By Andrew Martins
Staff Writer
JACKSON – Current and future landlords may soon need to register their properties with the township or risk being fined, municipal officials said as they discussed an ordinance that would establish such regulations.
During the April 26 Township Council meeting, council President Robert Nixon and Township Attorney Jean Cipriani outlined a set of rule changes that pertain to landlords who rent out residential properties.
“One of the things that is lacking in our landlord registration (policy) is that it is a one-time form and there is no quality in that for the town to know what is going on year-to-year,” Nixon said. “Over the last several weeks we have been looking at other municipalities and learning some of the best practices about how to move forward on this.”
During a previous meeting, Nixon said officials noticed that the number of people who are buying residential properties in Jackson and renting them out had increased over the years.
In recent weeks, officials said they wanted to promote accountability for landlords and their properties after a house fire in Lakewood revealed the residence was being used as an illegal dormitory by more than 20 students of a school for Orthodox Jewish students.
According to the draft ordinance, which may have been introduced by the council on May 10, landlords in Jackson will be required to register with the clerk’s office every other year.
Cipriani said the ordinance that was being considered would cover single-family home and two-family units.
“The reason [the ordinance] does not include larger apartments or mobile homes is because we have separate regulations that already address those communities,” the attorney said.
At present, landlords in Jackson only have to register their ownership of a rental property with the municipality once.
According to the ordinance, details to be provided by an applicant would include contact information for the property owner, the names of the tenants who live at each home, a statement reporting whether the tenants were screened by the landlord, and the number of bedrooms at each property.
In the event a property is rented out before it is registered with the township, the landlord will face a fine, Nixon said. Additional penalties could be levied against a landlord for other violations of the ordinance or for registering after the Jan. 31 deadline.
During the meeting, Cipriani said the draft ordinance did not initially include the question of Certificate of Occupancy inspections, although such inspections would be valuable to the municipality.
Although the prospect of an annual property inspection was called “unrealistic” by Business Administrator Helene Schlegel, officials agreed that a property inspection every two years would be appropriate.
Additional inspections would be conducted if a violation occurred on the property or when there is a change in tenants, according to municipal officials.
“In order for this (ordinance) to be enforceable, we have to be able to go in there and take a look at these properties … to make sure that massive changes have not taken place,” Nixon said.