Sponsored by:
Senator JOSEPH A. LAGANA
District 38 (Bergen and Passaic)
Senator BRIAN P. STACK
District 33 (Hudson)
SYNOPSIS
Requires residential landlords to install protective covers on steam radiators.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act requiring residential landlords to install covers on steam radiators and supplementing P.L.1983, c.383 (C.52:27D-192 et seq.).
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. An owner of a residential rental property shall cover each steam radiator in the structure with an insulating material or guard that protects tenants, occupants, and other persons on the premises from receiving burns due to contact with the radiator.
b. (1) If a municipal ordinance requires a certificate of occupancy, certificate of inspection, or other documentary certification of compliance with laws and regulations relating to the safety, healthfulness, and upkeep of the premises for a change of occupancy of a property subject to the requirements of subsection a. of this section, the certificate shall not issue until the municipal officer or agency responsible for its issuance has determined that each steam radiator in the property is equipped with a cover as required by subsection a. of this section.
(2) If the provisions of paragraph (1) of this subsection do not apply to a change of occupancy of a property subject to the requirements of subsection a. of this section, an owner shall not lease the property without first obtaining from the enforcing agency a certificate evidencing that each steam radiator in the property is equipped with a cover as required by subsection a. of this section. The local governing body with jurisdiction over the enforcing agency or, if the Bureau of Fire Safety is the enforcing agency, the Commissioner of Community Affairs, shall establish a fee that covers the cost of inspection and of issuance of the certificate.
c. An owner who leases any property subject to the requirements of subsection a. of this section in violation of the requirements of this section shall be subject to a fine of not more than $500, which may be collected and enforced by the enforcing agency by summary proceeding pursuant to the "Penalty Enforcement Law of 1999," P.L.1999, c.274 (C.2A:58-10 et seq.).
d. A tenant, occupant, or other person on the premises who sustains an injury as a result of the failure of an owner to comply with the requirements of subsection a. of this section may bring an action in any court of competent jurisdiction for any appropriate legal or equitable relief.
2. This act shall take
effect on the first day of the third month next following the date of
enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill would require residential landlords to install covers on steam radiators in order to protect tenants, occupants, and other persons on the premises from burns. Under the bill, a certificate of occupancy could not be issued following a change of occupancy if a landlord has not complied with this requirement. In municipalities that do not require a certificate of occupancy for a change of occupancy, a landlord would have to obtain a certificate evidencing compliance with this requirement from the applicable enforcing agency before leasing the property. The bill provides that a landlord who violates any of its provisions can be fined up to $500.
The bill also expressly provides that any person who sustains any injury due to a residential landlord’s failure to cover a steam radiator may bring a civil suit for appropriate legal or equitable relief.