good morning thank you guys first of all I want to say thank you guys for coming uh I know this is our first one out and so for anybody who made their way out today we so so appreciate it um we also have some people that are joining us on Microsoft teams uh because we realize everybody couldn't be here in person
right um and so first of all I want to say thank you all for coming uh we appreciate you um and so we're going to talk a about what we're doing today we only going to be an hour and so let me just introduce myself uh for those that don't know I am director chyron Richardson I am the director of the
division of housing preservation and so what we decided to start because in talking with constituents as well as landlords um some issues that we saw that arose was just a lack of understanding and a lack of information um it is our due diligence and our job to make sure that everybody fully
understands what this office does uh that helps you because then it keeps you from wasting time trying to get us to do something that we're not able to do and then you can we can specifically make sure that we're able to do what you need to get done because we're here to serve the public and so our main concern our
main goal is to make sure that we do our best job uh to serve the public and so with that being said today is one of one of many series that we're starting and so we're calling these educational seminars right because our office does a lot of stuff and if you're a resident
which you are of Jersey City you know sometimes the name can be deceiving you hear this name you hear this name but then you'll be surprised that though the name says housing preservation most people what do you preserving right so give us some insight what exactly does House of PR preservation do and so
that's what we want to do with these seminars is to let you know exactly what we do so that we can better serve you um we wanted to begin with our ring control because that's a hot button uh topic right now uh that's probably going to be the next one because another thing that we're seeing that's related to rent
control is tenant petitions right because a lot of tenants uh what do I do if I feel like my rent is being illegal uh what do I do if I feel like I'm not getting the service that I Des so we felt like it would be good to start on that one and then possibly next month we'll talk a little bit more about
rent control is that all right now we're gonna let me say this we're going to hold questions to the end so if if you I saw you coming I saw you coming so just give me some time I want to just go through the PowerPoint and then at the end we will have a session for questions okay all
right okay so let's talk about it so the first slide says the division of housing preservation this is an overview the division of housing preservations is responsible for administering and enforcing those requirements provided in
chapter 254 chapter 255 chapter 260 of the Jersey City Municipal Code some and and I want you to know this is not all that we do but just giving you just a little sneak preview of some of the things that we do so some of the primary functions of our division include
enforcing the Jersey City rent Control Ordinance through the office of landlord uh tenant relations within the office of landlord tenant relations is also the Bureau of rent leveling we maintain public the public officers abandoned properties lists and the vacant
properties lists and collect foreclosure registrations we've also recently started conducting lead inspections uh lead base paint inspections I'm sorry pursuant to PL uh 2021 c182 that's the state law we also are
required to do the issuing of Motel Motel licenses as well as issuing short-term rental permits and again uh it it reads quick but it's a whole lot more to all of those things that this office does okay go to the next slide
all right this morning's agenda the purpose we're going to be talking about the purpose of tenant petitions there are two types of tenant petitions right so as tennis if you're tennis today we want you to know that there are two type of petitions that you have the right uh
to to uh issue apply for number one is failure to maintain service petition number two which is an illegal rent petition so those are the two type of petitions that our office deals with the failure to maintain Services tenants May
file this petition if their landlord fails to maintain the same standard of service as was provided at the Inception of the lease agreement or as required by the law right and so thus the name
failure to maintain Services there are certain services that the landlord is required to make sure the tenants have and and these uh services will be provided to you at the Inception of your lease agreement next one elal rent tenants May
file this petition if they wish to question the legality of the rent charge and or rent increase imposed by their landlord so you have every right to know whether the rent that you're paying or the rent that you're being proposed to
be increased is legal per the Jersey City municipal quote okay let's talk about the process reviewing the process of f of filing a petition and how to determine is rendered by the Bureau of rent leveling appeals rent leveling board and
Superior Court so once the petition is appealed these are the next steps they go before the rent leving board and then after that we'll talk a little bit about that they go before the Superior Court okay the purpose of tenant petitions Jersey City rent Control Ordinance
26-9 powers and duties of the rent Bureau of of the Bureau of rent leveling the Bureau of rent leveling under the direction of the rent leveling administrator shall have the following powers and functions the first one to remedy
violations of this chapter by adjusting rentals ordering rebates and bringing appropriate legal charges as provided in this chapter second thing to accept complaints from tenants of illegal
