Bill > S3216

Introduced Session

This bill amends the "Prevention of Homelessness Act (1984)," P.L.1984, c.180 (C.52:27D-280 et al.), as well as P.L.2004, c.140 (C.52:27D-287.1 et al.), which establishes the State Rental Assistance Program (S-RAP), to require any landlord benefitting from either program to maintain a record of compliance with State and local housing standards. The bill requires such landlords to also ensure that their rental units remain in compliance with the housing quality standards of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. The bill functions in conjunction with a companion bill that requires the Department of Community Affairs ("DCA") to create and maintain a searchable electronic database of Statewide residential rental property inspection findings, and enables DCA to periodically consult the database to ensure that landlords benefitting from rental assistance payments maintain a record of compliance with local, State, and federal housing standards, and have promptly corrected any violations of those standards. The bill directs DCA to terminate the participation in the rental assistance program of any landlord who does not comply with these standards, provided such action shall not cause unnecessary hardship to a tenant. Additionally, this bill directs DCA to ensure that public housing authorities have access to consult the Statewide database to determine whether a landlord has a record of compliance with State and local housing standards. The bill allows the public housing authority to utilize this information in determining the frequency of periodic inspections of rental units in the federal Housing Choice Voucher Program. Finally, the bill directs DCA to ensure that New Jersey courts have access to consult the Statewide database as necessary in resolving eviction actions and other proceedings, in case any information contained therein is relevant to an action's resolution. For example, if the eviction action concerns the nonpayment of rent, and the tenant argues that he has withheld the rental payment in order to make necessary repairs to the unit, then any record contained in the Statewide database of the landlord's noncompliance with housing standards could support the tenant's defense against eviction.

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Ronald Rice (D)*,  Brian Stack (D)*,  Nilsa Cruz-Perez (D),  Teresa Ruiz (D), 

Received in the Assembly, Referred to Assembly Commerce and Economic Development Committee (on 01/05/2018)