Make Bad Landlords Face More Inspections, NJ Lawmakers Say

A pair of state lawmakers who represent towns in Essex and Hudson counties are pushing a potential New Jersey law that they say will improve living conditions for local home renters.

The bill, S-1150, would authorize the state Department of Community Affairs (DCA) to establish a tiered schedule for inspections of hotels and multiple dwellings. These inspection schedules would be increased or decreased “based on the conditions of the units,” according to a joint statement from sponsors Sen. M. Teresa Ruiz and Sen. Brian Stack.

Landlords with properties “in bad repair” could face DCA inspections as often as every year or two. Meanwhile, their counterparts with track records of “good repair” may only be inspected once every seven years, the senators said.

The Senate unanimously released the bill on March 25. A companion bill in the Assembly, A-5041, was reported out of committee on second reading on March 7.

“There have been many cases of dwellings being poorly maintained, creating unsafe living conditions for our tenant population and stifling our cities. It is important that we hold these habitual offenders accountable,” said Ruiz (District 29), who represents Newark and Belleville.

“Modifying the inspection system to focus on landlords with a chronic history of violations, will align the state’s resources and ensure issues get resolved in a timely manner,” Ruiz said.

“There are far too many apartment buildings in dismal shape, forcing tenants to live in unsanitary and unsafe conditions,” said Stack (District 33), who represents Hoboken, Jersey City, Union City and Weehawken.

“We have housing standards in place for a reason, this will allow us to better enforce them, resulting in better conditions for everyone,” Stack added.

• See related article: New Law After Hoboken Landlords Allegedly 'Ignore' Mold Issues
• See related article: Dirty New Jersey Apartment Complex Passed HUD Inspection, Senators Say

Learn more about posting announcements or events to your local Patch site here. Send local news tips and correction requests to eric.kiefer@patch.com