determine their potential eligibility for protected tenancy status.
If individual tenants are in doubt as to their qualifications, they should
be encouraged to apply for a determination of eligibility by the administering
agency of the borough.
C.
Within 60 days after receipt of the aforesaid documents,
eligible tenants must fill out the application form and affidavit in support
of the application and return them to the Borough Clerk of Maywood at 459
Maywood Avenue, Maywood, New Jersey 07607. Failure to return the forms within
60 days may result in the loss of protected tenancy status where such status
may otherwise be applicable to the tenant.
D.
Tenants may obtain assistance in filling out the forms
by contacting either the Borough Clerk of the Borough of Maywood or the Rent
Monitoring Board.
E.
If tenants have not received notification of eligibility
or noneligibility for protected tenancy status within 45 days after the return
of the forms to the Borough Clerk. they are encouraged to contact the Borough
Clerk for determination of their status.
The Rent Monitoring Board is hereby designated the administering agency
for the Borough of Maywood, and it shall administer the terms, duties and
obligations of this Act pursuant to law and as follows:
A.
Upon receipt of notification from the Borough Clerk that
a proposed landlord conversion has been undertaken, the Board shall forthwith
schedule sufficient timely meetings in order to discharge its obligations
under the Act and this chapter.
B.
Within 30 days of the receipt of any tenant's application
for protected tenancy, the Board shall make a determination of whether or
not the tenant qualifies for such protected tenancy status. In the event that
the Board determines that a tenant does not so qualify, it shall set forth
in writing the reason for such disqualification.
C.
Immediately upon determining a tenant's qualification,
the Board shall notify the Borough Clerk of such determination and instruct
the Borough Clerk to immediately notify the landlord/sponsor of the tenant's
eligibility for protected tenancy status or the denial thereof.
D.
At the conclusion of the time period within which timely
applications may be filed by the tenants (the sixty-day period, as above),
the Board shall compile a list of qualified tenants and their unit numbers
or addresses and submit such list to the Borough Clerk, who shall send a copy
thereof to the landlord/sponsor.
E.
The Board shall notify the Borough Clerk when it has
concluded its review of applications for protected tenancy status and that
all qualified tenants in any given conversion have been determined.
F.
In determining the eligibility of tenants for protected
tenancy status under the Act, the following criteria shall be used, unless
otherwise provided by law:
(1)
A tenant or spouse must be 62 years of age or older as
of the date of recording of the document effecting conversions (master deed
or deed into a cooperative corporation). A tenant who is disabled also qualifies
if he or she is totally and permanently unable to engage in any substantial,
gainful activity by reason of any medically determinable physical or mental
impairment, including blindness.
(2)
The apartment in which the tenant resides must have been
the principal residence for two years preceding the conversion recording.
(3)
A tenant's income must be less than three times
the current county per capita income provided by the Department of Labor and
Industry. The tenant will be disqualified if both his income for the latest
year and his average income for the last three years exceed three times the
county per capita income.
(4)
The standards of eligibility for conditional
protected tenancy status shall conform to the criteria set forth in the Act.
