Post by BrianSullivan on Mar 29, 2010 6:33:20 GMT -5
www.app.com/article/20100328/NEWS/3280351/Landlords-chafe-at-license-fees
FREEHOLD — When their annual licensing fees climbed to $600 last year, Freehold's landlords decided something had to change.
"Landlords are important to this town," said Christopher LoPresti, a borough landlord who says the fees — and other regulations imposed by the borough — are hurting his business.
Last fall, several months after the borough raised its licensing fees, LoPresti helped found the Freehold Landlord Association of New Jersey.
The group's stated goal is to represent Freehold's landlords, real estate investors and property managers. Leaders claim to have more than 100 members.
The group's leaders have raised several concerns over the borough's attitude toward landlords. At the top of their list is the licensing fees.
"The key issue is the registration fee . . . That's really what the association members want immediate action on," said Jeffrey Friedman, a commercial property manager who sits on the board of directors for both the landlord association and the Freehold Center Partnership.
Members are not looking for a fight. Instead, they say they want to work with borough officials to achieve something that works for both sides.
But, they warn, that could change if officials are not receptive to their concerns.
"We don't want to go into a courtroom — but we're prepared to," LoPresti, who owns at least six rental units in Freehold, has said.
Members have met with several borough officials, including Borough Administrator Joseph Bellina and Borough Attorney Kerry Higgins. And so far, Friedman said, "Things are going well."
The Borough Council's newest member, John Newman, also has met with association members. As liaison to Freehold's Rental Property Advisory Board, he also has been present when leaders came before that board to discuss their issues.
"They brought up some valid points to consider. . . . If anyone wants to come to the table, I don't see why we should dismiss them," Newman said.
Other borough leaders have been more circumspect, though, saying they don't yet know enough about the association and its intentions to voice an opinion.
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What Mayor Michael Wilson will say is that he thinks the landlord group's concerns should first be taken up by the borough's rental board.
Let the board address their concerns, he said. Members can then send their thoughts on to Wilson and the Borough Council, who would get involved at that point.
"I don't want to see the (rental) board bypassed," Wilson said.
Defending fees
Wilson may not want to comment on the landlord association itself, but he defends the licensing fees.
Overcrowding, code violations and other quality-of-life issues had become a problem in Freehold's rentals, which now number more than 2,000 units within 707 properties. They make up about one-fifth of the borough's total property, according to the Monmouth County Board of Taxation.
To crack down on violators, officials expanded the borough's code enforcement office. The licensing fees were created to help offset those costs, Wilson said.
The fees, enacted in 2003, were initially set at $500 for the first year of registration. If the landlord — and all units in the rental property — managed to go one full year without a conviction for any borough statute, ordinance or regulation concerning rental property, the rate dropped first to $300 and then $100 for every subsequent violation-free year.
But to keep up with rising costs, Wilson said officials raised the rates last year to $600 for the first year and $300 for the second conviction-less year and beyond.
The fees bring in an estimated $200,000 annually, Wilson said.
"The law doesn't let us differentiate between the good guys and the bad guys," Wilson said. "There are good landlords."
But landlord leaders complain that the fees not only eat into their profits, they are also higher than those imposed by other nearby towns.
Red Bank, for example, requires residential landlords to pay a one-time fee of $50 for a one-family unit. They must also pay $70 every time a unit's tenants change.
Lakewood does not charge for landlord licenses. And in West Long Branch, landlords pay a combined registration/certificate of occupancy fee of $145 every time new tenants move into a rental.
"Every town has their own set of circumstances," Wilson said. "I'm just concerned about Freehold borough."
Kim Predham: 732-308-7752 or kpredham@app.com
FREEHOLD — When their annual licensing fees climbed to $600 last year, Freehold's landlords decided something had to change.
"Landlords are important to this town," said Christopher LoPresti, a borough landlord who says the fees — and other regulations imposed by the borough — are hurting his business.
Last fall, several months after the borough raised its licensing fees, LoPresti helped found the Freehold Landlord Association of New Jersey.
The group's stated goal is to represent Freehold's landlords, real estate investors and property managers. Leaders claim to have more than 100 members.
The group's leaders have raised several concerns over the borough's attitude toward landlords. At the top of their list is the licensing fees.
"The key issue is the registration fee . . . That's really what the association members want immediate action on," said Jeffrey Friedman, a commercial property manager who sits on the board of directors for both the landlord association and the Freehold Center Partnership.
Members are not looking for a fight. Instead, they say they want to work with borough officials to achieve something that works for both sides.
But, they warn, that could change if officials are not receptive to their concerns.
"We don't want to go into a courtroom — but we're prepared to," LoPresti, who owns at least six rental units in Freehold, has said.
Members have met with several borough officials, including Borough Administrator Joseph Bellina and Borough Attorney Kerry Higgins. And so far, Friedman said, "Things are going well."
The Borough Council's newest member, John Newman, also has met with association members. As liaison to Freehold's Rental Property Advisory Board, he also has been present when leaders came before that board to discuss their issues.
"They brought up some valid points to consider. . . . If anyone wants to come to the table, I don't see why we should dismiss them," Newman said.
Other borough leaders have been more circumspect, though, saying they don't yet know enough about the association and its intentions to voice an opinion.
(2 of 2)
What Mayor Michael Wilson will say is that he thinks the landlord group's concerns should first be taken up by the borough's rental board.
Let the board address their concerns, he said. Members can then send their thoughts on to Wilson and the Borough Council, who would get involved at that point.
"I don't want to see the (rental) board bypassed," Wilson said.
Defending fees
Wilson may not want to comment on the landlord association itself, but he defends the licensing fees.
Overcrowding, code violations and other quality-of-life issues had become a problem in Freehold's rentals, which now number more than 2,000 units within 707 properties. They make up about one-fifth of the borough's total property, according to the Monmouth County Board of Taxation.
To crack down on violators, officials expanded the borough's code enforcement office. The licensing fees were created to help offset those costs, Wilson said.
The fees, enacted in 2003, were initially set at $500 for the first year of registration. If the landlord — and all units in the rental property — managed to go one full year without a conviction for any borough statute, ordinance or regulation concerning rental property, the rate dropped first to $300 and then $100 for every subsequent violation-free year.
But to keep up with rising costs, Wilson said officials raised the rates last year to $600 for the first year and $300 for the second conviction-less year and beyond.
The fees bring in an estimated $200,000 annually, Wilson said.
"The law doesn't let us differentiate between the good guys and the bad guys," Wilson said. "There are good landlords."
But landlord leaders complain that the fees not only eat into their profits, they are also higher than those imposed by other nearby towns.
Red Bank, for example, requires residential landlords to pay a one-time fee of $50 for a one-family unit. They must also pay $70 every time a unit's tenants change.
Lakewood does not charge for landlord licenses. And in West Long Branch, landlords pay a combined registration/certificate of occupancy fee of $145 every time new tenants move into a rental.
"Every town has their own set of circumstances," Wilson said. "I'm just concerned about Freehold borough."
Kim Predham: 732-308-7752 or kpredham@app.com