ASSEMBLY, No. 654
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 1996 SESSION
By Assemblyman ZECKER
An Act concerning water rent liens and amending R.S.40:62-141..
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. R.S.40:62-141 is amended to read as follows:
40:62-141. The owner of any house, tenement, building or lot shall be liable for the payment of the price or rent as fixed by the commission for the use of water by such owner or by the occupier, and for the installation, purchase price, repair and testing of any water meter or water meters, water service, water services, connections, appliances or parts, and renewals thereof furnished or made by the commission, in, upon or connecting with such house, tenement, building or lot and the interest and penalties charged.
The price or rent so fixed, and the other costs, expenses, interest and penalties, hereinafter referred to as "service charges", shall be a lien upon such house, tenement, building or lot until the same shall be paid and satisfied, and shall be enforceable by an action at law in any competent court.
In the event that any service charges of the commission with regard to any parcel of real property owned by any person other than the State or an agency or subdivision thereof shall not be paid as and when due, the unpaid balance thereof and all interest accruing thereon shall be a lien on such parcel. Such lien shall be superior and paramount to the interest in such parcel of any owner, lessee, tenant, mortgagee or other person except the lien of municipal taxes and shall be on a parity with and deemed equal to the lien on such parcel of the municipality where such parcel is situate for taxes thereon due in the same year and not paid when due. Such lien shall not bind or affect a subsequent bona fide purchaser of such parcel for a valuable consideration without actual notice of such lien, unless the commission shall have filed in the office of the collector or other officer of said municipality charged with the duty of enforcing municipal liens on real property a statement showing the amount and due date of such unpaid balance and identifying such parcel, which identification may be sufficiently made by reference to the assessment map of said municipality. The information shown in such statement shall be included in any certificate with respect to said parcel thereafter made by the official of said municipality vested with the power to make official certificates of searches for municipal liens. Whenever such service charge and any subsequent service charge with regard to such parcel and all interest accrued thereon shall have been fully paid to the commission, such statement shall be promptly withdrawn or canceled by the commission.
The collector or other officer of every municipality charged by law with the duty of enforcing municipal liens on real property shall enforce, with and as any other municipal lien on real property in such municipality, all service charges and the lien thereof shown in any statement filed with him by the commission, and shall pay over to the commission the sums or a pro rata share of the sums realized upon such enforcement or upon liquidation of any property acquired by the municipality by virtue of such enforcement.
The commission shall notify the officers or board having charge of the collection of taxes in each municipality in which the commission shall supply water to any of the inhabitants of such municipality, that the commission is supplying water to such inhabitants, and requesting said officials or board to notify all persons applying for a certificate showing municipal or other liens against property in such municipality, that the applicant must apply to the commission to ascertain the amount of water rents or other charges due to the commission, which are by law made a lien upon the premises covered by the certificate.
The commission may require payment in advance for the use or rent of water furnished by it and for any work to be done or materials to be furnished.
(cf: R.S.40:62-141)
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill makes the lien procedure for unpaid water service charges similar to the procedure in chapter 14B of Title 40 of the Revised Statutes, which sets forth the law governing municipal and county utilities authorities. The bill defines "service charges" as the price or rent of the water plus any other costs, expenses, interest and penalties. The bill requires that unpaid service charges be a lien against a property, superior and paramount to all other liens except municipal
taxes and establishes that an unpaid water lien will be an equal lien to a tax lien.
Requires that unpaid water liens constitute a first lien against property in matters of foreclosure.