STATE OF NEW JERSEY
217th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2016 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Senator RONALD L. RICE
District 28 (Essex)
Senator SANDRA B. CUNNINGHAM
District 31 (Hudson)
SYNOPSIS
Requires that information about legal rights and responsibilities of tenants and landlords in rental dwelling units be kept up to date in both English and Spanish.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act concerning information setting forth the legal rights and responsibilities of tenants and landlords in rental dwelling units and amending P.L.1975, c.310.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Section 3 of P.L.1975, c.310 (C.46:8-45) is amended to read as follows:
3. a. The department shall, as soon as practicable and annually thereafter, after public hearing, prepare and make available at no cost to the public, to the extent that funding has been made available to the department for free distribution, a statement, in a form and size suitable for posting and distributing pursuant to the provisions of this act, of the primary clearly established legal rights and responsibilities of tenants and landlords of rental dwelling units. This statement shall be printed in both the English and Spanish languages and shall be posted on the department's Internet website, in an easily printable format[,] . The Commissioner of Community Affairs shall ensure that the statement is reviewed annually and is updated [annually] as may be necessary. The commissioner shall also ensure that any changes made to the English language version of the statement shall be made at the same time to the Spanish language version of the statement. The statement shall serve as an informational document, and nothing therein shall be construed as binding on or affecting a judicial determination under section 6 of P.L.1975, c.310 (C.46:8-48) of what constitutes a lease provision which violates clearly established legal rights of tenants or responsibilities of landlords.
b. Where practical considerations make it necessary for the department to limit the extent of the statement, items to be included shall be selected on the basis of the importance of their inclusion in protecting the rights of the public.
(cf: P.L.2007, c.177, s.1)
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill would require the Commissioner of Community Affairs to ensure that certain information prepared for landlords and tenants must be kept up-to-date in both English and Spanish.
N.J.S.A.46:8-45 requires that the Department of Community Affairs must prepare and make available, at no cost to the public, a statement of the primary clearly established legal rights and responsibilities of tenants and landlords of rental dwelling units. The statement must be available in both English and in Spanish.
The statement, the "Truth in Renting" guide, was recently updated in English, but the Spanish language version was not. This bill would amend that statute to require that the commissioner must ensure that the statement is reviewed annually and is updated as may be necessary. The commissioner must also ensure that any changes made to the English language version of the statement are also made at the same time to the Spanish language version of the statement.