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Chapter 115

RENTALS, SEASONAL

The Township Committee finds, determines and declares that:

1. Dover Township is a resort community and its citizens have experienced disturbances, damage and public expense resulting from carelessly granted and inadequately supervised seasonal rentals to irresponsible vacationers by inept or indifferent landlords.



2. This chapter is enacted to preserve the peace and tranquility of the community for its permanent residents and to maintain the municipality as a viable vacation resort for all persons and families availing themselves of the facilities in the community.



3. The enactment of this chapter is necessary and desirable to provide a means to curb and discourage those occasional excesses arising from irresponsible seasonal rentals.



4. The Legislature of the State of New Jersey enacted N.J.S.A. 40:48-2.12n et seq. to enable certain communities to take effective action to assure that excesses, when they occur, shall not be repeated, and that landlords offering seasonal rentals be held to sufficient standards of responsibility.

For the purpose of this chapter, the following meanings shall apply:

HEARING OFFICER -- A licensed attorney of the State of New Jersey appointed by the Township Committee. The "hearing officer" shall not own or lease any real property within the Township of Dover, nor hold any interest in the assets of or profits arising from the ownership of such property.

LANDLORD -- The person or persons who own or purport to own any building in which there is rented or offered for rent housing space for living or dwelling under either a written or oral lease, including but not limited to any building subject to the Hotel and Multiple Dwelling Law, P.L. 1967, c. 76 (N.J.S.A. 55:13A-1 et seq.), and owner-occupied two-unit premises. In the case of a mobile home park, "landlord" means the owner of an individual dwelling unit within the mobile home park.

SEASONAL RENTAL -- Any rental of residential accommodations for a term of less than one (1) year and including any part of the period extending from May 15 to September 15.

SUBSTANTIATED COMPLAINT -- An act of disorderly, indecent, tumultuous or riotous conduct upon or in proximity to any seasonal rental premises, and attributable to the acts or incitements of any of the tenants of those premises which have been substantiated by prosecution and conviction in any court of competent jurisdiction.




§ 115-3. Bond required; Hearing; penalty.

1. If in any one (1) year, three (3) complaints, on separate occasions, of disorderly, indecent, tumultuous or notorious conduct upon or in proximity to any seasonal rental premises, and attributable to the acts or incitements of any of the tenants of those premises, have been substantiated by prosecution and conviction in any court of competent jurisdiction, the Township Committee or any officer or employee of the Township of Dover so designated by the Township Committee for this purpose may institute proceedings to require the landlord of the seasonal rental premises to post a bond against the consequences of future incidents of the same character.



2. The Township Committee or any such employee of the municipality designated by the Township Committee shall cause to be served upon the landlord, in person, or by registered mail, to the address appearing on the tax records of the municipality, notice advising of the institution of such proceedings, together with particulars of the substantiated complaint upon which those proceedings are based, and of the time and place at which the hearing will be held in the matter, which shall be in the Municipal Building, Municipal Court or such other public place as designated by the Township Committee, and which shall be no sooner than thirty (30) days from the date upon which the notice is served or mailed.



3. At the hearing convened pursuant to Subsection B above, the hearing officer shall give full hearing to both the complaint of the municipality and to any evidence in contradiction or mitigation that the landlord, if present or represented and offering such evidence, may present. At the conclusion of the hearing, the hearing officer shall determine whether the landlord shall be required to post a bond in accordance with the terms of this chapter.



4. Any bond required to be posted shall be in accordance with the judgment of the hearing officer, in light of the nature and extent of the offenses indicated in the substantiated complaints upon which the proceedings are based, to be adequate in the case of subsequent offenses to make reparation for:

5. Any bond or other security deposited in compliance with Subsection D above shall remain in force for a period of four (4) years. Upon the lapse of the four-year period, the landlord shall be entitled to the discharge of the bond, unless prior thereto further proceedings leading to a forfeiture or partial forfeiture of the bond or other security shall have been had under § 115-4 below, in which case, the security shall be renewed in an amount and for a period that shall be specified by the hearing officer. A transfer of ownership or control of the property shall not void a requirement for security imposed under this chapter. The person or persons to whom ownership or control is transferred shall maintain that security and shall be subject to injunctive proceedings as authorized by Subsection D above in the same manner as the landlord upon which the requirement was originally imposed; provided, however, that the Township Committee may, by resolution, shorten the period for which security is required to not less than one (1) year from the date of the transfer of ownership or control, if during that year no substantiated complaints are recorded with respect to the property in question.

