Creates the "Mold Safe Housing Act."

A1607

ASSEMBLY, No. 1607

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION

Sponsored by:

Assemblyman SEAN T. KEAN

District 30 (Monmouth and Ocean)

SYNOPSIS

���� Creates the "Mold Safe Housing Act."

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative
Counsel.

��

An Act
concerning mold remediation in rental premises, supplementing
Title 52 of the Revised Statutes and amending various parts of the statutory
law.

����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:

���� 1.��� (New section)��� This
act shall be known and may be cited as the �Mold Safe Housing Act.�

���� 2.��� (New section)��� As used
in this act:

���� �Substantial presence of mold�
means the visible or detectable presence of mold growing on interior surfaces
or in ventilation ducts, in such amounts as to raise concerns for the health of
the residents of the building, in accordance with standards promulgated by the
Department of Community Affairs pursuant to P.L.��� , c.��� (C.������� ) (pending
before the Legislature as Assembly Bill No. 1007 of 2014).

���� 3.��� (New section)��� a.�� In
any case where a change of occupancy of any building subject to the
requirements of section 1 of P.L.1991, c.92 (C.52:27D-198.1) is subject to a
municipal ordinance requiring the issuance of a certificate of occupancy,
certificate of inspection or other documentary certification of compliance with
laws and regulations relating to safety, healthfulness and upkeep of the
premises, no such certificate shall issue until the municipal officer or agency
responsible for its issuance has received a certification that the building has
been inspected for and found free of any visible or detectable indications of
the substantial presence of mold.

���� b.��� In the case of change of
occupancy of any building subject to the requirements of section 1 of P.L.1991,
c.92 (C.52:27D-198.1) to which the provisions of subsection a. of this section
do not apply, no owner shall sell, lease or otherwise permit occupancy for
residential purposes of that building without first obtaining from the Bureau
of Housing Inspection of the Division of Codes and Standards, Department of
Community Affairs, a certificate evidencing compliance with the requirements
section 6 of P.L.��� , c.��� (C.������� ) (pending before the Legislature as
this bill).� The Commissioner of Community Affairs shall establish a fee which
covers the costs of any inspection required, and of issuance of the
certificate.

���� 4.��� (New section)��� a.�� A
tenant residing in rental housing who believes that the housing contains a
substantial mold hazard shall

notify the landlord of the
premises, in writing, and request remediation of the mold hazard.

���� b.��� A landlord who has been
notified in writing by a tenant that the tenant believes a substantial mold
hazard exists shall investigate the condition within 72 hours of receiving the
written notification.� If any visible signs of mold on surfaces are present,
the landlord shall clean and remove the mold from those surfaces in a manner
consistent with the regulations promulgated by the department.� Any leaking
pipes, roofing or walls which are contributing to a wet condition that in turn
is furthering the growth of mold shall be fixed in an expedited manner by the
landlord. Any mold conditions which will require testing to determine the
efficacy of the mold removal shall be performed by persons certified to
remediate mold in accordance with P.L.���� , c.��� (C.����� ) (pending before
the Legislature as Assembly Bill No. 1007 of 2014).

���� c.���� In the event a tenant
notifies a landlord who does not comply with subsection b. of this section, the
tenant shall be entitled to contact the Commissioner of Community Affairs for
consideration for a referral to the relocation program established pursuant to
P.L. , c.��� (C.����� ) (pending before the
Legislature as this bill).

���� 5.��� (New section)��� a.�� The
Commissioner of Community Affairs shall review any case referred to the
department in which a substantial mold hazard condition has been found to exist
and which poses an immediate risk of continuing exposure to mold hazard for any
tenants living in rental housing. The commissioner shall determine whether the
removal of the residents from the rental housing unit containing that mold
hazard is warranted.

���� b.��� If the commissioner
determines that the removal and relocation of the residents from such housing
is warranted, then the commissioner shall authorize the payment of relocation
assistance pursuant to P.L.2003, c.311 (C.52:27D-437.1 et al.), and shall assist
in the relocation of such residents to mold-safe housing.

���� c.���� Whenever relocation
assistance is authorized pursuant to this section, the commissioner may
determine to seek reimbursement for payments made for relocation assistance
from the owner of the rental housing from which the tenants were moved. The
commissioner shall seek reimbursement if the owner of such rental housing had
failed to maintain the housing in a mold-safe condition.

