[Adopted 5-19-2009 by Ord. No. 09-10]
The Borough of Westwood hereby implements the provisions of
N.J.S.A. 2A:18-61.1g in full and as if set forth at length herein.
Whenever a tenant receives a notice of eviction that results
from zoning or code enforcement activity for an illegal occupancy,
said tenant shall be considered a displaced person and shall be entitled
to relocation assistance in an amount equal to six times the monthly
rental paid by the displaced person. The owner and/or landlord of
the structure shall be liable for the payment of relocation assistance
pursuant to this section.
The Borough of Westwood may, but shall not be required to, pay
relocation assistance to any displaced person as described above who
has not received payment from the owner and/or landlord of the structure
at the time of eviction from a revolving Relocation Assistance Fund
established pursuant to N.J.S.A. 20:4-4.1a. All relocation assistance
costs incurred by the Borough pursuant to this section shall be repaid
by the owner and/or landlord of the structure to the Borough in the
same manner as relocation costs are billed and collected under N.J.S.A.
20:4-4.1 and 20:4-4.2. The repayments shall be deposited into the
Borough's revolving Relocation Assistance Fund.
A.
In addition
to requiring the owner and/or landlord of the structure to pay the
relocation assistance costs referred to above, the owner and/or landlord,
upon conviction of unlawfully renting a dwelling unit, shall pay an
additional fine, beyond any other fines provided, up to an amount
equal to six times the monthly rental paid by the displaced person.
B.
Penalties
for second and subsequent violations.
(1)
In
addition to the penalties described above, the Borough of Westwood,
after affording the owner and/or landlord an opportunity on the matter,
may impose upon the owner and/or landlord, for a second or subsequent
violation of an illegal occupancy, a fine equal to the annual tuition
cost of any resident of the illegally occupied unit attending a public
school. This fine shall be recovered in a civil action by a summary
dispossession proceeding in the name of the Borough, pursuant to the
Penalty Enforcement Law of 1999 (N.J.S.A. 2A:58-10 et seq.). The Municipal
Court and the Superior Court shall have jurisdiction of proceedings
for the enforcement of the penalty provided by this subsection. The
tuition cost shall be determined in the manner prescribed for nonresident
peoples pursuant to N.J.S.A. 18A:38-19, and the payment of the fine
shall be remitted to the appropriate school district after subtracting
the fees and costs of collection.
(2)
For
purposes of this subsection, the owner and/or landlord of a structure
shall exclude mortgagees in possession of the structure through foreclosure.
(3)
For
purposes of this subsection, a second and subsequent violation for
an illegal occupancy shall be limited to those violations that are
new and are a result of a distinct and separate zoning or code enforcement
activity and shall not include continuing violations during the period
required for summary dispossession proceedings if the owner has initiated
eviction proceedings in a court of proper jurisdiction.