1. If, during the period for which a landlord is required to give security pursuant to § 115-3 above, a substantiated complaint is recorded against the property in question, the Township Committee or its designee may institute proceedings against the landlord for the forfeiture or partial forfeiture of the security; for an extension, as provided in § 115-3E above, of the period for which the security is required; or for an increase in the amount of security required; or for any or all of those purposes.
   
   
2. Any forfeiture or partial forfeiture of security shall be determined by the hearing officer solely in accordance with the amount deemed necessary to provide for the compensatory purposes set forth in § 115-3E above. Any decision by the hearing officer to increase the amount or extend the period of the required security shall be determined in light of the same factors set forth in § 115-3D above and shall be taken only to the extent that the nature of the substantiated complaint or complaints out of which proceedings arise under this section indicates the appropriateness of such change in order to effectually carry out the purposes of this chapter. The decision of the hearing officer in such circumstances shall be enforceable in the same manner as provided in Section § 115-3D above.
   
   

The hearing officer shall be a person or persons appointed by the Township Committee. A hearing officer shall not own or lease any real property within the Township of Dover nor hold any interest in the assets of or profits arising from the ownership or lease of such property.

In addition to the other definitions set forth in this chapter, the following definitions shall apply to this Article:

SEASONAL RENTAL -- An agreement, which is either oral or in writing, whereby on a seasonal basis a dwelling unit is leased, used or occupied by a family for which compensation is paid for, directly or indirectly.

SEASONAL RENTAL PERMIT -- A permit issued for the use or occupancy of a dwelling unit as a seasonal rental.

TENANT -- An individual who leases, uses or occupies a seasonal rental.


§ 330-71. Permit required. [Amended 5-12-1992 by L.L. No. 18-1992; 6-8-1993 by L.L. No. 17-1993]

1. A dwelling unit shall not be occupied as a seasonal rental unless a seasonal rental permit has been issued by the Building Inspector.



2. Where a dwelling unit is to be used as a seasonal rental, an application for a seasonal rental permit shall be filed with the Building Inspector before the term of the seasonal rental is to begin.



3. The application shall be signed by each and every owner of the property and shall contain the following:

4. A seasonal rental permit shall be issued by the Building Inspector if the application complies with all the provisions of this Article.



5. A seasonal rental permit shall not be issued by the Building Inspector if the seasonal rental does not comply with all the provisions of this section.



6. There shall be a filing fee of one hundred dollars ($100.) for each application for a seasonal rental permit.



7. The seasonal rental permit shall expire on the last day of the rental period as stated in the application.

1. A dwelling unit utilized as a seasonal rental shall be leased only by a family.



2. No seasonal rental shall be leased, occupied or used by more than the number of persons permitted to occupy the dwelling unit under § 330-108 of this chapter.



3. No seasonal rental shall be leased, occupied or used by any tenant who is not listed as such on the seasonal rental application pursuant to § 330-71C(6) of this Article. Where there is a change in the individual tenants who will be leasing, occupying or using the dwelling unit, the group rental application shall be amended to indicate the name of the new tenant before the new tenant may occupy the dwelling unit. There shall be a filing fee of one hundred dollars ($100.) for each application. [Amended 5-12-1992 by L.L. No. 18-1992; 6-8-1993 by L.L. No. 17-1993]



4. A rental where the duration of the occupancy is transient is prohibited.



5. The selling of shares to tenants where they obtain the rights of use and occupancy in a dwelling unit on a transient basis shall be prohibited. The rent or compensation paid for a seasonal rental shall not be shared by more than the permitted number of tenants.



