ASSEMBLY, No. 2380
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
INTRODUCED SEPTEMBER 26, 1996
By Assemblymen KELLY, ROMANO,
Assemblywoman J. Smith, Assemblymen Weingarten,
Green and Gregg
An Act concerning the licensing of rooming and boarding homes and amending P.L.1993, c.290 and P.L.1979, c.496.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Section 2 of P.L.1993, c.290 (C.40:52-10) is amended to read as follows:
2. The governing body of a municipality may, by ordinance, elect to license rooming and boarding houses located in the municipality in accordance with the provisions of this act. If the governing body elects to license such facilities, the governing body shall so notify the Commissioner of Community Affairs or his designee. A rooming or boarding house licensed by a municipality pursuant to this act shall not be required to be licensed by the Department of Community Affairs pursuant to the "Rooming and Boarding House Act of 1979," P.L.1979, c.496 (C.55:13B-1 et seq.). The governing body of a municipality that elects to license rooming and boarding houses may adopt, by ordinance, such regulations as it deems appropriate and necessary to enforce the provisions of P.L.1993, c.290, provided that those regulations shall not be inconsistent with the rules and regulations promulgated by the commissioner pursuant to P.L.1979, c.496 (C.55:13B-1 et seq.), to which all rooming and boarding houses shall remain subject.
(cf: P.L.1993, c.290, s.2.)
2. Section 5 of P.L.1993, c.290 (C.40:52-13) is amended to read as follows:
5. It shall be the duty of the licensing authority to receive applications made pursuant to section 4 of this act and to conduct such investigations as may be necessary to establish:
a. With respect to the premises for which a license is sought (1) that they are in compliance with all applicable building, housing, health and safety codes and regulations; (2) that the location of the premises will not, in conjunction with the proximity of other rooming and boarding houses, lead to an excessive concentration of such facilities in the municipality or a particular section thereof;
b. With respect to the owner or owners of the premises: (1) if a natural person or persons, that he or they are 21 years of age or older, [citizens of the United States and residents of the State of New Jersey,] and never convicted, in this State or elsewhere, of a crime involving moral turpitude, or of any crime under any law of this State licensing or regulating a rooming or boarding house, and have never had a license required pursuant to P.L.1979, c.496 (C.55:13B-1 et al.) revoked; (2) if a corporation, that all officers and members of the board of directors, and every stockholder holding 10% or more of the stock of the corporation, directly or indirectly having a beneficial interest therein, have the same qualifications as set forth in this subsection for an applicant who is a natural person;
c. With respect to the operator or proposed operator, that he meets the requirements for licensure by the Department of Community Affairs; and
d. That the owner and operator, either individually or jointly, have established sufficient guarantee of financial and other responsibility to assure appropriate relocation of the residents of the rooming or boarding house to suitable facilities in the event that the license is subsequently revoked or its renewal denied. The Department of Community Affairs shall determine, in the case of each type of rooming and boarding house under its jurisdiction, what constitutes suitable facilities for this purpose.
(cf: P.L.1993, c.290, s.5)
3. Section 7 of P.L.1979, c.496 (C.55:13B-7) is amended to read as follows:
a. No person shall own or operate a rooming or boarding house, hold out a building as available for rooming or boarding house occupancy, or apply for any necessary construction or planning approvals related to the establishment of a rooming or boarding house without a valid license to own or operate such a facility, issued by the municipality, if the rooming or boarding house is located in a municipality which has elected to issue such licenses pursuant to P.L.1993, c.290 (C.40:52-10 et seq.), or by the commissioner.
Any person found to be in violation of this subsection shall be liable for a civil penalty of not more than $5,000.00 for each building so owned or operated , which penalty shall be payable to the appropriate licensing entity..
b. The commissioner shall establish separate categories of licensure for owning and for operating a rooming or boarding house, provided, however, that an owner who himself operates such a facility need not also possess an operator's license.
If an owner seeking to be licensed is other than an individual, the application shall state the name of an individual who is a member, officer or stockholder in the corporation or association seeking to be licensed, and the same shall be designated the primary owner of the rooming or boarding house.
Each application for licensure shall contain such information as the commissioner may prescribe and shall be accompanied by a fee established by the commissioner which shall not be less than $75.00 nor more than $150.00. If, upon receipt of the fee and a review of the application, the commissioner determines that the applicant will operate, or provide for the operation of, a rooming or boarding house in accordance with the provisions of this act, he shall issue a license to him.
Each license shall be valid for one year from the date of issuance, but may be renewed upon application by the owner or operator and upon payment of the same fee required for initial licensure.
c. Only one license shall be required to own a rooming or boarding house, but an endorsement thereto shall be required for each separate building owned and operated or intended to be operated as a rooming or boarding house. Each application for licensure or renewal shall indicate every such building for which an endorsement is required. If, during the term of a license, an additional endorsement is required or an existing one is no longer required, an amended application for licensure shall be submitted.
d. A person making application for, or who has been issued, a license to own or operate a rooming or boarding house who conceals the fact that the person has been denied a license to own or operate a residential facility, or that the person's license to own or operate a residential facility has been revoked by a department or agency of state government in this or any other state is liable for a civil penalty of not more than $5,000.00, and any license to own or operate a rooming or boarding house which has been issued to that person shall be immediately revoked.
(cf: P.L.1988, c.113, s.1)
4. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill would eliminate the dual licensing of rooming and boarding houses in those municipalities which have elected, pursuant to P.L.1993, c.290, to license such establishments.
Under the bill's provisions, owners of rooming and boarding houses which are located in municipalities which have elected to license them shall only be required to obtain a municipal license and will not be required to obtain a license from or pay a license fee to the Department of Community Affairs.
The bill also clarifies the rights of municipalities to regulate by ordinance those rooming and boarding houses it licenses, as long as the ordinances do not conflict with the regulations of the Department of Community Affairs governing rooming and boarding houses. All rooming and boarding houses will remain subject to State regulations, however, regardless of the licensing entity.
The bill also deletes a requirement in the municipal licensing statutes that rooming and boarding house owners be United States Citizens and New Jersey residents. State regulations on rooming and boarding homes have never contained such requirements, and their inclusion in the municipal licensing statutes raised issues of fairness and constitutionalality.
Eliminates dual municipal and State licensing of rooming and boarding houses.