Sponsored by:
Senator PAUL D. MORIARTY
District 4 (Atlantic, Camden and Gloucester)
Senator JOSEPH P. CRYAN
District 20 (Union)
Co-Sponsored by:
Senator Henry
SYNOPSIS
Establishes limit on rent increase for certain dwelling sites for modular or manufactured homes.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning rent increases for certain dwelling sites for modular or manufactured homes and supplementing chapter 27D of Title 52 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. As used in P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill):
"Commissioner" means Commissioner of Community Affairs.
"Covered dwelling site" means a parcel of land within a manufactured home park that is leased to the owner of a modular or manufactured home for living and dwelling purposes for tenancy on the site.
"Landlord" means a person or entity who owns or manages a manufactured home park, and who rents, leases, or charges a lot fee, or offers to rent, lease, or charge a lot fee, for a term of at least one month, a covered dwelling site.
"Manufactured home park" means a parcel of land, or two or more contiguous parcels of land, designed and improved such that the land contains two or more sites, each of which is equipped for the placement of modular or manufactured homes, and which sites are under common ownership and control, other than as a cooperative, for the purpose of leasing each site to the owner of a modular or manufactured home for installation thereon, and where the owner provides services, which may include, but shall not be limited to:
(1) Construction and maintenance of streets;
(2) Lighting of streets and other common areas;
(3) Garbage removal;
(4) Snow removal; and
(5) Provision for the drainage of surface water from home sites and common areas.
"Modular or manufactured home" means a building constructed and intended for use as a dwelling unit that is primarily made or assembled in manufacturing facilities off the building site, for the installation or final assembly on the building site. "Modular or manufactured home" includes, but is not limited to: modular housing that is factory-built single-family and multifamily housing, including closed wall panelized housing, and other modular residential buildings. "Modular or manufactured home" also includes, but is not limited to, a pre-manufactured home and a mobile home.
"Rent" means the amount currently payable by the tenant to the landlord pursuant to a lease or other agreement, without regard to any modification thereof by any authorized board or agency, or any court. "Rent" shall include lot fees, including license fees, charged by a landlord to a tenant, in addition to tax surcharge costs passed on to the tenant, and any other special expenses.
"Tenancy" means the lawful occupation of a covered dwelling site, and which includes a lease or sublease, oral or written.
"Tenant" means a person who leases, rents, or pays a lot fee for a covered dwelling site.
2. a. Except as provided in subsections c. and g. of this section, a landlord shall not, over the course of a 12-month period, increase the rent on a covered dwelling site by more than two percent over the rent charged during the prior 12-month period.
b. A tenant of a covered dwelling site shall not enter into a sublease that results in a rental rate for the covered dwelling site that exceeds the allowable rate authorized by subsection a. of this section. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to authorize a tenant to sublet or assign the tenants interest where otherwise prohibited.
c. A landlord may, notwithstanding subsection a. of this section, establish the initial rate for a new tenancy in which no tenant from the prior tenancy remains in lawful possession of the covered dwelling site. Subsection a. of this section shall only apply to subsequent increases after that initial rate has been established with respect to the new tenancy.
d. Except as allowed following a petition to the commissioner pursuant to subsection g. of this section, if the landlord of a covered dwelling site requests or accepts an increase in rent exceeding the amount permitted pursuant to subsection a. of this section, the applicable rent for the duration of the present lease or agreement term, or subsequent lease or agreement term if the present term is month-to-month, shall be the rent for the rental term preceding the rent increase in violation of this section.
e. This section shall function in addition to, and not in place of, the existing prohibition on unconscionable rent increases pursuant to subsection f. of section 2 of P.L.1974, c.49 (C.2A:18-61.1). A tenant may assert a violation of this section as a defense to an eviction action as an unconscionable rent increase.
f. (1) A tenant shall have the right to petition a court of competent jurisdiction to terminate a lease or agreement containing a provision in violation of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), and shall be permitted to recover reasonable attorneys fees or expenses.
(2) A landlord who violates P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) shall also, at the discretion of the tenant, be subject to a separate cause of action by the tenant in the Superior Court, Law Division, Special Civil Part in the county in which the covered dwelling site is located. A tenant may recover $500 from the landlord for a first offense, and $1,000 from the landlord for a second and any subsequent offense, in addition to reasonable attorneys fees or expenses.
(3) A landlord shall be subject to the penalties set forth in this subsection for each violation against