increases provided that all claims are sworn to and acknowledged by a person authorized by law to administer oath we go to the next slide and if you don't mind I'm going take a drink of water okay so let's talk about processing
petitions okay a tenant claiming that the rent they are being charged is illegal May file an illegal rent petition with the office of landlord tenant relations Bureau of rent leveling a tenant seeking a rent
reduction due to the landlord's failure to maintain Service uh I'm sorry something's in my way due to the landlord's uh failure to maintain services or to maintain service can file a maintain a Ser a failure to maintain service petition there was something I couldn't read there
now the steps to filing the petition are as follows and let me see how do I move this did he leave y know how you got the little popup in the corner that's in my way give me one second okay I don't know if this is
mouse is working there we go hold on a second let me go back there we go okay sorry about that okay here we go all right the steps to following the petition are as follows the appropriate petition is filed through the city of Jersey City's
permitting and Licensing portal the tenant shall submit any and all documents supporting their claim alongside their petition the tenant serves a copy of their petition and its supplemental documentation into the landlord to the landlord the landlord is
given and also an opportunity to respond now this is important I want to stop real quick here because I think sometimes what I want the public to understand is that our office is called the office of landlord tenant sometimes I think people mistake the office as the
office of tenant only but our office is not just uh tenant advocacy we're here to do what Fair on behalf of the landlord and the Tenant so when you come to our office please keep in mind that we're not just here to serve the tenant we're also here to serve the landlord right and so that's why the landlord
must be also given an opportunity to respond next a hearing officer will review all documentation provided by both parties as well as any in-house information to determine if the tenant entitled if the tenant is entitled to a
rent credit refund or reduction in cases of failure to main sa the service petitions a hearing is conducted amongst all Parties by the Bureau of rent leveling a determination is rendered providing the hearing officers finding
so if you file a failure to maintain service petition there is also a hearing that comes along with that and so anybody you know familiar with judge shows Judge Judy or any any other your favorite shows it's similar to that to where hearing officer will here both sides of the party and so you both get
an opportunity to just share your testimony about what you filed the petition for you get an opportunity to talk as well as the landlord okay all right let's talk a little bit about determining illegal rents and if
I'm moving too fast please let me know says to determine if a rent charge or a rent increase impos is legal there are steps there are several documentations that the bureau reviews to ensure that
landlords complying with the provisions of the rent Control Ordinance some of those documents provided for the bureau's review in il legal rent case may include may include rent receipts right so if you're following an a legal rent petition we may require that you
provide us with rent receipts as proof of the rent that you paid of course the lease agreement notice of rent increase any and all correspondents amongst the parties that includes the tenant the landlord and any legal representation again we're trying to get all the
documentations to make sure that whatever determination we make is fair and right for all parties some of those in-house documentation review about the bureau and illegal rent cases may include annual landlord registration
statements landlords are only entitled to increase during the years in which registrations were filed with the bureau and rent controlled properties let me get another drink of water please so I want you to understand what that means every year your landlord is
required to submit a rent registration with our office if they do not submit that in that year they are not entitled for a rent increase so that's why that's so important okay it says any and all rent increase applications approved by the rent by the Bureau of rent leveling
or rent leveling board I.E vacancy Capital Improvements Capital Improvements and hardship applications so there are some other things we'll talk about that in a in a future educational seminar that a landlord is legally uh can legally do to increase their rent right so they make any
certain uh improvements to their property they have a right to make improvements but even though they make the improvements there still has to be an approval from our office or our division before they can charge those rents or to make sure that the rents that they charge are still legal okay
and then uh rent control exemption status of the property in most illegal rent cases the bureau reviews the rent charge for a unit going back six years that is very very important right so when we determine whether your rent is
legal or not there is a six-year look back so we can figure out what the rent should be charged six years okay and in going back six years what we're doing is making sure that the rent is consistent with the statutes of limitations in the
state of New Jersey let's move on determining a land landlord's failure to maintain service to determine if a rent reduction is owed to a tenant due to their landlord's failure to uphold Services required by the law or as
provided at the time the lease agreement was entered there are several documents that the bureau reviews to ensure that the landlords complying with the provision provisions of the rent Control Ordinance some of those documents provided for the bu's review and illegal
rent cases or failure to maintain cases include again rent receipts lease agreements notice of rent increase pictures and videos of violations and issues within the unit so if you have any this is where you can uh do your
