Borough of Mount Arlington, NJ Chapter 133A Registration of Rental Dwelling Units

[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council of the Borough of Mount Arlington 9-8-2008 by Ord. No. 12-08. Amendments noted where applicable.]

§ 133A-1 Requirements and contents of registration.

All landlords of a one dwelling unit rental or a two dwelling unit non-owner occupied premises shall register said units with the Municipal Clerk which such registration shall provide the following information:

A. The name and address of the record owner or owners of the premises and the record owner or owners of the rental business if not the same persons. In the case of a partnership the names of all general partners shall be provided;

B. If the record owner is a corporation, the name and address of the registered agent and corporate officers of said corporation;

C. If the address of any record owner is not located in the county in which the premises are located, the name and address of a person who resides in the county in which the premises are located and is authorized to accept notices from a tenant and to issue receipts therefor and to accept service of process on behalf of the record owner;

D. The name and address of the managing agent of the premises, if any;

E. The name and address, including the dwelling unit, apartment or room number of the superintendent, janitor, custodian or other individual employed by the record owner or managing agent to provide regular maintenance service, if any;

F. The name, address and telephone number of an individual representative of the record owner or managing agent who may be reached or contacted at any time in the event of an emergency affecting the premises or any unit of dwelling space therein, including such emergencies as the failure of any essential service or system, and who has the authority to make emergency decisions concerning the building and any repair thereto or expenditure in connection therewith and shall, at all times, have access to a current list of building tenants that shall be made available to emergency personnel as required in the event of an emergency;

G. The name and address of every holder of a recorded mortgage on the premises;

H. If fuel oil is used to heat the building and the landlord furnishes the heat in the building, the name and address of the fuel oil dealer servicing the building and the grade of fuel oil used.

§ 133A-2 Filing and indexing of certificates.

[Amended 11-27-2012 by Ord. No. 14-12]

Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 46:8-28.1, the Municipal Clerk shall index and file all certificates and make them reasonably available for public inspection. Once the Tax Assessor reviews the certificates filed for multiple dwelling units, validates same, and issues a validated copy to the Clerk of the municipality in which the building or project is located, the Municipal Clerk shall index the validated certificates and the certificates shall be made available as with the certificates required of one and two dwelling unit non-owner occupied premises.

§ 133A-3 Distribution of certificates and usage.

The Municipal Clerk shall transmit a copy of all such registration statements to the Police Chief, the Fire Chief, Tax Assessor and the Borough Administrator who shall keep said copies on file for contact and emergency purposes and any other purposes allowable under the law.

§ 133A-4 Violations and penalties.

[Amended 11-27-2012 by Ord. No. 14-12]

Any landlord or owner of a residential unit who shall violate any provision of this chapter shall be liable to a penalty of not less than $500 and not more than $5,000 for each and every offense. Each day of the said violation shall be a separate offense, recoverable by a summary proceeding pursuant to N.J.S.A. 22A:2-44 or penalty proceedings enforcement law. The Superior Court, Law Division, Special Civil Part in the county or the Municipal Court of the municipality in which the premises are located shall have jurisdiction to enforce said penalty.

A. Criteria for determining penalty. The Zoning Officer/Property Maintenance Department, when recommending penalty, shall consider the following:

(1) The effect of the violation on the health, safety and welfare the occupants of the residential rental unit and other residents of the premises.

(2) The effect of the violation on the neighborhood.

(3) Whether the owner has prior violations of this chapter and other ordinances of the borough or has received notices of violations of this chapter.

(4) Whether the owner has been subject to disciplinary proceedings under this chapter.

(5) The action taken by the owner to remedy the violation and to prevent future violations.

(6) The policies and lease language employed by the owner to manage the rental unit to enable the owner to comply with the provisions of this chapter.

(7) In addition to applying discipline as set forth above, the Zoning Officer/Property Maintenance Department may recommend and Borough Council may impose upon the existing or subsequent licenses or permits reasonable conditions related to fulfilling the purposes of this chapter.