Hold landlords liable for unruly tenants, city ordinance proposes
By Meir Rinde STAFF WRITER
TRENTON -- A proposed ordinance that would make landlords pay for their tenants’ unruly behavior drew criticism from property owners at a city council meeting this week. The ordinance says that if tenants of a property are convicted of “disorderly, indecent, tumultous or riotous conduct” for two or more separate incidents within a year, the city can require the landlord to post a bond against the consequences of future incidents. The director of housing inspections would hold a hearing to decide whether to require a bond, which could be between $500 and $5,000. The funds could be used to cover future property damages, penalties awarded to other residents, legal fines and police costs. The law’s purpose is “to assure that excesses arising from irresponsible rentals… shall not be repeated,” and to hold landlords to “sufficient standards of responsibility in order to preserve the quality of life for the residents of the city,” the ordinance says. The proposal was criticized at Tuesday’s council meeting by three property owners who argued it improperly sought to make them responsible for their tenants, and would add to their already high costs of doing business. The law “is likely to be an unconstitutional, overbroad burden on landlords, asking them to be responsible for the
acts of people they have no relationship with,” property owner Mark Cubberly said. “I understand that you have a crisis when it comes to balancing your budget, but…the landlords in this city have already bearing a great portion of that with the fees that are put on them for them to be landlords, and particularly the absentee landlords in the city,” he said. Councilwoman at large Phyllis Holly-Ward defended the proposal, saying she was a landlord herself but believed the new law was needed to address persistent complaints about disruptive renters in some parts of Trenton. “We are talking about the climate of the city, and we have to deal with the reality of the people who are here,” Holly-Ward said. “We are reallly talking about improving the quality of life in the city. At some point, we have to hold people accountable.” The ordinance, which requires a public hearing before it can be voted into law, was one of four proposed this week that would impose or raise city fees. Other measures would increase the fees for dog licenses, copies of vital records such as birth certificates, and restaurant and food establishment licenses. Acting business administrator Andrew McCrosson has said that some of the city’s fees have not been increased in years and are lower than fees in other municipalities. Another ordinance that council reviewed Tuesday would shorten the time that a property owner is given to remove or abate a nuisance from five days to 24 hours. Nuisances include unsanitary or unhealthy conditions such as garbage, debris and dog feces. Contact Meir Rinde at mrinde@njtimes.com or (609) 989-5717.