[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council of the Borough of Totowa 2-28-2023 by Ord. No. 03-2023. Amendments noted where applicable.]
N.J.S.A 40A:10A-1 et seq. requires all business owners, owners of rental units and owners of a multifamily home of four or fewer units, one of which is owner-occupied, to maintain certain levels of liability insurance. That law further requires municipalities to establish a registry of all such levels of liability insurance. That law further requires municipalities to establish a registry of all such individual and entities and to annually collect proof of compliance with the provisions of the law. The purpose of this chapter is to implement the requirement of the law with the Borough of Totowa.
A. 
Except as provided in this section herein, business owners and owners of rental units located in the Borough of Totowa must maintain liability insurance for negligent acts and omissions in an amount not less than $500,000 for combined property damage and bodily injury to, or death of, one or more persons in any one accident or occurrence.
B. 
Owners of multifamily dwellings with four or fewer units, one of which is owner-occupied, must maintained liability insurance for negligent acts and omissions in an amount of not less that $300,00 for combined property damage and bodily injury to, or death of, one or more persons in any one accident or occurrence.
Owners of businesses or rental units subject to minimum liability insurance requirements set froth in the chapter must annually register with the Borough of Totowa and provide a compliant certificate of insurance issued by the owner's insurance company. To complete the annual registration, the owner must file with the municipal clerk a completed registration, along with a copy of the required insurance certificate and an administrative fee of $50. The registration shall be in such form and shall include such information as is required by the Municipal Clerk. Annual registrations shall be due by January 31 of each calendar year or within 30 days of registering the business or obtaining ownership of the rental units.
Upon satisfaction of the above registration requirements, the Municipal Clerk shall issue of certificate of registration to the owner in a form approved by the Municipal Clerk. This certificate of registration shall act as proof of compliance with this chapter. A certificate of registration shall be valid for the calendar year in which it is issued.
If an owner fails to maintain the required level of insurance, or fails to file an annual registration, the owner shall be subject to penalties of $500 for the first offense, $1,000 for the second offense, and $2,000 for a third or subsequent offense. This penalty may be collected through a summary proceeding pursuant to the Penalty Enforcement Law of 1999, N.J.S.A 2A:58-110 et seq. Each year that an owner fails to register or fails to maintain adequate insurance shall be deemed a separate offense.