SENATE, No. 271
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 1996 SESSION
By Senator CARDINALE
An Act concerning the rental of certain condominium and cooperative units and supplementing chapter 8 of Title 46 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. The Legislature finds and declares that it is in the public interest of the citizens of this State that the availability of rental housing be encouraged. Therefore restrictions imposed by certain condominium association bylaws or cooperative agreements which unreasonably inhibit or prevent the owner of a condominium unit or the holder of a proprietary lease to a cooperative unit from making the unit available for rental shall be contrary to the public policy of the State of New Jersey and shall be unenforceable.
b. Subsection a. of this act shall not apply to: (1) any condominium or cooperative in which requirements limiting occupancy to unit owners or holders of proprietary leases to units were established at the time that the condominium or cooperative was created, and which requirements were emphasized in the offering document as an absolute condition of ownership, and have been consistently and strictly enforced since that time, or (2) any unit subject to resale controls or repurchase requirements intended to preserve affordability of the unit to persons of low and moderate income, as defined in the "Fair Housing Act," P.L.1985, c.222 (C.52:27D-301 et seq.).
c. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, in those condominiums and cooperatives which meet the criteria of either paragraph 1 or 2 of subsection b. and in which more than ten units are under one roof, when a unit is offered for sale at or below a sales price such that a sale will result in a return of any investment only, and the unit nevertheless remains unsold for four or more months, then the owner shall have the right to rent the unit for such a period of time until prevailing market conditions permit a sale which will allow recoupment of the investment in the unit. For the purposes of this subsection, investment shall include the purchase price, costs related to the acquisition of the property, and the costs of any improvements made to the property.
Nothing in this subsection shall prohibit an association from requiring a minimum term of leasehold of not less than 180 days, nor shall such associations be prohibited from requiring that all tenants comply with the properly adopted rules of the association which are applicable to other unit owners, including, but not limited to, rules relating to such matters as parking, pets, noise, and the number of permitted occupants per unit.
Nothing in this subsection shall grant a tenant any additional rights or protected status under the laws applicable to eviction from rental premises.
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill prohibits bylaws of either condominium associations or cooperative associations from containing provisions that would unreasonably prohibit the rental of a unit.
The bill provides that any condominium or cooperative in which requirements limiting occupancy of units to unit owners or holders of proprietary leases were established at the time that the condominium or cooperative was created and in whose offering documents such requirements were emphasized would be exempt from the provisions of the bill which make such requirements unenforceable. The bill also exempts associations that manage units which are subject to resale controls or repurchase requirements intended to preserve affordability of the unit to persons of low and moderate income, as defined in the "Fair Housing Act," P.L.1985, c.222 (C.52:27D-301 et seq.) from the provisions of the bill which make restrictions prohibiting the rental of units unenforceable.
The bill specifies that units in condominiums and cooperatives managed by associations that are exempted from the provisions of the bill which make restrictions prohibiting the rental of units unenforceable can be rented if: (1) the unit is part of a complex which has more than 10 units under one roof, and (2) the owner has attempted to sell the unit for at least four months, but is unable to obtain an offer which would permit the owner to recoup his or her investment in the property. Investment is defined in the bill to mean the purchase price, costs related to the acquisition of the property, and the costs of any improvements made to the property. In this situation, the owner will be permitted to rent out the unit until prevailing market conditions permit a sale which will allow recoupment of his or her investment.
The bill allows associations, under these circumstances, to require a minimum term of leasehold of not less than 180 days, and to require that all tenants comply with the properly adopted rules of the association which are applicable to other unit owners, including, but not limited to, rules relating to such matters as parking, pets, noise, and the number of permitted occupants per unit.
A tenant leasing under these circumstances shall not gain any additional rights or protected status under the laws applicable to eviction from rental premises.
Prohibits bylaws of certain condominium or cooperative associations from containing clauses unreasonably prohibiting rental.