6. The leasing, use or occupancy by a tenant of less than the entire dwelling unit is prohibited.



7. All applicable parking regulations provided for in § 330-97C of this chapter and Chapter 312 shall be complied with.

1. Upon service of a summons to a tenant for a violation of this Article, notice of such service of violation shall be given by the Town Clerk to the owner and lessor of the premises. Said notice shall be sent by certified mail to the owner and lessor at the address set forth in the seasonal rental permit application. Notice shall be deemed complete upon the execution of an affidavit of mailing by the Town Clerk. The notice shall be in the following form:

Notice

Please take notice, that the tenants ............... (insert names) ............... of premises known as .................... (insert address of premises) .................... have been issued a summons for violation of .................... (insert Code reference) ............... on .......... (insert date and time) ............... Please be advised that a criminal conviction at any time during your tenure of ownership of any lessee of premises known as ............... (insert address) .................... may subject you as the owner/lessor to the penalties and other provisions of this Article, Chapter 330, of the Town Code of the Town of Southampton.

2. Upon a criminal conviction of a tenant for a violation of this chapter, notice of conviction shall be given by the Town Clerk to the owner and lessor. Such notice shall be sent by certified mail addressed to the owner and lessor at the address set forth in the seasonal rental application. Notice shall be deemed complete upon execution of an affidavit of mailing by the Town Clerk. The notice shall be in the following form:
   
   

Notice

Please take notice, that the tenants ............... (insert names) ............... of premises known as .................... (insert address) .................... have been convicted of a violation of ............... (Code reference) ............... on .......... (date) .......... Please be advised that a criminal conviction during your tenure of ownership of any tenant of premises known as .................... (insert address) .................... may subject you as owner/lessor to this Article and § 330-186 of the Town Code of the Town of Southampton.

1. In addition to the penalties provided for in § 330-186 of this chapter violations of this Article shall also be subject to civil penalties and proceedings, as enumerated in the following subsections of this section.
   
   
2. Where authorized by a duly adopted resolution of the Town Board, the Town Attorney shall bring and maintain a civil proceeding, in the name of the town in the Supreme Court, to permanently enjoin the person or persons conducting, maintaining or permitting any violation of this Article from further conducting, maintaining or permitting said violation. The owner and lessor of the residence wherein the violation is conducted, maintained or permitted shall be made defendants in the action, and the tenant or tenants of such residence may be joined as defendants in the action.

3. Where authorized by a duly appointed resolution of the Town Board, the Town Attorney shall bring and maintain a civil proceeding in the name of the town in the Supreme Court to recover a civil penalty against any person conducting, maintaining or permitting a violation of this Article. The amount of any civil penalty awarded a judgment entered pursuant to this Article may be at the discretion of the court in an amount of two hundred fifty dollars ($250.) for each day the violation has been conducted, maintained or permitted. Upon recovery, such penalty shall be paid into the general fund of the town. The person who is listed as the owner upon the seasonal rental application shall be presumed to be the owner.

1. Notwithstanding the provisions of § 330-179 of this chapter, any duly authorized police officer, peace officer, fire marshal, ordinance inspector or building inspector for the town shall be authorized to enforce the provisions of this Article and shall be defined as an enforcement officer under this Article.
2. An enforcement officer is authorized to make or cause to be made inspections to determine the compliance of dwelling units with this Article and to safeguard the health, safety, morals and welfare of the public. The enforcement officer is authorized to enter, upon the consent of the owner, tenant or lessee, any premises for the purpose of performing his duties under this Article.
3. An enforcement officer is authorized to make application for the issuance of a search warrant in order to conduct an inspection of any premises covered by this chapter where the owner, tenant or lessee refuses or fails to allow an inspection of its premises and where there is reasonable cause to believe that a violation of this Article has occurred. The application for a search warrant shall in all respects comply with the applicable laws of the State of New York.
4. Nothing in this chapter shall be deemed to authorize an enforcement officer to conduct an inspection of any premises subject to this chapter without the consent of the owner, tenant or lessee of the premises or without a warrant duly issued by an appropriate court.