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A123
ASSEMBLY, No. 123
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
�
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman AL BARLAS
District 40 (Bergen, Essex and Passaic)
Assemblyman CHRISTOPHER P. DEPHILLIPS
District 40 (Bergen, Essex and Passaic)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblyman Inganamort
SYNOPSIS
���� Requires certain preliminary approval by municipality
prior to licensure of cooperative sober living residence.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
���� Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative
Counsel.
��
An Act
concerning licensure of cooperative sober living
residence and amending and supplementing P.L.1979, c.496.
����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:
���� 1.��� Section 3 of P.L.1979,
c.496 (C.55:13B-3) is amended to read as follows:
���� 3.��� As used in this act:
���� a.��� "Boarding
house" means any building, together with any related structure, accessory
building, any land appurtenant thereto, and any part thereof, which contains
two or more units of dwelling space arranged or intended for single room
occupancy, exclusive of any such unit occupied by an owner or operator, and
wherein personal or financial services are provided to the residents, including
any residential hotel or congregate living arrangement, but excluding any
hotel, motel, or established guest house wherein a minimum of 85 percent of the
units of dwelling space are offered for limited tenure only, any resource
family home as defined in section 1 of P.L.1962, c.137 (C.30:4C-26.1), any
community residence for the developmentally disabled and any community residence
for the mentally ill as defined in section 2 of P.L.1977, c.448 (C.30:11B-2),
any adult family care home as defined in section 3 of P.L.2001, c.304
(C.26:2Y-3), any dormitory owned or operated on behalf of any nonprofit
institution of primary, secondary, or higher education for the use of its
students, any building arranged for single room occupancy wherein the units of
dwelling space are occupied exclusively by students enrolled in a full-time
course of study at an institution of higher education approved by the New
Jersey Commission on Higher Education, any facility or living arrangement
operated by, or under contract with, any State department or agency, upon the
written authorization of the commissioner, and any owner-occupied, one-family
residential dwelling made available for occupancy by not more than six guests,
where the primary purpose of the occupancy is to provide charitable assistance
to the guests and where the owner derives no income from the occupancy.� A
dwelling shall be deemed "owner-occupied" within the meaning of this
section if it is owned or operated by a nonprofit religious or charitable
association or corporation and is used as the principal residence of a minister
or employee of that corporation or association.� For any such dwelling,
however, fire detectors shall be required as determined by the Department of
Community Affairs.
���� b.��� "Commissioner"
means the Commissioner of the Department of Community Affairs.
���� c.��� "Financial
services" means any assistance permitted or required by the commissioner
to be furnished by an owner or operator to a resident in the management of
personal financial matters, including, but not limited to, the cashing of
checks, holding of personal funds for safekeeping in any manner or assistance
in the purchase of goods or services with a resident's personal funds.
���� d.��� "Limited
tenure" means residence at a rooming or boarding house on a temporary
basis, for a period lasting no more than 90 days, when a resident either
maintains a primary residence at a location other than the rooming or boarding
house or intends to establish a primary residence at such a location and does
so within 90 days after taking up original residence at the rooming or boarding
house.
���� e.��� "Operator"
means any individual who is responsible for the daily operation of a rooming or
boarding house.
���� f.���� "Owner" means
any person who owns, purports to own, or exercises control of any rooming or
boarding house.
���� g.��� "Personal
services" means any services permitted or required to be furnished by an
owner or operator to a resident, other than shelter, including, but not limited
to, meals or other food services, and assistance in dressing, bathing, or
attending to other personal needs.
���� h.��� "Rooming
house" means a boarding house wherein no personal or financial services
are provided to the residents.
���� i.���� "Single room
occupancy" means an arrangement of dwelling space which does not provide a
private, secure dwelling space arranged for independent living, which contains
both the sanitary and cooking facilities required in dwelling spaces pursuant
to the "Hotel and Multiple Dwelling Law," P.L.1967, c.76 (C.55:13A-1
et seq.), and which is not used for limited tenure occupancy in a hotel, motel,
or established guest house, regardless of the number of individuals occupying
any room or rooms.
���� j.���� "Unit of dwelling
space" means any room, rooms, suite, or portion thereof, whether furnished
or unfurnished, which is occupied or intended, arranged, or designed to be
occupied for sleeping or dwelling purposes by one or more persons.
���� k.��� (Deleted by amendment,
P.L.2015, c.125)
���� l.���� (Deleted by amendment,
P.L.2015, c.125)
����
m.�� "Cooperative
sober living residence" means a residential setting that serves solely as
a home for individuals who are recovering from drug or alcohol addiction and is
intended to provide an environment where the residents can support each other�s
sobriety and recovery.
(cf: P.L.1979, c.496, s.3)
���� 2.� (New section)�
Notwithstanding section 7 of P.L.1979, c.496 (C.55:13B-7) and prior to the
issuance of a license to operate a cooperative sober living residence pursuant
to P.L.1979, c.496 (C.55:13B-1 e seq.), the Commissioner of Community Affairs
shall require an applicant to obtain a certificate of preliminary approval from
the appropriate municipal officials of the municipality in which the
cooperative sober living residence is located.� The preliminary approval shall
consist of a letter or affidavit from the appropriate municipal officials that
the proposed cooperative sober living residence conforms to all applicable
municipal ordinances and regulations adopted prior to the date of the request
for preliminary approval, including but not limited to, zoning and land use
ordinances and regulations.� The commissioner shall not approve an application
for a license to operate a cooperative sober living residence if the applicant
fails to provide this certificate of preliminary approval to the commissioner with
the license application.
���� 3.� This act shall take effect
immediately.
STATEMENT
���� This bill requires preliminary
approval by a municipality as a condition for the Commissioner of Community
Affairs (commissioner) to be able to issue a license to operate a cooperative
sober living residence (CSLR), as defined in the bill.�
���� Specifically, the bill
requires an applicant who seeks a license from the commissioner to operate a
CSLR to first obtain, notwithstanding R.S.55:13B-7, a certificate of
preliminary approval from the appropriate municipal officials in the
municipality in which the CSLR is located.� The bill requires the preliminary
approval to consist of a letter or affidavit from the appropriate municipal
officials that the proposed CSLR conforms to all applicable municipal
ordinances and regulations adopted prior to the date of the request for
preliminary approval, including but not limited to, zoning and land use
ordinances and regulations.� The bill further requires that the commissioner
not approve an application for a license to operate a CSLR if the applicant
fails to provide this certificate of preliminary approval to the commissioner
with the license application.