investigating so if you have something that you can prove as you and I'm trying to think of certain cases where so I know I've had times with people like the bathroom was not fixed right so people have given me videos given me pictures shown me proof and evidence that they they issued a complaint to their tenant
the tenant didn't fix it and then they'll show me pictures of either when it was fixed or the fact that it was still not fixed so things like that okay any uh and all correspondents amongst the parties extermination invoices
border repair invoices PSENG bills Etc so if you're in the case hey if you're in a situation where let's talk about uh so we said extermination right so landlords are required to provide those extermination Services well then they will also be required and again this is
both sides uh issuing uh their evidence whether or not they contracted somebody to come in and do the extermination or not because if they didn't do that and that was a part of their Duty you might be entitled to a reduction in rent okay and then it says where a tenant has
filed a failure to maintain service a a hearing is conducted amongst all involved parties again that's the landlord the tenant and any legal representation for either party both parties are given the opportunity to
answer questions and provide testimony in support of their allegations rent reductions are appointed in cases where the hearing officer finds that the landlord did indeed fail to remedy violations in a timely matter so let's talk about that
just a little bit okay because there ought to be a timeline you as a tenant have the right to have the services that you are paying for every day and so if a landlord fails to provide a service and it's an EXT extended amount of time then there may
be a situation where you are owed a rent reduction for that time period which those Services were not provided okay it says where the landlord was negligent to their property so we're talking about that failure to maintain service and or where the landlord has pro has proven
themselves to be unresponsive to their tenants requests for assistance with hazardous or inhabitable conditions right so not only are tenants you have the right to have your any issue service you also have the right to be in communication with the landlord at no
given time should you be uh silenced they should not be silenced when you're trying to get something done so even that is something we take into consideration appeals okay so now both petitions were filed afterwards after determination is
rendered so now whether it be an illegal rent or failure to maintain service our office issues a determination both the tenant and the landlord will get a copy of set determination after that that determination is rendered either party
either the tenant or the landlord May appeal that decision to the rent leveling board within 15 days of the decision again why is that important because sometimes when people get a determination from our office what they
don't understand is that they're still an appeal process and so you may get a determin from us and in your mind think okay that's the end well on both sides your landlord can appeal that within 15 days which means that though you have a determination from us it's not final if
it has been appealed now if they if neither party appeals then the determination stands but you have to keep that in your mind that there is an appeal process okay goes on to say a party appealing this determination must include in the written notice of appeal
a the decision or part thereof from which review is sought B the factual and legal basis for the appeal with citations to the record I.E registration statements considered by the uh office of landlord tenant in its final
determination so what we're saying is that there must be factual evidence why a person is appealing the fact that I don't like the determination that's not enough to say well this is why I'm appealing I just don't like it there has to be some type of factual evidence to prove why you feel the determination is
not right says please note the notice of appeal must be served upon either the other party I'm sorry so if if the tenant wants to appeal the landlord must that it must be served un the landlord and vice versa says except for good
cause shown no appeal shall rely upon any issue of fact or law or upon any documentary evidence not presented to the bureau okay so nobody can pull a surpris of something that was not
presented to the bureau where the appeal has been accepted the parties are notified of the rent leveling Board hearing date and may appear and argue their positions so now you've appealed it's no longer in our hands it goes before what's known as the rent leveling
board you will be notified of when that when you will be heard when your case will be heard it's normally the third Thursday of the month sometimes we've had to adjust those uh those meetings at 6: p.m. right because we are mindful that people are working and so we it is
a time where most people should be able to attend it is at that point that you get to plead your case before the rent leveling board they are a fresh set of ears and maybe they'll hear something that we didn't hear and they have the power to make determinations even if it does not align with the determination
from our office says the rent leveling board May reverse affirm or even modify the hearing officers determination so now you've gone before the rent leveling board and let's say in your case uh we we sided for the
landlord let's say that happened let's say the rent leveling board also cided for the landlord still not over because after the rent leveling board makes their determination there is a third appeal that can be made to Superior Court so you need to understand that even though it goes before the rent