���� d.��� In the case of any
displacement of a household from a unit of rental housing that has been found,
in a final administrative or judicial determination, not to be maintained in a
mold-safe condition in accordance with standards established by rule of the Department
of Community Affairs, all relocation costs incurred by a public agency to
relocate that household shall be paid by the owner of the rental housing to the
public agency making relocation payments upon presentation to the owner by the
public agency of a statement of those relocation costs and of the date upon
which the relocation costs are due and payable.

���� e.���� In the event that the
relocation costs to be paid to the public agency are not paid within ten days
after the due date, interest shall accrue and be due to the public agency on
the unpaid balance at the rate of 18% per annum until the costs, and the interest
thereon, shall be fully paid to the public agency.

���� f.���� In the event that the
relocation costs to be paid to a public agency shall not be paid within ten
days after the date due, the unpaid balance thereof and all interest accruing
thereon shall be a lien on the parcel in which the dwelling unit from which displacement
occurred is located.� To perfect the lien granted by this section, a statement
showing the amount and due date of the unpaid balance and identifying the
parcel, which identification shall be sufficiently made by reference to the
municipal assessment map, shall be recorded with the clerk or register of the
county in which the affected property is located and, upon recording, the lien
shall have the priority of a mortgage lien.� Whenever relocation costs with
regard to the parcel and all interest accrued thereon shall have been fully
paid to the public agency, the statement shall be promptly withdrawn or
canceled by the public agency.

���� g.��� In the event that
relocation costs to be paid to a public agency are not paid as and when due,
the unpaid balance thereof and all interest accrued thereon, together with
attorney's fees and costs, may be recovered by the public agency in a civil
action as a personal debt of the owner of the property.� If the owner is a
corporation, the directors, officers and any shareholders who each control more
than 5% of the total voting shares of the corporation, shall be personally
liable, jointly and severally, for the relocation costs.

���� h.��� All rights and remedies
granted by this section for the collection and enforcement of relocation costs
shall be cumulative and concurrent.

���� 6.��� (New section)��� Notwithstanding
any other provisions of P.L.������ , c.��� (C.����� ) (pending before the
Legislature as this bill), a dwelling unit shall not be subject to inspection
and evaluation or subject to any fees for the presence of mold hazards if the
unit:

���� is a seasonal rental unit
which is rented for less than six months' duration each year;

���� has been certified as having a
mold-free interior by a certified inspector; or

���� is occupied by the owner of
the dwelling unit.

���� 7.��� N.J.S.2A:18-59 is
amended to read as follows:

���� 2A:18-59.��
a.
�� Proceedings
had by virtue of
[
this
]
article
9
of chapter 18 of Title 2A
shall not be appealable except on the ground of
lack of jurisdiction.� The landlord, however, shall remain liable in a civil
action for unlawful proceedings under this article.

����
b.��� Whenever the court
determines that a tenant has been constructively evicted by a landlord who has
maintained the rental premises in an uninhabitable condition, including the
failure to address the presence of mold, a copy of the notice of the judgment
to that effect shall be provided to the Commissioner of Community Affairs.

(cf: N.J.S.2A:18-59)

���� 8.��� Section 2 of P.L.1997,
c.323 (C.45:8-62) is amended to read as follows:�

���� 2.��� As used in this act:

���� "Board" means the
State Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors.

���� "Client" means any
person who engages, or seeks to engage, the services of a home inspector for
the purpose of obtaining inspection of and written report upon the condition of
a residential building.

���� "Committee" means
the Home Inspection Advisory Committee established pursuant to section 3 of
this act.

���� "Home inspector"
means any person licensed as a home inspector pursuant to the provisions of
[
this act
]

P.L.1997,
c.323 (C.45:8-61 et seq.)
.

���� "Home inspection"
means an inspection and written evaluation of the following components of a
residential building:� heating system, cooling system, plumbing system,
electrical system, structural components, foundation, roof, masonry structure,
exterior and interior components or any other related residential housing
component as determined by the board by regulation
; in addition, a home
inspection may include an inspection for the visible and detectable presence of
substantial mold hazards, if specifically requested by a purchaser of a
residential housing unit
.

���� "Residential
building" means a structure consisting of from one to four family dwelling
units that has been occupied as such prior to the time when a home inspection
is requested or contracted for in accordance with this act, but shall not include
any such structure newly constructed and not previously occupied.

(cf: P.L.2005, c.201, s.1)

���� 9.��� Section 15 of P.L.1997,
c.323 (C.45:8-75) is amended to read as follows:

���� 15.� No person licensed as a
home inspector pursuant to
[
this
act
]

P.L.1997,
c.323 (C.45:8-61 et seq.)
shall
:

����
a.
���� engage in the
practice of architecture or the practice of professional engineering unless
licensed therefor
; or

����
b.
���
engage in the
practice of mold inspection or mold hazard abatement unless certified to do so
pursuant to P.L.��� , c.��� (C. )
(pending before the Legislature as Assembly Bill No. 1007 of 2014).

