Landlords in Jackson Township will have to comply with new rules next year meant to ensure single family homes are not being overcrowded.
The township council passed an ordinance in July that will take effect January 1. It requires landlords to have all rental properties inspected annually at a cost of $100 per unit. In addition, the annual registration fee with the Bureau of Rental Housing Inspections will increase from $125 to $225.
“This ordinance isn’t just about forms and fees. It’s about protecting families, ensuring housing safety, and standing up for the quality of life our residents deserve,” Council Vice President Giuseppe Palmeri said in a statement when the law was passed in July.
In a June social media post, Palmeri referred to an “illegal renting epidemic in Jackson.”
He said it was fueled by posts on social media advertising rentals with direct contact information, often written entirely in Spanish, that turn single-family homes into boarding houses. The homes are often owned by LLCs and anonymous investors, he said.
Landlords who fail to register their single or two-family rental property between Jan. 1 and Jan. 31 will face fines. The penalties escalate: $500 for the first offense, $750 for the second, and $1,000 for subsequent offenses.
If the Bureau of Rental Housing Inspections is unable to conduct a full inspection to issue certificates for smoke alarms, carbon monoxide alarms and portable fire extinguishers, the landlord will be fined $250 per day until the inspection can be completed.
Jackson maintains a 39-page list of rental homes in the township. Each page has about 50 properties on it.
The changes to the landlord ordinance are expected to bring in about $300,000 in additional revenue to Jackson, which will be spent on staffing to enforce the code.
Earlier this month, the township also announced that the Mayor and Council created a new email address, RentalComplaints@JacksonTwpNJ.net, where people can report concerns or complaints about rental properties.
Then, last week, the township announced that two code enforcement officers will work adjusted schedules — from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. — to improve enforcement of illegal or non-compliant rental properties.
“As our residents have begun utilizing the resources to report rental violations, our code enforcement officers were hitting brick walls, since no residents were home at the time of their inspections, making the investigations difficult,” Mayor Kuhn said in a statement posted to the township’s website. “Now, they can conduct their investigations when the occupants of the homes are at home.”
Source: NJ.com