leveling board both parties both parties still have the opportunity to appeal the decision again that's important because when people hear determination if they don't understand that there's another step that could happen they'll want to expect something that we legally cannot give
them because there's the process of appeal that they still must go through okay it says then either party May appeal the rent leveling board's decision and then the next step and then the last step is to Superior Court okay
now hopefully again I didn't move too fast but I said I was going to open up the floor put some question and I already saw one hand go up but then his hand was up and then her hand is up and so I'm going to ask uh this is our manager of the office of landlord tenant Miss Janna she's going to come and she's
going to answer your questions and then I'll come back at the end good morning good morning does anybody have any questions you see I know that yes DET for ille
said office so yes so the office of landlord tenant relations is also within that office is the Bureau of rent leveling so our hearing officers are sworn in by the rent leveling board and we basically our determinations are
recommendations to the board so if the parties agree on what our office determines then it's not filed an appeal is not filed to the rent leveling board but it can be appealed to the rent leveling board once it goes before the rent leveling board they can say we
agree with the office's determination um and we're affirming that recommendation and that's what we're honoring as the rent for the unit and in cases of applications or you know hardship applications they they'll affirm the um approved amounts or the um recommended
amounts he while uh us specifically as a division or you're saying the tenant well you yes yes you're allowed to speak to your landlord regardless of filing the petition or not with our office
if it goes to Superior Court then once it goes to Superior Court we don't have any jurisdiction over how you communicate with your landlord we always recommend that any communication especially where there's potential litigation you're doing it in writing um you know so we would always recommend
that any communication with your landlord you're doing it um you know via email via text message or with the assistance of an attorney thank you you're welcome anybody else yes um can you give me is there a
formula for affordable housing so we are not affordable housing um I can after this I can give you my card and we can discuss uh you know referrals for affordable housing but as far as rent control there is a cap and it's 4% we
receive our number from the Bureau of Labor Statistics so if for example the number that they are providing us is 4.2 the landlord cannot increase the rent more than 4% they cannot increase it by the 4. 2% if the property is subject to
run control so in JY City yes Max could right% unless the CPI the Consumer Price Index percentage is less so if the Bureau of Labor Statistics is providing us with 3.6% that's the number that you would have to honor right got it right
and and under five un is no over five over five yeah and over is properties with five or more units are presumed to be subject to run control there are specific exemptions and we'll have another
session where we go through all of those ex exemptions and you know how we uh you know um recognize those properties okay no any properties with one to four units regardless of the occupancy status
if the landlord lives there or not is uh exempt from run control right yes so within those cases you would submit either a vacancy Capital Improvement or a capital Improvement application so Capital Improvement is if
the unit is occupied while you're doing the renovations and if you're doing it throughout the the entire dwelling um and a vacancy Capital Improvement application is if the unit is vacant when you're performing that work with the vacancy Capital Improvement applications the way that the ordinance
is written right now you can submit that application to our office prior to the tenant OCC a new tenant occupying the unit or after a new tenant occupying the unit it's always best to do it before the tenant moves in increas you can increase the rent based
on so if your previous tenant was paying significantly less and you did um Renovations that would approve maybe a $200 increase in between tencies once that new tenant comes in you can charge $200 more but you would want to make sure that the application that you
submit to our office supports a $200 increase yeah but you would want to take pictures you'll submit a vacancy Capital Improvement application our inspector will go out and they'll affirm that all the work that you're claiming on your application was in fact you know
completed and will you know our office will issue a determination either agreeing with the proofs that you provided and um approving those amounts or it may be adjusted depending on the invoices that you provide in support of your
application yes yes bu so for vacancy Capital Improvement there is a Formula there is a specific formula that the landlords are entitled that that they have to follow so it's $135
for every $100 of the first 5,000 and it's $155 for every hundred of everything after the first 5,000 so if somebody spends $5,000 in renovations and they provide the proofs for that and the invoices they would get approximately like a $67 increase so
that's only to that unit it's not to the property in its entirety where the property is affected in its entirety is if if a capital Improvement is done um and you know for example a uh like a boiler system is replaced that would
then there'd be a depreciation period so if there's tenants there they will gradually feel the effect of that increase but it's not all at once you know it's m we there's a depre ation period so that it's manageable for the existing
tenant if that makes sense yeah but vacancy Capital Improvement essentially you don't have a tenant that's in that unit so anybody that's coming in after that work is performed when they're signing that initial lease agreement they're agreeing
