Bill Text: NJ A1910 | 2020-2021 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires owners of multiple dwellings with at least nine units to provide maintenance services 24 hours a day.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-14 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Housing Committee [A1910 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2020-A1910-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
219th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2020 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman BENJIE E. WIMBERLY
District 35 (Bergen and Passaic)
Assemblywoman SHANIQUE SPEIGHT
District 29 (Essex)
SYNOPSIS
Requires owners of multiple dwellings with at least nine units to provide maintenance services 24 hours a day.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act requiring certain maintenance services to be available 24 hours a day in certain multiple dwellings and supplementing P.L.1967, c.76 (C.55:13A-1 et seq.).
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. The owner of a multiple dwelling with nine or more dwelling units shall provide the following maintenance services in the multiple dwelling, upon the request of a resident, on a 24-hour a day basis:
(1) Setting out and returning waste disposal receptacles, including storing away receptacles on days when there is no waste pickup;
(2) Providing regular daily care for all common areas, including the removal of garbage, litter, or other accumulations;
(3) Attending to sidewalks, pedestrian walkways, parking areas, and driveways, including the removal of snow and ice to permit safe passage in and out of the premises for vehicles and pedestrians;
(4) Operating the equipment designed to provide heat; and
(5) Any other routine operational and maintenance service required of the owner pursuant to the "Hotel and Multiple Dwelling Law," P.L.1967, c.76 (C.55:13A-1 et seq.).
b. The maintenance services required under subsection a. of this section may be performed by:
(1) the owner if the owner resides in the multiple dwelling;
(2) maintenance staff who reside in the multiple dwelling; or
(3) an off-site maintenance service provider located within one block or 200 feet of the multiple dwelling, whichever is greater.
c. A person designated to provide maintenance services pursuant to subsection b. of this section, if different from the owner, shall be, concurrently with and to the same extent as the owner, responsible for complying with any requirement of, or order issued pursuant to, this section, and liable for any penalty for a violation thereof.
d. (1) The owner, or an agent thereof, shall post, in the same location and manner as a certificate of registration pursuant to subsection a. of section 12 of P.L.1967, c.76 (C.55:13A-12), a sign that contains the name, address, and telephone number of the person designated to provide maintenance services pursuant to subsection b. of this section.
(2) The owner, or an agent thereof, shall post an updated sign within five days following a change in any of the information required under paragraph (1) of this subsection.
e. A municipality may
adopt an ordinance imposing the requirements of this section on owners of
multiple dwellings with six or more dwelling units.
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill would codify current regulations requiring owners of multiple dwellings with at least nine dwelling units to provide maintenance services 24 hours a day. This bill would make these regulatory requirements, which are vital to the health and safety of residents of these multiple dwellings, part of the statutory law.
The maintenance services required under the bill to be available around the clock to residents of these multiple dwellings include:
(1) Setting out and returning waste disposal receptacles;
(2) Daily care of all common areas;
(3) Maintaining sidewalks, pedestrian walkways, parking areas, and driveways, including snow and ice removal;
(4) Operating the heating equipment; and
(5) Any other routine operational and maintenance service required under the "Hotel and Multiple Dwelling Law," P.L.1967, c.76 (C.55:13A-1 et seq.).
Under the bill, the required maintenance services may be performed by either: (1) a resident owner; (2) resident maintenance personnel; or (3) an off-site maintenance service provider located within one block or 200 feet of the multiple dwelling, whichever distance is greater. If someone other than the owner is designated to provide these maintenance services, that person would be, concurrently with and to the same extent as the owner, responsible for complying with any requirement under the bill and liable for any penalty for a violation thereof.
The bill also requires the owner to post, alongside the multiple dwelling certificate of registration, a sign that contains the contact information of the person designated to provide the required maintenance services. This sign would have to be updated within five days of any change in this information.
