JACKSON, NJ – Jackson Township has a new Bureau of Rental Housing and is demanding $100 inspection fees from landlords, but admitted on Tueday, it has no inspectors on staff to conduct those inspection, leading landlords to question, why are they paying for a service the township cannot provide.
Despite promises by Mayor Jennifer L. Kuhn that the new bureau was going to hit the ground running on day one, it is apparent, the department is far from being operational at this time as no inspectors have been hired and no inspections have been scheduled. According to township officials, it could be a long time before the first inspection is conducted.
However, landlords must continue paying inspection fees for the department that cannot yet perform inspections.
“Obviously, we have some growing pains,” said Business Administrator Charles W. Terefenko.
Confusion and frustration erupted at Tuesday night’s township meeting as local landlord Ann Marie Skroy questioned why she and other property owners are being charged an annual $100 inspection fee despite being told there are no inspectors currently available to perform the work.
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Adding to the confusion, no Bureau of Rental Housing links can be found on the township’s official website, and little information beyond job postings was found during a search of the township website.
Council Vice President Giuseppe Palmeri said he was ‘appalled’ that a township employee would tell the landlord that there are no inspectors, claiming it was misinformation.
Councilman Nino Borrelli said the township has hired one inspector, but that inspector lacks the training or certification to conduct inspections.
“I have very mixed feelings on this bureau department,” said Councilman Chris Pollak. “I feel like we could have just hired some more code enforcement officers rather than growing our government and creating a whole another bureau.”
Skroy, a longtime Jackson resident who owns two rental properties on 60 acres, said she has no problem following safety rules but doesn’t understand why the township is collecting fees without providing the promised inspections. “I was told that I had to pay the $100, but that no inspection would take place this year because there’s no manpower,” Skroy told officials. “Doesn’t that seem a little ridiculous that I’m going to pay $100 for an inspection that’s not going to happen?”
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Township officials admitted that Jackson’s new rental inspection bureau remains under development, and that staffing shortages have delayed the program.
Council President Mordechai Burnstein confirmed that the $100 fee is still being collected and will be used to help fund the salaries of new employees in the department.
“Getting this rental bureau set up is a work in progress,” Burnstein said, noting that more than 150 applications have been received for housing inspector positions. “We want to do it right.”
As far as the new expansion of government, Pollak made it clear that he opposed it.
“If we have it, of course, I want it to be successful. I wanted to deal with the problems,” he said. “I wasn’t a part of this council on that vote, but I just wanted to record, uh, I definitely did not support the starting of a brand new bureau to do something that a formerdepartment was already doing. I don’t like it. But, uh, let’s hope we get this fixed.”
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Skroy’s concern comes as Jackson and several other Ocean County towns move to strengthen rental oversight programs aimed at cracking down on unsafe and illegal housing.
But residents say poor communication from township offices has left landlords confused about new requirements and deadlines and now another bump in the road has left residents questioning the ability of this newly created departemnt to perform the necessary inspections, or to enforce violations.
Town officials insisted the inspections would be carried out once the new department is staffed, possibly within the next month. Skroy said she remains committed to compliance and to maintaining safe homes for her tenants but wants clearer answers from the township before paying fees for services not yet rendered.
- Jackson Township landlords told to pay $100 annual inspection fee despite no inspections scheduled
- Township says money funds salaries for soon-to-be-hired housing inspectors
- Residents express frustration over lack of communication and transparency in rollout of new rental bureau
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