to pay the significantly different rent because the unit is renovated I'd I'm sorry give me one I'm sorry um just give me one second we just have someone in the middle of answering a question just give me one
second no no no it's okay so with the vacancy Capital Improvement that's definitely a way for landlords to increase the rent a substantial amount in a small period of time but it's supported and approved by our office based on the work that they put into
that unit with Capital Improvements like I said there is a depreciation period for that so the tenant doesn't feel that all at once um and it's also divvied up amongst all the units in the property so if there you know if the amount is
$25,000 that's approved for the capital Improvement and it's a 12 unit property it's it's divvied up amongst the 12 units so it's not all those Renovations just allocated to one specific unit yeah I'm sorry someone that's uh attending
online had a question yes I'd just like to know if the uh the seminars want to be uploaded somewhere for future reviewing yes so we'll upload the PowerPoint to our web page you'll also be able to access this
video through um I believe we're posting it to you the Jersey City YouTube channel and I will you know if you have any questions um I do believe that I have your email I I think that you emailed landlord tenant we'll be sending updates to anyone that has inquired through our
email okay does anybody else have any other questions yes no no no it's okay no problem Superior Court yeah so in in those cases we do our determinations will any determination that we render will make sure that we're covering what what's in
our jurisdiction to address so if there are issues that are a civil matter that we see arise while we're reviewing the case File we will cite that in our determination and say that's a civil matter that's beyond the jurisdiction of of our ordinance and you know you would
have to then at that point either seek legal counsel to take it to that that level yeah anybody else yes I have a question sure can you go over the process for for Capital Improvement while the tenant is
there so for example do I need to apply and get approved first before I do any work yes start the work so there is a pre-application for Capital Improvements we will be going over that in a separate session um but just because we're on the
topic and to give a brief overview there is a pre-application that needs to be submitted and a there is a formal process where a hearing is done with the tenants in the unit so it's it's a definitely a more extensive process than vacancy Capital Improvement but if you
want to send your information into the chat I can send you an email with um the appropriate person to reach out to for that and he can assist you thank you you're welcome is there anything else can I just jump on to his question
sure what if it was a um there's an emergency just like how we mentioned with the replacement of a water boiler so for emergency repairs um you know again I believe that you could still file the the capital Improvement application
I don't think that our hearing officer who reviews those cases would be um you know opposed to reviewing an application if a pre-application hasn't been filed but there would still be a um you know a hearing with the
tenants okay anyone else let me just make sure that we don't have anything in the chat here okay so I don't think that um anyone else reached out through the chat so if there's any other
questions Now's the Time to ask for the Capital Improvements yes oh sure sure for well afford well the formula I explained was anything that's related to rent control and the rent Control Ordinance not to affordable housing yeah sure sure I have my cards
over there I can give you one okay all right I think that we will end the session yeah okay okay all right uh so yeah uh give it off
for answering those questions um but again um again we just want to say thank you this is the first of many educational seminars right um and we are and and the questions that we get they also help us determine what should be the next one um as of right now we are
going to be talking the next one about rent control I believe that's going to be the next one but then of course VC's Capital Improvements vacancy Capital Improvements will be another seminar but again the main thing uh for those that are here those that are watching this later is just we just want to make sure that you understand this office is is
committed to transparency right there's nothing we're trying to hide uh we we want to just make sure that we're doing our best job to serve everybody tenants and landlords but if you have any other questions you can always reach out to my office I will answer any questions to the best of our ability and we'll do our
best to point you in the right direction because we realize whether you're a tenant or whether you're a landlord you've invested in this property you've invested in it as somebody who's renting because this is your home at the time you've also rent invested it if you're owning it and so on both cases any type
of issue that you're facing it's an issue that's going to hurt you or help you one way or the other we keep that in mind and so that's why we do our best to make sure that we do it right the first time right so sometimes we might take a little bit longer and then unfortunately uh we are not we are not fully staffed
we have a small staff for the number of things that we do but with the staff that we have we work really really hard to make sure that we're doing our best job to serve the community that we are fortunate to serve so with that being said we want to say thank you guys for coming uh we will send out the information for the the next one once we
get everything wrapped up and in between time feel free to send us an email send me an email you do not have to wait to the seminar to get any information that we can give you okay again