Atlantic City, NJ Window Guards

The owner, lessee, agent or other person who manages or controls a multiple dwelling shall provide, install and maintain a window guard of a type deemed acceptable by the Department, on the windows of each apartment in which a child or children 10 years of age and under resides and on the windows, if any, in the public halls of a multiple dwelling in which such children reside, except that this section shall not apply to windows giving access to fire escapes or to a window on the first floor that is a required means of egress from the dwelling unit. It shall be the duty of each such person who manages or controls a multiple dwelling to ascertain whether such a child resides therein.

The provision of Subsection A shall not apply to the window(s) of any unit for which a tenant requests in writing that window guards not be installed or be removed.

No owner, lessee or other person who manages or controls a multiple dwelling shall refuse a written request of a tenant or occupant of a multiple dwelling unit to install window guards regardless of whether such is required by Subsection A, except that this section shall not apply to windows giving access to fire escapes.

Nuisance.

(1)

Failure to install or maintain window guards pursuant to this section is hereby declared to constitute a public nuisance and a condition dangerous to life and health.

(2)

Every person obligated to comply with the provisions of Subsection A is hereby ordered to abate said nuisance and condition by installing and maintaining the required window guards forthwith.

§ 251-3 Lease notice.

All leases offered to tenants in multiple dwellings shall contain, as a rider to the lease, a notice, the form and content of which shall be as specified in Appendix A hereto.[1]

[1]

Editor's Note: Said Appendix A is on file in the city offices.

Said notice shall be separately signed and dated by the tenant who signed the lease, indicating clearly whether a child 10 years of age or under is, or will be, residing in the leased premises.

§ 251-4 Annual notice.

Each year, the landlord shall deliver to each dwelling unit a notice, the form and content of which shall be in English and Spanish as specified in Appendix B,[1] no earlier than January 1 and no later than January 30 of the year for which the notice is delivered. In addition, said notice shall be so delivered within 30 days of a change in occupancy not involving a written lease.

[1]

Editor's Note: Said Appendix B is on file in the city offices.

The landlord shall deliver said notice by any one of the following methods:

(1)

First class mail addressed to the tenant at the dwelling unit.

(2)

Hand delivery to the tenant at the dwelling unit.

(3)

Enclosure with the rent bill.

If by March 1 a landlord who has fully complied with Subsections A and B of this section has been unable to ascertain the need or desire for window guards in any dwelling unit or units, then he shall write to the Atlantic City Code Enforcement Office, 1301 Bacharach Boulevard, Atlantic City, New Jersey 08401, informing that Department of his attempts.

§ 251-5 Notice that installation is dependent upon tenant payment prohibited.

No communication from a landlord to a tenant shall indicate that the installation of window guards is in any manner dependent upon payments by the tenant.

The City of Atlantic City has established the following scale of a pass-along fee which may be imposed a month after the installation of window guards: a one-time $10 per window guard maximum fee which may be prorated or amortized over a period of one year, two years or three years, in equal monthly payments according to the option elected by the tenant. This is a fee permitted to compensate the landlord for the installation of the window guard(s). The window guards themselves remain the property of the landlord.

§ 251-6 Tenant obligation to provide information and access.

No tenant in a dwelling unit shall refuse or unreasonably fail to provide accurate and truthful information regarding the residency of children therein or refuse, prevent or obstruct any inspection required by this article.

A landlord who has been denied access to a dwelling unit for the purpose of installing window guards required by this article, shall write to the Atlantic City Code Enforcement Office, 1301 Bacharach Boulevard, Atlantic City, New Jersey 08401. Said statement shall specify the landlord's efforts to gain access and the circumstances of the denial thereof.

Tenants or occupants must respond to mandated inquiries by the landlord as to their window guard needs or desires. It is a violation of the law to fail to do this. Tenants or occupants must also provide access and permit installation of guards where required.

§ 251-7 Selective window guard installation.

Window guards may be installed selectively at the written request of the tenant. They are not required to be installed in fire escape access windows and secondary egress windows in a first floor apartment.

Public hallway windows on all floors must be guarded, even if only one family in the building has children, unless all tenants with children request otherwise.

Air conditioner window units are acceptable as alternatives to window guards while they are securely in place. However, they cannot allow any greater than a four-inch opening on the sides of the unit.

§ 251-8 Procedures for requesting window guard variances.

All requests for variances must be submitted in writing for review by the Atlantic City Code Enforcement Office.

Requests for variances will be entertained only if submitted by a tenant, owner or management of a building or by an authorized representative.

