By clare MARie celano
Staff Writer
FREEHOLD — Anyone thinking about buying property in the borough for the express purpose of renting out rooms and apartments better make certain they have dotted all of their "i’s" and crossed all of their "t’s."
The gravy train has passed.
According to Mayor Michael Wilson, the time has come to crack down on the "overcrowding that threatens the quality of life in many areas — noise complaints, housing violations, drunkenness, unsafe and hazardous living conditions."
An ordinance introduced by the Borough Council on Jan. 21 will, if adopted, regulate rental properties and impose greater responsibility and accountability on landlords while protecting renters.
Borough Administrator Joseph Bellina said informational meetings will be held with landlords in order to bring them up to speed about this proposed ordinance. A public hearing, and possible adoption of the law, will be scheduled after those meetings are held. Bellina said he hopes the ordinance can be voted on by the end of February.
The ordinance was proposed in response to numerous complaints received from borough residents as well as the hundreds of violations heard at the town’s quality of life special court sessions over the last few months, according to municipal officials.
The ordinance states that the governing body of the borough recognizes that "a number of rental units in the borough are overcrowded and unsupervised by landlords, creating harmful conditions to the health and safety of the occupants and the general public."
The document also recognizes that the problem is "exacerbated by absentee landlords."
The ordinance seeks to hold landlords accountable for unsafe conditions and for units which experience "disturbance, damage and incurs public expense resulting from inadequate supervised rental units."
Wilson told council members and the audience he was asking the council "to adopt rental property regulations that will require landlords to provide the borough with the name, age and gender of each and every tenant in each unit, including children."
He said all landlords will also be required to provide the borough’s construction official with a floor plan of each unit, depicting the number, dimensions and location of each room in the unit.
"No space shall be used for sleeping purposes that has not been designated on the sketch," Wilson explained. "The days of sleeping in closets, bathrooms, cellars and attics must end. Those who allow these substandard living conditions to continue will be prosecuted and fined to the fullest extent of the law.
"Freehold Borough is and should be a place where families can find affordable housing, not where absentee landlords find easy and dirty profits," the mayor said.
The proposed ordinance requires an annual registration fee of $500 per property and will carry a fine of $1,250 to owners who do not comply with its provisions. Failure to comply with the ordinance can also result in imprisonment for a term not exceeding 90 days or a period of community service not exceeding 90 days or both.
Wilson commended borough landlords who are law abiding and responsible.
"I am sure these individuals will understand the reasoning for this action and will comply with the requirements set forth," he said. "It is crucial for the quality of life and preservation of property values that we vigilantly monitor and enforce our housing codes and put some teeth into our regulations."
The borough intends to use the information in the registration statement to create a data base to be shared with the police department, fire department and code enforcement officials in order to better oversee rental properties and enforce violations.
According to the ordinance, the Rental Registration Statement will include the names of the owners of the property, the name of the managing agent, the name of the fuel dealer and the name of the custodian, if applicable. If tenancy changes through the year, owners will be required to provide an updated rental property statement for every unit that has a change within 30 days of that change.