New law would crack down on illegal tenancy
Officials suspect some landlords are ducking fair share of taxes
BY MICHAEL ACKER Staff Writer
S ayreville officials are hoping to address problems with illegal tenancy and the improper resale of homes in town.

They have proposed a program that would require all property owners, except those with owneroccupied, one- or two-family homes, to register with the borough and obtain a certificate of resale compliance if seeking to sell the property. The program would also allow the borough to inspect each of those properties before the resale takes place.

Also, landlords would have to obtain a certificate of rental compliance before filling vacancies in their apartments, according to the proposed program. Those property

owners would have to correct violations, or the borough could take action to put the premises in proper condition and place a lien on the property for costs expended by the municipality.

Borough Business Administrator Jeffry Bertrand told Greater Media Newspapers that the borough attorney is drafting the residential rental and resale inspection ordinance, which must be crosschecked with the town's other ordinances. He said officials are working to get the program started as soon as possible.

Councilman Stanley Drwal addressed the proposal at Monday's council meeting, saying there are at least four apartment buildings in the borough that paid approximately $3,000 in property taxes last year. While he does not know whether those rental units are occupied illegally, landlords who violate property codes by housing tenants illegally are ripping off law-abiding taxpayers and renters who operate in a lawful manner, he said.

"I applaud this measure," Drwal said.

Bertrand said the purpose of the program is to make sure that the tax base is properly proportioned across the properties, so that all homeowners are taxed correctly. The goal is not to generate fees for inspections or issue fines, he noted.

The rental compliance fee starts at $75, which Bertrand said is low compared to other municipalities. The fee would be higher, as much as $100 to $200, if the landlord fails to request the inspection with enough time before the closing date. Reinspection fees range from $50 to $150, depending on how far in advance of the closing date the re-inspection is scheduled.

Failure to register property is expected to incur a penalty of $100 for the first offense and $500 for subsequent offenses. Property owners would be able to appeal orders or fines to the Sayreville Appeals Board.

This program should have a major impact on illegal occupancies, Bertrand said.

"That's our goal," he said.

Councilwoman Kathy Makowski noted the importance of neighbors informing the borough of landlords who are renting properties to illegal tenants. She added that it is unlikely that the tax assessor would know about those situations without the help of neighbors.

Kirk Miick, the borough's head construction official, found that 18 of Middlesex County's 25 municipalities conduct resale inspections of certain houses in order to make sure that the homes are code compliant when sold, according to Bertrand. The borough already requires fire detector reviews, but the full inspection would increase safety for residents and first responders, he said.

In addition, the inspection would allow the borough to properly assess homes and uncover situations where zoning rules are not complied with, such as when a home is being sold as a two-family residence when it is only a single-family home.

"It helps us with overcrowding situations," Bertrand said. "… The goal is compliance. The goal is not to generate fees."

With rentals, every time a landlord gets a vacancy and looks to rent out a given property again, that landlord would have to earn a certificate under the proposed program. If the previous tenant destroyed the property, the borough would be able to ensure that the property is fixed before it is rented to another tenant.

"We want people living in safe environments," Bertrand said.

Residents who want to report an illegal tenancy situation or other violations can call the code enforcement office, he said, adding that Miick is working on a form that residents would be able to access via the borough's Web site when it is complete.

Drwal told Greater Media Newspapers that some landlords buy rundown buildings and rent them out to tenants without improving the property. The poor conditions of the property results in a low tax assessment for the landlord, and the tax burden is shifted to law-abiding residents, who must also contend with any impact that the rentals have on the school district, he added.

"So, people could really abuse the system, because there was no methodological process to make sure things were being kept up to par," Drwal said.

Towns including Woodbridge and Carteret already introduced similar programs in order to prevent honest taxpayers from carrying an additional burden and to prevent blight.

"The vast majority of towns have already implemented this program," Drwal said. "… I'm just glad this is finally going through, because it really has been unfair to the taxpayer."

Drwal said he hopes the ordinance is ready for adoption within the next few weeks or by the end of the summer.