(cf: P.L.2001, c.158, s.2)

���� 10.� Section 2 of P.L.1993,
c.30 (C.45:22A-44) is amended to read as follows:

���� 2.��� a.����� Subject to the
master deed, declaration of covenants and restrictions or other instruments of
creation, the association may do all that it is legally entitled to do under
the laws applicable to its form of organization.

���� b.��� The association shall
exercise its powers and discharge its functions in a manner that protects and
furthers the health, safety and general welfare of the residents of the
community.�

���� c.���� The association shall
provide a fair and efficient procedure for the resolution of disputes between
individual unit owners and the association, and between unit owners, which
shall be readily available as an alternative to litigation.�

���� d.��� The association may
assert tort claims concerning the common elements and facilities of the
development as if the claims were asserted directly by the unit owners
individually.�

����
e.���� Notwithstanding any
governing documents to the contrary, no association shall deny permission to a
unit owner to abate the presence of mold in or around the immediate areas of
the owners� dwelling unit, provided that the association may control the
implementation of mold hazard abatement in the common elements.

(cf: P.L.1993, c.30, s.2)

���� 11.� Section 3 of P.L.1967,
c.76 (C.55:13A-3) is amended to read as follows:

���� 3.��� The following terms
whenever used or referred to in P.L.1967, c.76 (C.55:13A-1 et seq.) shall have
the following respective meanings for the purposes thereof, except in those
instances where the context clearly indicates otherwise:

���� (a)�� The term "act"
shall mean P.L.1967, c.76 (C.55:13A-1 et seq.), any amendments or supplements
thereto, and any rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.

���� (b)�� The term "accessory
building" shall mean any building which is used in conjunction with the
main building of a hotel, whether separate therefrom or adjoining thereto.

���� (c)�� (Deleted by amendment,
P.L.2013, c.253.)

���� (d)�� The term
"bureau" shall mean the Bureau of Housing Inspection in the
Department of Community Affairs.

���� (e)�� (Deleted by amendment.)

���� (f)�� The term
"commissioner" shall mean the Commissioner of Community Affairs.

���� (g)�� The term
"department" shall mean the Department of Community Affairs.

���� (h)�� The term "unit of
dwelling space" or the term "dwelling unit" shall mean any room
or rooms, or suite or apartment 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, including but not limited to the
owner thereof, or any of the person's or persons' servants, agents or
employees, and shall include all privileges, services, furnishings, furniture,
equipment, facilities and improvements connected with the use or occupancy
thereof.

���� (i)��� The term
"protective equipment" shall mean any equipment, device, system or
apparatus, whether manual, mechanical, electrical or otherwise, permitted or
required by the commissioner to be constructed or installed in any hotel or
multiple dwelling for the protection of the occupants or intended occupants
thereof, or of the public generally.

���� (j)��� The term
"hotel" shall mean any building, including but not limited to any
related structure, accessory building, and land appurtenant thereto, and any
part thereof, which contains 10 or more units of dwelling space or has sleeping
facilities for 25 or more persons and is kept, used, maintained, advertised as,
or held out to be, a place where sleeping or dwelling accommodations are
available to transient or permanent guests.

���� This definition shall also
mean and include any hotel, motor hotel, motel, or established guesthouse,
which is commonly regarded as a hotel, motor hotel, motel, or established
guesthouse, as the case may be, in the community in which it is located; provided,
that this definition shall not be construed to include any building or
structure defined as a multiple dwelling in P.L.1967, c.76 (C.55:13A-1 et
seq.), registered as a multiple dwelling with the Commissioner of Community
Affairs as hereinafter provided, and occupied or intended to be occupied as
such nor shall this definition be construed to include a rooming house or a
boarding house as defined in the "Rooming and Boarding House Act of
1979," P.L.1979, c.496 (C.55:13B-1 et al.) or, except as otherwise set
forth in P.L.1987, c.270 (C.55:13A-7.5, 55:13A-7.6, 55:13A-12.1, 55:13A-13.2),
any retreat lodging facility, as defined in this section.