Requests for variances will be entertained when the installation of a window guard proves to be impossible for structural reasons or infeasible.

A letter of application shall be submitted to the Atlantic City Code Enforcement Office, 1301 Bacharach Boulevard, Atlantic City, New Jersey 08401.

(1)

Letters of application shall include the following:

(a)

Name, address, and phone number of applicant.

(b)

Address of premises or premises for which variance is being requested and the type and number of windows involved.

(c)

Reason for the request.

(d)

Description of condition or conditions warranting the request, including a photo and/or mechanical drawing of the windows in question, depicting the particular structural idiosyncrasy or aberration making the request necessary.

(e)

The alternative device presented for consideration must meet the same criteria and standards of safety as the prescribed window guards.

All variances will be granted on a time-limited basis and will be subject to review, renewal or retraction at the expiration of the prescribed period or before should abuse of the procedural requirements be identified.

§ 251-9 General installation requirements.

Window guards shall be installed in accordance with all applicable requirements of the State Uniform Construction Code, N.J.A.C. 5:23, and with manufacturer's instructions.

Any window guard installed on an emergency egress window shall be releasable or removable from the inside without use of a key, tool or excessive force. For purposes of this article an "emergency egress window" is any window in a sleeping room located on the second or third floor, other than a window providing access to a fire escape.

Any window guard installed on a window that is not an emergency egress window, including any window in a unit located above the third floor that is not a sleeping room, shall be designed, constructed and installed so that it cannot be removed, opened or dislodged without the use of a key or tool; provided, however, that no window guard shall be installed on any window giving access to a fire escape.

§ 251-10 Specifications for window guards.

Window guards shall be so constructed as to reject the passage of a solid four-inch sphere at every space and interval.

Window guards shall bear a one-hundred-fifty-pound load at centerspan when extended to maximum width.

Window guards shall be constructed of metal or of other material of comparable strength and durability. In order to avoid obstruction of light and air, the diameter or width of metal rods used in window guards shall not exceed 1/2 inch.

Window guards shall be designed, constructed and installed so as to serve their intended protective purpose without any risk of collapse, breakage, spreading of the bars or other malfunction.

In a room, window guards shall be of at least a height sufficient to allow a total openable window area, for all windows in the room, of not less than 4% of the floor area of the room. In a public hallway, window guards shall protect the full openable area of each window.

Window guards shall be securely fastened in order to bear the required load.

All window guards shall be so designed and installed as to prevent the lower window from being raised four inches or more above the lowest section of the top horizontal bar of the window guard. Where necessary, rigid metal stops shall be installed securely in the upper tracks of each side of the bottom window.

Screws used to mount window guards and stopping devices shall be:

(1)

Minimum size No. 10 and long enough to penetrate one inch into a wooden window frame; or

(2)

Of an adequate type, size and length to be securely fastened to a metal window frame.

The coating of window guards shall be unleaded.

Window guards shall be installed only in sound (nonrotting) mountings or tracks.

§ 251-11 Additional specifications for window guards for other than double-hung windows.

Window guards intended for casements, sliders and other types or combinations of windows in which the height of the openings is not subject to limitation shall be of such size as to fill the entire aperture and shall reject passage of a solid four-inch sphere at every space or interval.

Except as otherwise provided in Subsection C below, sliding windows and vertical pivoting windows may be equipped with stopping devices in place of window guards as follows:

(1)

For sliding windows, solid metal blocks, measuring at least 1/2 the depth of the window track and 1/2 the width, shall be securely fastened into the bottom and upper window tracks to prevent the window from opening four inches or more.

(2)

For vertical pivoting windows, metal stopping devices shall be securely fastened to the upper and lower window frames so as to prevent the window from pivoting open four inches or more. The height of the stopping devices shall extend no less than one inch nor more than two inches beyond the window frame as needed to stop the window. The protruding edge of the stopping device shall be smooth and rounded.

Use of such stopping devices in lieu of window guards shall be allowed within dwelling units only where they do not preclude meeting the requirement, as per N.J.A.C. 5:10-16.2, that the total openable window and/or openable skylight area in each room be equal to at least 4% of the floor area of the room.

§ 251-12 Violations and penalties.

[Amended 11-25-2008 by Ord. No. 104]

Any person found guilty before the Municipal Court of the City of Atlantic City for violating the provisions of this article, whether individual, partnership or corporate, shall be subject to a fine of not less than $100 nor more than $2,000, at the discretion of the Judge. For purposes of this section, any noncompliance within or affecting one leasehold unit shall be considered a single violation of this chapter.