Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman BRITNEE N. TIMBERLAKE
District 34 (Essex and Passaic)
Assemblywoman ANGELA V. MCKNIGHT
District 31 (Hudson)
Assemblywoman VALERIE VAINIERI HUTTLE
District 37 (Bergen)
SYNOPSIS
Requires landlords to provide tenants with certain notice concerning conditions that may cause damage or hazards on rental property.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning tenant notifications and supplementing Title 46 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. When a landlord receives written notice that an adjoining property owner intends to conduct construction, rehabilitation, demolition, or any other work that may cause damage or hazardous conditions to the landlord’s property, the landlord shall provide a copy of the notice to tenants of the landlord’s property within five business days of the landlord’s receipt of the written notice. The notice may be provided to each affected tenant by certified mail, by posting in at least one conspicuous area where the information is most likely to be viewed by tenants, or both.
b. A landlord who fails to provide an affected tenant with the information required pursuant to subsection a. of this section shall be liable to a penalty of not more than $200 for each offense, recoverable by a summary proceeding under the "Penalty Enforcement Law of 1999," P.L.1999, c.274 (C.2A:58-10 et seq.). The Superior Court, Law Division, Special Civil Part in the county or the municipal court of the municipality in which the landlords property is located shall have jurisdiction to enforce said penalty.
c. For the purposes of this section, "landlord" means any person who rents or leases, for a term of at least one month, commercial space or residential dwelling units other than dwelling units in a premises containing not more than two such units, or in an owner-occupied premises of not more than three dwelling units, or in hotels, motels, or other guest houses serving transient or seasonal guests.
2. This act shall take effect on the first day of the third month next following the date of enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill provides that when a landlord receives written notice that an adjoining property owner intends to conduct construction, rehabilitation, demolition, or any other work that may cause damage or hazardous conditions to the landlord’s property, the landlord would be required to provide a copy of the notice to tenants of the landlord’s property.
Under the bill, the landlord must provide tenants with notice within five business days of the landlord’s receipt of the written notice. The bill specifies that the notice may be provided to each affected tenant by certified mail, by posting in at least one conspicuous area where the information is most likely to be viewed by tenants, or both.
A landlord who fails to provide an affected tenant with the notice would be liable to a penalty of not more than $200.00 for each offense, recoverable by a summary proceeding under "Penalty Enforcement Law of 1999," P.L.1999, c.274 (C.2A:58-10 et seq.). The Superior Court, Law Division, Special Civil Part in the county or the municipal court of the municipality in which the landlord’s property is located would have jurisdiction to enforce said penalty.
Under the bill, a "landlord" is defined as any person who rents or leases, for a term of at least one month, commercial space or residential dwelling units other than dwelling units in a premises containing not more than two such units, or in an owner-occupied premises of not more than three dwelling units, or in hotels, motels, or other guest houses serving transient or seasonal guests.