Any person who intends to sell, transfer or convey, by deed or otherwise, any residence, dwelling, apartment house or structure intended for human habitation must make application to and receive from the Director, Neighborhood and Recreational Services, of the City of Newark, New Jersey or his/her designee, a certification that such residence conforms to the housing and zoning ordinances of the City of Newark. The granting of any certification of code compliance shall not free an owner, seller or buyer of property of their obligation to comply with any other ordinance or statute applicable to the property, and in particular, shall not free the owner of the obligation of complying with the Uniform Construction Code. The seller or seller's realtor, attorney or broker shall be permitted to procure the Certification of Code Compliance once available for distribution. (Ord. 6 S+FA, 2-21-90 § 27:8-1; Ord. 6 S+FD, 5-5-93; Ord. 6 S+FH, 8-2-95)
As used in this section:
APARTMENT shall mean any building containing more than one (1) separate residence, or a building with only one (1) residence and space allocated for other uses not associated with a residence.
APPEAL shall mean an appeal of the notice of violation of an Inspector to the Director of the Department of Neighborhood and Recreational Services or his/her designee, which shall be filed with the Office of the Director within ten (10) days of the receipt by a seller of a notice of any violation of the Housing and Zoning Regulations.
CERTIFICATE OF CODE COMPLIANCE shall mean a certificate issued by the Director of the Department of Neighborhood and Recreational Services that indicates that a structure intended for human habitation including any dwelling, residence or apartment building has been inspected and appears to be in compliance with the minimum standards for habitation described by the Director in his/her housing and zoning regulations.
DIRECTOR referred to herein is the Director of the Department of Neighborhood and Recreational Services in the City of Newark, New Jersey or his/her designee. Dwelling shall mean any building, structure, trailer, or land used as a residence by any person, tenant or family or intended for such use.
HEARING shall mean a hearing before the Director of the Department of Neighborhood and Recreational Services or his/her designee at which the seller, the Inspector and any other person with relevant knowledge of a notice of violation may appear and give testimony to the Director to determine if a violation of the Housing and Zoning Regulations exists. The determination of the Director shall be final. The Director may approve, set aside or modify the decision of the Inspector and he/she may grant extensions of time to abate any violations of housing regulations.
HOUSING AND ZONING REGULATIONS shall mean those regulations promulgated and published by the Director of the Department of Neighborhood and Recreational Services and maintained by the City Clerk of the City of Newark in regard to this Chapter 8 of the zoning ordinance of the City of Newark, a copy of which is attached hereto and referred to as Exhibit A.
RESIDENCE shall mean a place where one resides and in particular means a settled home or domicile.
ZONING OFFICER shall mean the Zoning Officer for the Zoning Board of Adjustment or his/her designee.
(Ord. 6 S+FA, 2-21-90 § 27:8-2; Ord. 6 S+FH, 8-2-95)
Fees for inspections for a Certificate of Code Compliance shall be as follows:
(Ord. 6 S+FA, 2-21-90 § 27:8-3; Ord. 6 PSF-H, 9-2-09 § 1; Ord. 6 PSF-F(S), 11-24-09 § 1)
It shall be a violation of this chapter to transfer, convey or sell the title to property, subject to this ordinance prior to the issuance of a Certificate of Code Compliance. It shall also be a violation if, upon an inspection it shall be determined that any violation of the housing and/or zoning regulations exists. A Certificate of Code Compliance shall not be issued when there are existing violations but instead a list of violations shall be issued to the seller within fifteen (15) days after the inspection has been completed. A copy of the inspection shall be made available to the seller's realtor and/or broker upon request. If the seller fails to abate the violations listed by the Inspector, no Certificate of Code Compliance shall be issued. Any violation described by the Inspector shall be abated within twenty (20) days of the receipt of the list of violations. (Ord. 6 S+FA, 221-90 § 27:8-4; Ord. 6 S+FB, 5-5-93; Ord. 6 S+FH, 8-2-95)
This chapter of Title XL, Zoning, shall not apply to the initial sale of newly constructed structures. This chapter shall not apply to judicial sales or the sale of property owned by the United States, the State of New Jersey or the City of Newark nor shall it apply to the sale, transfer or conveyance of residential structures between husband and wife, parent and child and siblings or to the transfer of residential property by an executor/administrator of an estate or to any other transfer of residential premises for a consideration of less than one hundred ($100.00) dollars.
If the premises are sold, transferred or conveyed within six (6) months from the date of the issuance of the Certificate of Code Compliance, no further inspection shall be required. If sold, transferred or conveyed after six (6) months from the date of issuance, a further inspection shall be required and a new Certificate of Code Compliance shall be issued as set forth herein. (Ord. 6 S+FA, 2-21-90 § 27:8-5; Ord. 6 S+FF, 4-4-07 § 1)
A notice of any violation of the Housing and Zoning Regulations of the Department of Neighborhood and Recreational Services may be appealed by the seller to the Director by sending a notice of appeal to the Director at his/her office, which shall be received within ten (10) days of the date of the notice of violation. The Director shall set the matter down for a hearing before him/her or his/her designee. The determination of the Director or his/her designee shall be final. (Ord. 6 S+FA, 2-21-90 § 27:8-6)
The Director of the Department of Neighborhood and Recreational Services is authorized and empowered to issue such regulations as he/she may deem reasonably necessary to carry out the purpose of this chapter. Such regulations shall be in writing and shall be given to the seller at the time that he or she files their application and shall be on file with the City Clerk of the City of Newark. (Ord. 6 S+FA, 2-21-90 § 27:8-7)
The seller or buyer of any residence who requests an extension to comply with the requirements of this chapter shall be granted such an extension, if the estimated repairs to the property exceed five thousand ($5,000.00) dollars or otherwise appear because of inclement weather or other conditions to be so expensive or difficult to complete that they cannot be finished within the time allowed by the Director of the Department of Neighborhood and Recreational Services. In regard to a request for an extension, the Director shall consider a certified statement of costs from the contractor in charge of the repairs. If an extension has been granted, the Director of the Department of Neighborhood and Recreational Services may permit the structure to be sold with a Conditional Certificate of Compliance if it appears that the seller or buyer will abate the violations within the time described in the notice of extension. Where such a sale is allowed the Conditional Certificate permitting the sale shall state the conditions that are to be remedied as well as the time for compliance. The final Certificate of Compliance shall be issued only after the conditions in the Conditional Certificate have been met. (Ord. 6 S+FA, 2-21-90 § 27:8-8)
Failure of any seller to abate a violation of these Housing and Zoning Regulations or a violation of this Chapter concerning sales, transfers and/or conveyances of residential property without a Certificate of Code Compliance, shall be punishable by a fine not exceeding three thousand ($3,000.00) dollars but not less than five hundred ($500.00) dollars or by imprisonment for a term not exceeding ninety (90) days, or both. (Ord. 6 S+FA, 2-21-90 § 27:8-9; Ord. 6 S+FI, 11-7-07 § 1)
This chapter upon final passage and publication in accordance with the law shall be deemed effective retroactively as of January 5, 1990 in regard to residential structures that are listed for sale after January 5, 1990 by a realtor licensed in the State of New Jersey. This chapter shall not affect the sale of property listed for sale by a realtor, or agreed to be sold by a seller or buyer as evidenced by a contract prior to January 5, 1990. (Ord. 6 S+FA, 2-21-90 § 4)
