Edison sued by landlords of more than 8,000 apartments over town's new housing ordinance

EDISON – The landlords of more than 8,000 apartments have gone to court to challenge the township's new housing ordinance which they say imposes an "unreasonable" $100 annual registration fee that would cost them $821,600 a year.An attorney representing the owners of about 40 apartment complexes, which represents about a fifth of all housing units in the township, has filed a lawsuit in Middlesex County Superior Court calling for the ordinance, approved earlier this year, to be thrown out.

The lawsuit, filed earlier this summer by attorney Bryan D. Plocker of Woodbridge, also alleges the ordinance "impermissibly" requires landlords to disclose financial information and imposes a "vague and discretionary" inspection requirement.

Allan Zhang, the attorney representing the township, has called the lawsuit "frivolous" in court papers and has asked the judge to toss it out of court.

"To the extent that any wrongdoing is alleged, the township denies. Defendant Township of Edison demands judgment dismissing plaintiffs' complaint with prejudice and awarding fees, costs and any other relief deemed equitable and just by the Court," Zhang's answer to the complaint states.

Meanwhile, a late September date has been set for a case management conference before Middlesex County Superior Court Judge Benjamin Bucca.

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Among the plaintiffs in the lawsuit are Durham Woods which has 1,000 apartment units, Millbrook Village with 557 units, Edison Woods with 470 units, Rivendell at Edison with 455 units and Blueberry Village with 428 units.

Other plaintiffs include eight Fox & Foxx apartment complexes, Woodbridge Apartments, Valley Manor Apartments, Lincoln Gardens, The Crossings at Edison, Camelot at Edison, Clara Barton Apartments, Bel Aire Apartments, Hillside Apartments, Hilltop, Hilltop Manor, Trafalgar, Edison Village, Edison Woods Senior Citizens, Oak Tree Village, Hidden Valley at Edison, Rivendell Heights, Edison Lights at Rivendell, Rivendell Village, Rivendell Meadows Urban Renewal, Hidden Village Associates, Belmont Gardens, Chesterfield Townhomes, Village Court Seniors, Evergreen Meadows, Greenfield Gardens, Millbrook Horizon, Millbrook Village North, Parsonage Hill Village, Talmadge Village, Village Court and Village Commons.

In April the Edison Township Council approved an amendment to its multiple dwelling registration ordinance that requires landlords of every building of five or more rental units, as part of the annual registration, to provide the name, address and telephone number of the owner, the total square footage for each rental unit including the exact number of sleeping rooms and kitchen facilities.

Although the ordinance does not expressly raise worries about overcrowding, the requirement for disclosure of the number of sleeping rooms and kitchens is evidence of the township's apparent concern about over-occupancy of apartments, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit alleges some of the requirements are illegal and "irrelevant" to the registration of apartment and the protection of the health, safety and welfare of township residents.

Other requirements in the ordinance include disclosing current rent for each apartment, the previous base rent, current tax surcharge, current energy surcharge, capital improvement surcharge and the total number of occupants, both adults and children.

"Under the ordinance, landlords are subject to violations and penalties for actions taken unilaterally by a tenant, including the intentional over-occupancy of an apartment, even where the landlord has fully complied with all township and state lease and rental requirements, and does not know or have any reason to know the tenant's unlawful over-occupancy," the lawsuit charges.

Under the ordinance, the annual registration licenses run from March 1 to Feb. 28. The registration fee for landlords or facilities with five or more rental units is $100 per apartment.

The lawsuit maintains the annual licensing and registration fee is "unreasonable" and has "no rational relationship" to the administration and enforcement of the ordinance.

The ordinance also requires the maximum number of occupants to be posted in apartment and it will be unlawful for the landlord, agent, tenant or registered tenant to allow a greater number of persons than the posted maximum number to occupy the apartment overnight.

Also included in the ordinance is an inspection provision which allows the township to inspect individual units and entire apartment buildings if issues are reported. The lawsuits said the term "issues" is not defined in the ordinance.

Under the ordinance, inspections can continue until the site passes inspection. In addition the township is not required to provide a landlord with advanced notice of a reported issue before an inspection. That means, the lawsuit says, the landlord would not have an opportunity to investigate and fix before the inspection.

Violations of the ordinance carry a $200 municipal court fine for a first offense and $500 fine for a second offense.

Earlier this month tenants in about 280 units at the Evergreen Meadows apartment complex off Parsonage Road were evacuated and moved to a hotel at the apartment management's expense, after ceiling collapses were reported in at least two units, which resulted in two minor injuries. The township ordered that the units be vacated, and the unsafe condition addressed.

The apartment management worked with the township to correct the problems over several days before all residents were able to return .

Email: srussell@gannettnj.com

Suzanne Russell is a breaking news reporter for MyCentralJersey.com covering crime, courts and other mayhem. To get unlimited access, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Edison sued by landlords of more than 8,000 apartments over town's new housing ordinance