Post by Fed Up on Sept 20, 2006 10:24:28 GMT -5
www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060914/REPORTER03/609140338/1099
Freehold inspecting all homes
Borough looking for overcrowded rental properties
Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 09/14/06
BY ALESHA WILLIAMS
Asbury Park Press STAFF REPORTER
FREEHOLD — Freehold is inspecting homes boroughwide in an effort to curb overcrowding at rental properties.
The inspections, which began Aug. 1, are being conducted by a team from the borough's Code Enforcement Office, officials said.
Every home in the borough will be inspected once between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. on a street-by-street basis in alphabetic order by street name, according to the resolution Borough Council unanimously passed Sept. 5 authorizing annual inspections.
Previously, inspections were conducted only after a complaint or if the residence needed a certificate of occupancy, Assistant Borough Clerk Tracy DiBenedetto said.
"We're getting a lot of complaints coming in to the (Code Enforcement Department) hot line about rental properties, residents calling in and complaining about overcrowding, so we're going to go through and make sure everybody's doing what they're supposed to do," Councilman Kevin Kane said.
The inspections will be conducted in accordance with the office's Quality of Life Team protocols, according to the resolution. The borough tweaked its code office protocol in 2005 after allegations about immigrants being harassed, although borough officials deny misconduct.
The 2005 protocol barred any investigation without owner consent or an administrative warrant, and required investigators to have "articulable suspicion to believe a violation has occurred," Borough Attorney Kerry Higgins said.
"According to our professionals and attorneys, this plan is (legally) compliant," Kane said. "We just need to make sure our town stays the way it is and doesn't succumb to absentee or slum landlords. We want families, not absentee landlords that are going to let 20 people come into a house.
"We're going to stand up to them and make sure they (absentee landlords) don't take over this town," Kane said.
Freehold inspecting all homes
Borough looking for overcrowded rental properties
Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 09/14/06
BY ALESHA WILLIAMS
Asbury Park Press STAFF REPORTER
FREEHOLD — Freehold is inspecting homes boroughwide in an effort to curb overcrowding at rental properties.
The inspections, which began Aug. 1, are being conducted by a team from the borough's Code Enforcement Office, officials said.
Every home in the borough will be inspected once between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. on a street-by-street basis in alphabetic order by street name, according to the resolution Borough Council unanimously passed Sept. 5 authorizing annual inspections.
Previously, inspections were conducted only after a complaint or if the residence needed a certificate of occupancy, Assistant Borough Clerk Tracy DiBenedetto said.
"We're getting a lot of complaints coming in to the (Code Enforcement Department) hot line about rental properties, residents calling in and complaining about overcrowding, so we're going to go through and make sure everybody's doing what they're supposed to do," Councilman Kevin Kane said.
The inspections will be conducted in accordance with the office's Quality of Life Team protocols, according to the resolution. The borough tweaked its code office protocol in 2005 after allegations about immigrants being harassed, although borough officials deny misconduct.
The 2005 protocol barred any investigation without owner consent or an administrative warrant, and required investigators to have "articulable suspicion to believe a violation has occurred," Borough Attorney Kerry Higgins said.
"According to our professionals and attorneys, this plan is (legally) compliant," Kane said. "We just need to make sure our town stays the way it is and doesn't succumb to absentee or slum landlords. We want families, not absentee landlords that are going to let 20 people come into a house.
"We're going to stand up to them and make sure they (absentee landlords) don't take over this town," Kane said.