The formal definition of a bedroom in rental properties has been changed in Hightstown to avoid overcrowding.
By: Scott Morgan
HIGHTSTOWN Borough Council Monday approved an amendment to its housing ordinance, outlining a detailed definition of what entails a bedroom for rental.
The ordinance defines a bedroom as a room to be used for sleeping and equipped with a privacy door (not a key-locked door). Councilman Mike Vanderbeck said the ordinance is an effort to curb complaints about overcrowding in some borough apartments and rented rooms.
The borough’s plan is to tighten up loose state guidelines as to how many people can reside in a dwelling, according to Harry Wetterskog, borough zoning officer and building inspector.
Under current state law, Mr. Wetterskog said, residents of any living space are barred only from using the kitchen and bathroom as a sleeping space. In accordance with state guidelines, the borough currently defines its occupancy limits by measuring the entire apartment as a living or sleeping space. The new ordinance, he said, is designed to take into account only the space of the bedrooms for this purpose.
The reference to privacy locks defines a lock that does not need a key to grant entry. Key-locked doors, Mr. Wetterskog said, usually signal that an occupant is renting a particular room and often those rooms are being shared by more people than allowed. Sometimes, he said, people set mattresses in the closets, which signals that occupants are illegally subletting their rooms.
Keyed locks, Mr. Wetterskog said, can be a hazard. He recounted a recent story of police needing to break a door down to find a hiding suspect. Privacy locks, on the other hand, are easily accessed by emergency personnel, he said. The new ordinance will require all bedrooms in rental properties to have privacy locks.
This ordinance deals with rental properties only.