A5686

An Act concerning rent increase information for certain multiple dwellings and supplementing Title 46 of the Revised Statutes.

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the “Rental Transparency Act.”

2. As used in P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill):

“Commissioner” means the Commissioner of Community Affairs.

“Dashboard” means the residential rent price dashboard established pursuant to subsection c. of section 3 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).

“Department” means the Department of Community Affairs.

“Disclosure form” means the rental transparency disclosure form developed by the department pursuant to subsection b. of section 3 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).

“Multiple dwelling” means the same as that term is defined in subsection (k) of section 3 of P.L.1967, c.76 (C.55:13A-3).

“Owner” means the same as that term is defined in subsection (l) of section 3 of P.L.1967, c.76 (C.55:13A-3).

3. a. The department shall maintain an index of rent increase data submitted pursuant to subsection a. of section 4 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) for the purpose of tracking rent increases throughout the State.

b. The department shall develop, publish, and make available on its Internet website, a rental transparency disclosure form. The disclosure form shall require an owner, pursuant to subsection a. of section 4 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) to provide:

(1) the address of the multiple dwelling;

(2) the apartment number of each affected unit;

(3) the name and address of each beneficial owner;

(4) the rent price prior to the rent increase;

(5) the rent price following the rent increase;

(6) the percent increase in rent;

(7) the effective date of the rent increase;

(8) whether the rent increase applies to an existing tenant or a new tenancy;

(9) whether the unit is located in a municipality with a rent control ordinance; and

(10) whether the unit is exempt from municipal rent control and the reason for the exemption, if applicable.

c. The department shall establish a residential rent price dashboard. The dashboard shall be published, maintained, and made publicly available on the department’s Internet website. The dashboard shall include:

(1) the average rent increase across each municipality, county, and the State;

(2) the percentage of rent increases in each municipality, county, and the State that were between zero and five percent, greater than fiver percent but less than or equal to 10 percent, greater than 10 percent but less than or equal to 15 percent, or greater than 15 percent; and

(3) other aggregated data, as the commissioner deems appropriate.

d. The department shall, in accordance with the “Administrative Procedure Act,” P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), adopt rules and regulations to effectuate the provisions of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).

4. a. The owner, or owner’s agent, of a multiple dwelling shall, upon notice to a tenant of an upcoming rent increase, submit to the department a rental transparency disclosure form as published on the department’s Internet website pursuant to subsection b. of section 3 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).

b. An owner, or owner’s agent, of a multiple dwelling who fails to submit a disclosure form pursuant to subsection a. of this section, or who knowingly files a disclosure form with false or missing information shall be subject to a penalty of $1,000 per violation pursuant to the “Penalty Enforcement Law of 1999,” P.L.1999, c.274 (C.2A:58-10 et seq.) before the Superior Court, Law Division, Special Civil Part. A penalty recovered pursuant to the provisions of this subsection shall be paid to the municipality in which the violation occurred for the general uses of the municipality. Each month for which rent is charged with an increase that has not been reported to the department, or has been falsely or incompletely reported, shall constitute a separate violation per affected unit.

5. This act shall take effect on the first day of the sixth month next following enactment, except that the department may take anticipatory action necessary to implement the provisions of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), and the bill shall apply to rent increases implemented on or after that date.

STATEMENT

This bill, titled the “Rental Transparency Act,” requires the landlord of a multiple dwelling to submit a rental transparency disclosure form (disclosure form) to the Department of Community Affairs (department) to provide notice of an increase in rent price. A landlord in violation of the bill is to be subject to a penalty of $1,000 per violation.

The bill directs the department to develop and publish the disclosure form that includes certain information as outlined in the bill. The bill further directs the department to establish and maintain a private rental disclosure index and a publicly available residential rent price dashboard, containing certain pieces of the information reported through the disclosure forms.

The bill is to take effect on the first day of the sixth month following enactment and apply to rent increases implemented on or after that date.