Residents Get Schooled on Rental Rules

Keith Murphy found out the hard way that it is easy to get into a bad housing situation.

Murphy, chairman of the fair housing committee of the Morris County Human Relations Commission, was moderator at a rental rights session at Wednesday. The public meeting was designed to explain some of the basic rules that guide tenant-landlord relationships.

Murphy said that after a recovery program he needed a place to live and ended up in a five-bedroom house that had nine occupants. While he suspected that was a lot of people for one house, he became very concerned when the landlord would ask him at times to move his things into a closet to make it appear that fewer people lived there.

Murphy said neighbors had been suspicious that "stacking," or overcrowded housing existed at that home, and a series of inspections took place.

“I found out that this was stacking and it was really, really, really illegal,” Murphy said.

He said the timing of the session was to emphasize that in a sour economy, renting is a popular housing option.

The human relations commission, Murphy said, focuses on issues such as housing discrimination and works to ensure that all the county’s residents have access to housing. The session featured a panel of three individuals experienced in the housing market: Kevin Antonelli, an experienced real estate management professional, attorney Gerald Brennan from the Morris County office of Legal Services of Northwest New Jersey, and Michelle Sement, a real estate broker.

A key to avoiding landlord-tenant disputes, Brennan said, is to read the lease. It is the guiding document for the relationship and all conditions relating to a rental unit should be included, he said.

He also said there are federal and state laws designed to prevent housing discrimination. And in New Jersey, the statutes provide tougher restrictions than the federal standards.

Sement said that when she works with disabled clients, sometimes accommodations need to  be made in the apartment for a handicapped person that could include making the unit accessible for a wheelchair. She said these should be discussed with the landlord and changes can be made by the tenant, with an agreement that they will be removed when they move out.

Antonelli said that housing discrimination could take place in the form of “steering,” in which certain categories of tenants defined by race or ethnicity or other characteristics, are shown units in one area of a town and not others.

“It becomes an issue when a unit that was denied to a certain category of tenant becomes available when a person in a more preferred category is available,” he said.

Antonelli said that renters need to understand that there are different rules for different types of rental units, and that many of the state’s laws do not apply to family occupied buildings with less than four units. Those owner-occupied units have separate rules for certain circumstances, but must follow the state’s general rental laws.

Brennan said that a real concern is a tenant being told by a landlord that they must vacate an apartment immediately. The state’s anti-eviction laws were updated to provide the tenant protections against landlords who seek to remove tenants, he said. Only non-payment of rent can result in a short-term eviction, Brennan said, but even then the landlord must provide sufficient documentation of the non-payment.

In general cases, such as a disorderly tenant, the landlord must provide the tenant a notice to stop the activity, and later a second notice of eviction, if the activity does not stop. Without those notices, Brennan said a housing judge cannot hear the case.

He said that a personal eviction, where a landlord personally evicts a tenant,  is not allowed in New Jersey and could result in a disorderly persons charge against the landlord.

Antonelli said each tenant should be presented with the “Truth in Renting” booklet published  by the state Department of Community Affairs, which has jurisdiction over rental law.

Brennan also said that with foreclosures a common part of the housing market in this economy, tenants need to know that the building owner’s foreclosure  does not mean the tenant must move out. It might mean that the new owner of the unit could ask for changes in the lease, for example, he said.

The top 10 questions that a tenant should ask are:

When will the apartment be available?
What is the monthly rent and does it include utilities, and which ones?
How long is the lease?
What is the security deposit?
Are roommates allowed?
Is parking available?
The type of security for the building or complex.
What maintenance is provided by the landlord?
Are pets allowed?
What is the lease renewal policy?