Dive Brief:
- The owners of more than 40 apartment complexes in Edison, New Jersey, totaling 8,216 units, have filed a lawsuit challenging its new housing ordinance, which among other requirements establishes registration fees of $100 per rental unit, according to court documents.
- The ordinance, approved on April 25 and effective immediately, adds new requirements for the annual registration of its apartment buildings, including expanded information about the properties’ ownership and the number of residents, kitchens and sleeping areas in each unit. The amendments also establish inspection requirements if issues are reported within a unit or building.
- The lawsuit, filed on June 19 in Middlesex County Superior Court, alleges that the registration fee is illegal, its information requests are “improper,” and its inspection requirement is vague and discretionary, according to court documents. The plaintiffs are requesting that the ordinance be invalidated and vacated.
Dive Insight:
The new registration and licensing standards are intended to ensure residential units in Edison are maintained to code standards and protect the health and safety of tenants, according to the ordinance text. Registration is only required for properties with five or more units, and the fee is waived if the owner or landlord is over the age of 66 and lives on the property.
Landlords are also required to provide occupants or tenants with a copy of the registration form, and to clearly post and enforce occupancy limits in units.
Before this amendment, Edison already required landlords to register with the county each year and provide the name and address of the owner, the current and previous base rent for each unit and any applicable surcharges. There was not previously any fee for this registration.
The case has 41 plaintiffs, all of them ownership companies and LLCs for apartment buildings in Edison, according to court documents. Companies associated with these buildings include, among others:
- Garden Communities, a Short Hill, New Jersey-based owner and operator with 11 Edison properties named in the suit, including the largest, Durham Woods, with 1,000 units.
- Fox & Foxx Development LLC, an Edison-based real estate investment firm with eight properties named in the suit.
- Middlesex Management, a Woodbridge, New Jersey-based property manager with 12 properties in Edison, including Millbrook Village with 557 units and Blueberry Village with 428 units.
The plaintiffs claim that under the New Jersey Licensing Act, the township does not have the power to require licensing from properties with lease terms of over 175 days, according to the lawsuit. They also claim that the financial disclosures required by law are not relevant to unit registration or the health and safety of tenants.
“Under the ordinance, landlords are subject to violations and penalties for actions taken unilaterally by a tenant, including the intentional over-occupancy of an apartment,” the lawsuit reads. “The ordinance also imposes a [fee] which amount bears no rational relationship to the administration and enforcement of the ordinance, and which is illegal; if applied, the ordinance would require plaintiffs to collectively pay a sum of $821,600.00 per year.”
The inspection provision, which allows the township to inspect units or buildings if issues are reported, does not specify what these issues may be, according to the lawsuit. “Under the ordinance, a tenant could improperly report the most minor repair and maintenance concerns to the township in order to improperly trigger an inspection,” the lawsuit states.
In his response, Allen Zhang, the attorney representing Edison, called the case “frivolous” and asked for it to be dismissed, according to a report by My Central Jersey. A case management conference has been set for late September.
The state of New Jersey also requires registration for multifamily units with the Bureau of Housing Inspection. However, its registration fees are $10 per building, according to the state government.
