Township Council set to discuss municipal inspections of rental units.
By: Joseph Harvie
Rental inspection codes are fairly common among South Brunswick’s neighbors.
Jamesburg, North Brunswick, Plainsboro and Princeton Borough all have codes that allow municipal inspectors to enter units either when a new tenant moves in or on regular intervals.
The South Brunswick Township Council is considering whether to add the township to this group. It plans to discuss the issue at its Nov. 1 meeting.
The topic came up after the residents of Deans Apartments, a 40-unit affordable housing apartment complex on Blackhorse Lane, approached the council with a series of health and safety complaints. They said that apartment management, Lower County Management of Sicklerville, and the owners of the complex, Property Management Company of North Adams, Mass., were not responding to complaints.
The township has issued summonses for fire and safety violations that could result in about $3,200 in fines. However, the township is limited in its ability to force landlords to fix up their rental properties because it does not have a local inspection code.
The state inspects multi-dwelling apartment complexes every five years, but does not inspect every unit.
That’s why the council is considering establishing an inspection code.
"I do not want to see another situation like the one we had at Deans," Councilman Joe Camarota said at the Oct. 4 council meeting. "That is unacceptable to all of us."
The South Brunswick Post surveyed neighboring communities to see how their rental codes function. Plainsboro and North Brunswick require municipal inspectors to look at all rental units whenever there is a change in tenancy, while Jamesburg inspects all rental units once a year and Princeton Borough inspects them every two and a half years.
Plainsboro
Plainsboro adopted its rental code in 1989 after township officials became concerned about the state of the township’s rental housing stock.
The Plainsboro ordinance covers multi-unit complexes and townhouses, condominiums and houses that are rented out by their owners and requires rental properties to be inspected each time a new tenant is to move in, said Eileen Boyce, Plainsboro’s housing official. The only units not inspected are duplex houses in which the owner lives in one of the units, she said. The ordinance also requires units to be inspected whenever they are sold. In addition, the township conducts inspections of all units every three years.
Ms. Boyce said the inspections are done after the owner or management company fills out an application for a request of inspection. She said the inspections cost $35 for each unit of a multi-unit dwelling, $70 for townhouses or condominiums that are rented or sold and $80 for single-family houses that are rented or sold.
Once the application fee is paid, an inspection date is set.
"We limit it to four inspections per complex each day," Ms. Boyce said. "You can’t do more than that in one day."
Inspections cover general fire safety, such as smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, range hoods and bathroom ventilation fans. Ms. Boyce said that grease could build up in range hoods or lint in fans, which could cause a fire.
Inspectors also check to make sure that apartments are not in poor condition or infested with vermin or insects.
"The carpets have to be cleaned," she said. "The walls have to be painted, and the paint can’t be peeling. The bathroom has to be cleaned and the kitchen has to be cleaned."
Owners are given a time frame within which to fix violations. If violations are not fixed, she said, property owners are issued summonses and taken to municipal court.
Ms. Boyce said inspectors also inspect appliances. She said that those that are not working must be repaired or replaced. However, property owners are exempt if the appliances are not included in a majority of apartments.
"If everyone else has it they can’t take it out," Ms. Boyce said. "They can’t be selective."
She said appliances only become an issue in single-family houses and private townhouse and condominium rentals if they are included in the lease.
Ms. Boyce said the housing offices gives tenants a place to turn if their landlord or management company is not responsive when repairs need to be made.
"If they have contacted the landlord, we tell them to wait 10 days, then try again," Ms. Boyce said. "If it is not fixed by then, we tell them to give us a call at that point. If they are not responsive to me, I issue a summons and take them to court. And I don’t release the summons until the violation is fixed."
North Brunswick
North Brunswick’s code is similar to Plainsboro’s.
Ralph Farella, North Brunswick’s code enforcement/housing inspection official, said that landlords have to register with the township and notify his office each time there is a change in tenant. When there is a change, the township inspects the unit to make sure it is clean, that the smoke detectors and appliances work, that railings are secured properly and locks on doors and windows work.
"There are so many things we check for I could be here all day," Mr. Farella said.
Inspections cost property owners $35, though "rush inspections," those that must be done within a day of filing an inspection application, cost $70.
The township inspects all units in multi-unit apartment complexes and other units that are rented by their owners. As in Plainsboro, duplexes are not inspected if the property owner lives in one of the units, Mr. Farella said.
The program is valuable to the township, Mr. Farella said, because it ensures that renters have the same quality of life as homeowners and it keeps the township’s rental stock from falling into disrepair.
Jamesburg
Jamesburg inspects all rental units in the borough on an annual basis.
Township Zoning Officer Bernie Long said the inspection program was created to ensure that rental properties were well maintained. He said the five-year-old program has resulted in drastic improvement in the quality of both rental housing and apartment complexes.
"We have just under 700 units in a little under a square mile so we have a lot of them," Mr. Long said. "The rental ordinance has helped upgrade rental properties in the borough."
Mr. Long said he inspects smoke and carbon monoxide detectors and other potential safety hazards, plumbing and electric and cosmetic issues, such as paint or carpeting.
Landlords are given a written warning if there is a violation and that, depending on the violation, the landlord would have between a week to 30 days to address it, he said.
"If it’s a broken smoke detector they usually fix that on the spot," Mr. Long said. "Regular violations we give them 30 days. If it is something big and they need more time, all they have to do is request an extension and as long as they’re working on it they’ll ge the extension."
Jamesburg charges a $30 annual fee to landlords, which includes the cost of the inspection, Mr. Long said.
Princeton Borough
Princeton Borough inspects properties every two and a half years for what is considered general maintenance. This includes making sure appliances and outlets work and could include addressing worn carpets or paint and other issues.
In addition, heating units, chimneys and fireplaces are inspected every two years.
Charles Sugg, the borough’s acting fire official, said inspections are conducted on all apartment complexes and privately rented units, except for those in which the owner lives.
"What happens is the state comes in and does housing inspection and our office will do a fire inspection on the fire alarm, the sprinklers anything in the unit that is fire-related," Mr. Sugg said.
Borough inspectors conduct a second inspection two and one half years after the state inspection, which is the mid-point between state inspections, Mr. Sugg said.
Mr. Sugg said borough inspectors were trained in housing inspections at Rutgers Unversity in New Brunswick. He said all of the borough’s inspectors are certified fire inspectors.
Once inspections are complete if there are any violations the owner or management company is given 30 days to fix the violation and if the problem persists they are issued a summons, Mr. Sugg said.

