Freehold Borough FREEHOLD – The Rental Property Advisory Committee was formed to examine issues relating to rental properties in the borough. Issues examined include exploitation of tenants, overcrowding, neglecting to maintain interior and/or exterior of rental properties, and otherwise compromising the health, safety and welfare of the community.
Rent control, a concept which was studied by the committee, was not found to be an effective tool with which to combat the problem of residential overcrowding.
The members of the Rental Property Advisory Committee are Frank Argote-Freyre, Marie Chapman, August Daesener, Maureen Haley, Lisa Kristiansen, Barbara Oliver and Richard Sobin. Borough Councilman Marc Le Vine is the governing body’s liaison to the committee.
Last week the committee made a series of recommendations to the council and asked municipal officials to consider the following ideas:
1. Institute mandatory annual inspections of all borough rental properties. This will allow code enforcement officers access to rental properties on a regular basis. This recommendation has already been adopted by the council.
2. Hire additional well-trained support staff and inspectors in the Code Enforcement Office. This would enable the office to perform inspections in recommendation No. 1, and to handle quality-of-life complaints thoroughly and in a timely manner.
3. Ensure that tracking methods currently in use are efficient for following up on complaints and violations. The more time code enforcement staff has to spend on data entry, the less time they have to inspect and address emergencies and complaints. Records should be capable of being accessed quickly at all stages of the process.
4. Review and update all ordinances on the books with the purpose of enforcing all of them. It is the committee’s opinion that strict, vigorous, non-discriminatory enforcement of all ordinances, while not always done at present, will go a long way toward alleviating undesirable conditions. This will be facilitated by the hiring of additional staff (recommendation No. 2).
5. Increase fines for violations of borough codes and ordinances. These fines should reflect the severity of the offense. This increase in revenue could offset the cost of recommendation No. 2.
6. Levy fines for every violation occurring simultaneously, rather than fining for one violation only.
7. Discontinue the practice of fining only one owner in a multiply owned residence. Fine each owner, thereby increasing revenue and further inconveniencing landlord(s). Similarly, in the case of overcrowding, a fine should be issued for each resident occupying the premises beyond the legal limit.
8. For landlords whose properties are overcrowded, request jail or community service. Post names of landlord offenders in the newspapers in order to discourage future offenders. Forward offenders’ names to the IRS and New Jersey Division of Taxation (landlord is likely not reporting the income from all tenants), as well as to their mortgage company and insurer.
9. Institute restitution measures against landlords who violate ordinances. For example, require landlord to 1) reimburse a tenant for relocation expenses upon issuance of overcrowding violation; 2) reimburse the school district for children of illegally housed tenants who wrongfully attend Freehold Borough schools. In the case of fire in an overcrowded or otherwise unsafe unit, landlord should be forced to reimburse the borough for its remediation expenses.
10. Ensure that each residence has sufficient property and casualty insurance coverage. Proof of sufficient insurance can be presented during landlord registration.
11. Increase fines for each repeat occurrence of a violation. For subsequent overcrowding violations, revoke certificate of occupancy and/or landlord registration. Require landlords with prior violations to post bond with the borough. Place a lien on the property when landlord has outstanding fines due to the borough.
12. Deputize public works employees (sanitation, recycling, fire inspectors, water/sewer, streets) to report possible violations by calling in suspicious evidence to the Code Enforcement Office.
13. Engage in purposeful, continuous methods to educate landlords and tenants. The committee believes that well-informed residents who know their rights can prevent abuses. Also, an education program will prevent tenants from claiming ignorance of the law.
14. Establish forums for potential home buyers and for senior citizens (to encourage them to stay in Freehold).
Finally, the committee has considered an ordinance that has been proposed or adopted by several towns across the nation to combat overcrowding and its ensuing conditions. This ordinance requires anyone renting an apartment or home to produce valid proof of citizenship or permanent residency. It is the committee’s opinion that this ordinance merits consideration by the council for adoption, pending review of its enforceability by the courts. Recent developments in Freehold Borough (as well as in other towns that have proposed the ordinance) must be considered, together with potential legal challenges that may result from such adoption.