JACKSON – The Township Council has adopted an ordinance that is designed to protect residents who rent the space they call home. The law creates what officials called relocation assistance.
Council President Ken Bressi, Vice President Robert Nixon, Councilman Barry Calogero, Councilman Scott Martin and Councilwoman Ann Updegrave voted to adopt the ordinance on April 10.
With the ordinance, Jackson established a relocation assistance fund into which will be deposited the following sums:
- Any relocation costs and the interest thereon paid by an owner of real property who has been liable for a civil or criminal penalty in the case of any displacement of persons by housing or construction code enforcement pursuant to law;
- Any sums realized by the township upon enforcement of the township’s liens or liquidation of any property acquired by virtue of enforcement pursuant to law;
- Any sums realized by the township relating to any relocation cost and interest thereon upon enforcement or liquidation of any property acquired by virtue of enforcement and collected pursuant to law.
Officials said money from the relocation assistance fund will be used to provide relocation assistance to individuals.
The ordinance states that “in addition to requiring reimbursement from the owner/landlord of the structure for relocation assistance paid to a displaced tenant, a separate fine for zoning or housing code violations for an illegal occupancy shall be assessed, up to an amount to six times the monthly rental paid by the displaced person, to the township by the owner of the structure” and “for any second or subsequent violation of this chapter and after notice and an opportunity to be heard, the township shall impose a fine equal to the annual tuition cost of any resident of the illegally occupied unit attending a public school.”
Bressi said council members wanted to make it clear that providing relocation assistance is the responsibility of a landlord.
“If a landlord has a house he is renting and the house is condemned by the Department of Health or is not livable … and people have to be moved out for health reasons, the burden is on the landlord,” he said. “A landlord should be able to take care of his property and keep and maintain it. I think it is a good ordinance and it helps.”
Bressi said there were no specific problems in Jackson that sparked the introduction and adoption of the ordinance.