55:13B-7 Rooming, boarding house licensure; fee.

7. a. (1) No person shall own or operate a rooming or boarding house, hold out a building as available for rooming or boarding house occupancy, or apply for any necessary construction or planning approvals related to the establishment of a rooming or boarding house without a valid license to own or operate such a facility, issued by the commissioner and, if appropriate, by a municipality which has elected to issue such licenses pursuant to P.L.1993, c.290 (C.40:52-9 et seq.).

(2) (Deleted by amendment, P.L.2015, c.125)

(3) Any person found to be in violation of this subsection shall be liable for a civil penalty of not more than $5,000 for each building so owned or operated, which penalty shall be payable to the appropriate licensing entity.

b. The commissioner shall establish separate categories of licensure for owning and for operating a rooming or boarding house, provided, however, that an owner who himself operates such a facility need not also possess an operator's license.

If an owner seeking to be licensed is other than an individual, the application shall state the name of an individual who is a member, officer, or stockholder in the corporation or association seeking to be licensed, and the same shall be designated the primary owner of the rooming or boarding house.

Each application for licensure shall contain such information as the commissioner may prescribe and, unless the person is licensed by a municipality to own or operate a rooming and boarding house pursuant to P.L.1993, c.290 (C.40:52-9 et seq.), shall be accompanied by a fee established by the commissioner which shall not be less than $150 or more than $600, except as provided in subsection e. of this section. If, upon receipt of the fee and a review of the application, the commissioner determines that the applicant will operate, or provide for the operation of, a rooming or boarding house in accordance with the provisions of this act, the commissioner shall issue a license to the applicant.

Each license shall be valid for one year from the date of issuance, but may be renewed upon application by the owner or operator and upon payment of the same fee required for initial licensure.

c. Only one license shall be required to own a rooming or boarding house, but an endorsement thereto shall be required for each separate building owned and operated, or intended to be operated, as a rooming or boarding house. Each application for licensure or renewal shall indicate every such building for which an endorsement is required. If, during the term of a license, an additional endorsement is required, or an existing one is no longer required, an amended application for licensure shall be submitted.

d. A person making application for, or who has been issued, a license to own or operate a rooming or boarding house who conceals the fact that the person has been denied a license to own or operate a residential facility, or that the person's license to own or operate a residential facility has been revoked by a department or agency of state government in this or any other state is liable for a civil penalty of not more than $5,000, and any license to own or operate a rooming or boarding house which has been issued to that person shall be immediately revoked.

e. The commissioner shall annually review the cost of administering and enforcing this section and shall establish by rule such changes to the license application fee as may be necessary to cover the cost of such administration and enforcement.

L.1979, c.496, s.7; amended 1988, c.113, s.1; 1997, c.260, s.3; 1999, c.241, s.2; 2007, c.339; 2015, c.125, s.14.