Bill > A3889

Introduced Session

This bill would help residential tenants know that the condition of a prospective dwelling unit has passed a municipal inspection and is safe and habitable. Under current law, N.J.S.A.40:48-2.12m, a municipality may require the owner of residential rental property, prior to renting a dwelling unit to a new tenant, to obtain a certificate of inspection or occupancy for the dwelling unit. A certificate of inspection or occupancy is issued by a municipality after a municipal inspector has inspected the dwelling unit and determined the condition of the unit meets the standards provided by law. While current law allows municipalities to require owners to have residential rental units inspected prior to renting the units to new tenants, the law does not require an owner to inform a tenant that a unit has been inspected and certified by the municipality. Because of this, and because some, but not all, municipalities have adopted ordinances regulating the maintenance and condition of rental dwelling units, tenants often do not know whether a prospective dwelling unit has been inspected and certified by a municipality. This bill is designed to enhance communication of information concerning the habitability of prospective rental dwelling units by requiring an owner of residential rental property who is required to obtain a certificate of inspection or occupancy by ordinance to attach a copy of the certificate to the lease for the applicable dwelling unit and deliver a copy of the certificate and lease to the tenant at the time of execution of the lease. The bill would require an owner to have a tenant separately acknowledge receipt of the certificate by initialing the certificate. The bill would allow an owner to cure a failure to comply with this requirement by delivering a copy of the certificate to the tenant, and securing the tenant's acknowledgement of receipt of the certificate, within 30 days after the date of execution of the lease. Under the bill, failure of an owner to comply with these requirements would render a lease voidable at the option of the tenant. A tenant may exercise an option to void a lease by providing written notice to the owner, and may then vacate the dwelling unit with no further financial obligation to the owner. The bill would require an owner to return amounts deposited as security by a tenant within 30 days after the tenant vacates a dwelling unit under the bill.

Committee Categories

Verlina Reynolds-Jackson (D)*,  Anthony Verrelli (D)*,  Benjie Wimberly (D)*,  Angela Mcknight (D), 

Introduced, Referred to Assembly Housing Committee (on 03/23/2020)