The purpose of this article is to create the administrative
mechanisms needed for the execution of Oxford Township's responsibility
to assist in the provision of affordable housing pursuant to the Fair
Housing Act of 1985.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT
The entity responsible for administering the affordability
controls of some or all units in the affordable housing program for
Oxford Township to ensure that the restricted units under administration
are affirmatively marketed and sold or rented, as applicable, only
to low- and moderate-income households.
MUNICIPAL HOUSING LIAISON
The employee charged by the governing body with the responsibility
for oversight and administration of the affordable housing program
for Oxford Township.
There is hereby established the position of Municipal Housing
Liaison for Oxford Township.
Subject to the approval of the Council on Affordable Housing
(COAH), the Municipal Housing Liaison shall be appointed by the governing
body and may be a full- or part-time municipal employee.
The Municipal Housing Liaison shall be responsible for oversight
and administration of the affordable housing program for Oxford Township,
including the following responsibilities which may not be contracted
out, exclusive of Subsection F, which may be contracted out:
A. Serving
as Oxford Township's primary point of contact for all inquiries from
the state, affordable housing providers, administrative agents, and
interested households;
B. Monitoring
the status of all restricted units in Oxford Township's Fair Share
Plan;
C. Compiling,
verifying, and submitting annual reports as required by COAH;
D. Coordinating
meetings with affordable housing providers and administrative agents,
as applicable;
E. Attending
continuing education opportunities on affordability controls, compliance
monitoring, and affirmative marketing as offered or approved by COAH;
F. If applicable, serving as the administrative agent for some or all of the restricted units in Oxford Township as described in §Â
100-23 below.
Subject to approval by COAH, Oxford Township may contract with or authorize a consultant, authority, government or any agency charged by the governing body, which entity shall have the responsibility of administering the affordable housing program of Oxford Township, except for those responsibilities which may not be contracted out pursuant to §Â
100-20 above. If Oxford Township contracts with another entity to administer all or any part of the affordable housing program, including the affordability controls and Affirmative Marketing Plan, the Municipal Housing Liaison shall supervise the contracting administrative agent.
Compensation shall be fixed by the governing body at the time
of the appointment of the Municipal Housing Liaison.
The following administrative powers and duties are assigned
to the Municipal Housing Liaison:
A. Affirmative
marketing.
(1)Â Conducting
an outreach process to insure affirmative marketing of affordable
housing units in accordance with the Affirmative Marketing Plan of
Oxford Township and the provisions of N.J.A.C. 5:80-26.15; and
(2)Â Providing
counseling or contracting to provide counseling services to low- and
moderate-income applicants on subjects such as budgeting, credit issues,
mortgage qualification, rental lease requirements, and landlord/tenant
law.
B. Household
certification.
(1)Â Soliciting,
scheduling, conducting and following up on interviews with interested
households;
(2)Â Conducting
interviews and obtaining sufficient documentation of gross income
and assets upon which to base a determination of income eligibility
for a low- or moderate-income unit;
(3)Â Providing
written notification to each applicant as to the determination of
eligibility or noneligibility;
(4)Â Requiring
that all certified applicants for restricted units execute a certificate
substantially in the form, as applicable, of either the ownership
or rental certificates set forth in Appendices J and K of N.J.A.C.
5:80-26.1 et seq.;
(5)Â Creating
and maintaining a referral list of eligible applicant households living
in the housing region and eligible applicant households with members
working in the housing region where the units are located; and
(6)Â Employing
the random selection process as provided in the Affirmative Marketing
Plan of Oxford Township when referring households for certification
to affordable units.
C. Affordability
controls.
(1)Â Furnishing
to attorneys or closing agents forms of deed restrictions and mortgages
for recording at the time of conveyance of title of each restricted
unit;
(2)Â Creating
and maintaining a file on each restricted unit for its control period,
including the recorded deed with restrictions, recorded mortgage and
note, as appropriate;
(3)Â Ensuring
that the removal of the deed restrictions and cancellation of the
mortgage note are effectuated and properly filed with the appropriate
county's register of deeds or county clerk's office after the termination
of the affordability controls for each restricted unit;
(4)Â Communicating
with lenders regarding foreclosures; and
(5)Â Ensuring
the issuance of continuing certificates of occupancy or certifications
pursuant to N.J.A.C. 5:80-26.10.
D. Resale
and rental.
(1)Â Instituting
and maintaining an effective means of communicating information between
owners and the administrative agent regarding the availability of
restricted units for resale or rental; and
(2)Â Instituting
and maintaining an effective means of communicating information to
low- and moderate-income households regarding the availability of
restricted units for resale or re-rental.
E. Processing
request from unit owners.
(1)Â Reviewing
and approving requests from owners of restricted units who wish to
take out home equity loans or refinance during the term of their ownership;
(2)Â Reviewing
and approving requests to increase sales prices from owners of restricted
units who wish to make capital improvements to the units that would
affect the selling price, such authorizations to be limited to those
improvements resulting in additional bedrooms or bathrooms and the
cost of central air-conditioning systems; and
(3)Â Processing
requests and making determinations on requests by owners of restricted
units for hardship waivers.
F. Enforcement.
(1)Â Securing
annually lists of all affordable housing units for which tax bills
are mailed to absentee owners and notifying all such owners that they
must either move back to their unit or sell it;
(2)Â Securing
from all developers and sponsors of restricted units, at the earliest
point of contact in the processing of the project or development,
written acknowledgement of the requirement that no restricted unit
can be offered, or in any other way committed, to any person, other
than a household duly certified to the unit by the administrative
agent;
(3)Â The
posting annually in all rental properties, including two-family homes,
of a notice as to the maximum permitted rent together with the telephone
number of the administrative agent where complaints of excess rent
can be made;
(4)Â Sending
annual mailings to all owners of affordable dwelling units, reminding
them of the notices and requirements outlined in N.J.A.C. 5:80-26.18(d)4;
(5)Â Establishing
a program for diverting unlawful rent payments to the municipality's
Affordable Housing Trust Fund or other appropriate municipal fund
approved by the DCA;
(6)Â Creating
and publishing a written operating manual, as approved by COAH, setting
forth procedures for administering such affordability controls; and
(7)Â Providing
annual reports to COAH as required.
G. The administrative
agent shall have authority to take all actions necessary and appropriate
to carry out its responsibilities hereunder.