Bill Text: NJ A4712 | 2018-2019 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Establishes five-year moratorium on conversions of certain residential rental premises in qualified counties.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-13 - Substituted by S2957 (1R) [A4712 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2018-A4712-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman RAJ MUKHERJI
District 33 (Hudson)
SYNOPSIS
Establishes five-year moratorium on conversions of certain residential rental premises in qualified counties.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning the conversion of certain residential rental premises and amending and supplementing P.L.1991, c.509.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Section 2 of P.L.1991, c.509 (C.2A:18-61.41) is amended to read as follows:
2. a. The Legislature finds that the provision and maintenance of an adequate supply of housing affordable to persons of low and moderate income in this State has been and is becoming increasingly difficult as a result of economic and market forces which require special public actions or subsidies to counteract.
b. One particularly acute result of [this] these forces has been the continual increase in the number of displaced or homeless persons who, lacking permanent shelter, require special assistance from public services in this State and in surrounding states in order to remain alive.
c. The Legislature has [in the past] taken various actions [, and is currently considering several measures,] to increase the supply of affordable housing in the State. [At the same time, it] However, it also is necessary to protect residential tenants, particularly those of advanced age or disability, or lower economic status, from the effects of eviction from affordable housing in recognition of the high costs, both financial and social, to the public of displacement from affordable housing and of homelessness.
d. The Legislature [has in the past through various enactments recognized] recognizes that the eviction of residential tenants pursuant to the process of conversion of residential premises to condominiums or cooperatives exacerbates homelessness and makes more difficult the maintenance of an adequate supply of low and moderate income housing.
e. The Legislature, therefore, declares that it is in the public interest to establish a tenant protection program specifically designed to provide protection to residential tenants, particularly the aged and disabled and those of low and moderate income, from eviction resulting from condominium or cooperative conversion.
f. Despite its laudable objectives, the Legislature finds that the "Tenant Protection Act of 1992," P.L.1991, c.509 (C.2A:18-61.40 et al.) has yet to adequately preserve the supply of affordable housing in certain areas of the State in which condominium and cooperative conversions are especially common.
g. In the public interest of preserving affordable housing, the Legislature therefore declares a five-year moratorium on condominium and cooperative conversions in qualified counties immediately following the enactment of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).
(cf: P.L.1991, c.509, s.2)
2. Section 9 of P.L.1991, c.509 (C.2A:18-61.48) is amended to read as follows:
9. [No] In addition to the limitations set forth in section 3 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), no registration of conversion for a building or structure located in a qualified county shall be approved until the department receives proof that the provisions of section 8 of [this act] P.L.1991, c.509 (C.2A:18-61.47) have been complied with, and that notification as required in [that] section 8 of P.L.1991, c.509 (C.2A:18A-61.47) has been made to all tenants who filed application for protected tenancy status on or before the application deadline prescribed in the notice given pursuant to section 7 of [this act] P.L.1991, c.509 (C.2A:18-61.46). The proof shall be by affidavit or in such form as the department may require.
(cf: P.L.1991, c.509, s.9)
3. (New section) a. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, rule, or regulation to the contrary, the department shall not approve an application for registration for the conversion of residential rental property located in a qualified county during the five-year period immediately following the enactment of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).
b. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, rule, or regulation to the contrary, any application for registration of conversion, notice of intention to convert, full plan of conversion, public offering statement, or other required documentation submitted pursuant to any law or regulation, including but not limited to, P.L.1991, c.509 (C.2A:18-61.40 et al.), P.L.1981, c.226 (C.2A:18-61.22 et al.), P.L.1974, c.49 (C.2A:18-61.1 et al.), or P.L.1977, c.419 (C.45:22A-21 et seq.), and that is associated with the conversion of residential rental property located in a qualified county, shall be deemed null and void if submitted to the department, designated administrative agency, or tenant during the five-year period immediately following the enactment of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).
4. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill establishes a five-year moratorium on the conversion of residential premises into condominium or cooperative housing developments ("condominium conversions") in certain qualified counties.
Pursuant to the "Tenant Protection Act of 1992," P.L.1991, c.509 (C.2A:18-61.40 et al.), the State currently provides certain poor, elderly, and disabled tenants residing in qualified counties with tenancy protection status in the event of a condominium conversion. The provisions of this law were intended to mitigate the deleterious effects of condominium conversions on the supply of affordable housing in certain areas of the State.
As defined in the "Tenant Protection Act of 1992," a qualified county includes any county with a population in excess of 500,000 persons and a population density in excess of 8,500 persons per square mile, according to the most recent federal decennial census. Hudson County is currently the only county in the State that meets the definition of a qualified county under this law.
The bill amends the "Tenant Protection Act of 1992" to prohibit, during the five-year period immediately following the enactment of the bill, the Department of Community Affairs from approving any condominium conversion that would be located in a qualified county. The bill also provides that any required documentation concerning the conversion of residential rental property in a qualified county, including, but not limited to, an application for registration of conversion, notice of intention to convert, full plan of conversion, and public offering statement, would be considered null and void if submitted during the five-year period immediately following the enactment of the bill. Given that only Hudson County meets the definition of a qualified county, the five-year moratorium on condominium conversions would only be established in that county.
Under the bill, a condominium conversion is defined as any change to an apartment complex or other residential housing development which would cause the complex or development to constitute a planned real estate development (e.g., condominium), as defined by "The Planned Real Estate Development Full Disclosure Act," P.L.1977, c.419 (C.45:22A-21 et seq.).