���� (k)�� The term "multiple
dwelling" shall mean any building or structure of one or more stories and
any land appurtenant thereto, and any portion thereof, in which three or more
units of dwelling space are occupied, or are intended to be occupied by three
or more persons who live independently of each other.� This definition shall
also mean any group of ten or more buildings on a single parcel of land or on
contiguous parcels under common ownership, in each of which two units of
dwelling space are occupied or intended to be occupied by two persons or
households living independently of each other, and any land appurtenant
thereto, and any portion thereof.� This definition shall not include:

���� (1)�� any building or
structure defined as a hotel in P.L.1967, c.76 (C.55:13A-1 et seq.), or
registered as a hotel with the Commissioner of Community Affairs as hereinafter
provided, or occupied or intended to be occupied exclusively as such;

���� (2)�� a building section
containing not more than four dwelling units, provided the building has at
least two exterior walls unattached to any adjoining building section and the
dwelling units are separated exclusively by walls of such fire-resistant rating
as comports with the "State Uniform Construction Code Act," P.L.1975,
c.217 (C.52:27D-119 et seq.) at the time of their construction or with a rating
as shall be established by the bureau in conformity with recognized standards
and the building is held under a condominium or cooperative form of ownership,
or by a mutual housing corporation, provided that if any units within such a
building section are not occupied by an owner of the unit, then that unit and
the common areas within that building section shall not be exempted from the
definition of a multiple dwelling for the purposes of P.L.1967, c.76
(C.55:13A-1 et seq.).� A condominium association, or a cooperative or mutual
housing corporation shall provide the bureau with any information necessary to
justify an exemption for a dwelling unit pursuant to this paragraph; or

���� (3)�� any building of three
stories or less, owned or controlled by a nonprofit corporation organized under
any law of this State for the primary purpose to provide for its shareholders
or members housing in a retirement community as same is defined under the provisions
of the "Retirement Community Full Disclosure Act," P.L.1969, c.215
(C.45:22A-1 et seq.), provided that the corporation meets the requirements of
section 2 of P.L.1983, c.154 (C.55:13A-13.1).

���� (l)��� The term
"owner" shall mean the person who owns, purports to own, or exercises
control of any hotel or multiple dwelling.� The term "owner" shall
also mean and include any person who owns, purports to own, or exercises
control over three or more dwelling units within a multiple dwelling.

���� (m)� The term
"person" shall mean any individual, corporation, association, or
other entity, as defined in R.S.1:1-2.

���� (n)�� The term
"continuing violation" shall mean any violation of P.L.1967, c.76
(C.55:13A-1 et seq.) or any regulation promulgated thereunder, where notice is
served within two years of the date of service of a previous notice and where
violation, premise and person cited in both notices are substantially
identical.

���� (o)�� The term
"project" shall mean a group of buildings subject to the provisions
of P.L.1967, c.76 (C.55:13A-1 et seq.), which are or are represented to be
under common or substantially common ownership and which stand on a single
parcel of land or parcels of land which are contiguous and which group of
buildings is named, designated or advertised as a common entity.� The
contiguity of such parcels shall not be adversely affected by public
rights-of-way incidental to such buildings.

���� (p)�� The term "mutual
housing corporation" means a corporation not-for-profit incorporated under
the laws of New Jersey on a mutual or cooperative basis within the scope of
Title VI, s.607 of the "Lanham Public War Housing Act," 54 Stat.1125,
42 U.S.C. s.1501 et seq., as amended, which acquired a National Defense Housing
Project pursuant to said act.

���� (q)�� "Condominium"
means the form of ownership so defined in the "Condominium Act,"
P.L.1969, c.257 (C.46:8B-1 et seq.).

���� (r)��� "Cooperative"
means a housing corporation or association which entitles the holder of a share
or membership interest thereof to possess and occupy for dwelling purposes a
house, apartment or other structure owned or leased by said corporation or
association, or to lease or purchase a dwelling constructed or to be
constructed by said corporation or association.

���� (s)�� "Retreat lodging
facility" means a building or structure, including but not limited to any
related structure, accessory building, and land appurtenant thereto, and any
part thereof, owned by a nonprofit corporation or association which has tax-exempt
charitable status under the federal Internal Revenue Code and which has
sleeping facilities used exclusively on a transient basis by persons
participating in programs of a religious, cultural or educational nature,
conducted under the sole auspices of one or more corporations or associations
having tax-exempt charitable status under the federal Internal Revenue Code,
which are made available without any mandatory charge to such participants.

����
(t)��� �Homeowners�
association� means the association formed to manage the common elements of a
condominium, cooperative, or a planned real estate development.

����
(u)�� "Substantial
presence of mold" means the visible or detectable presence of mold growing
on interior surfaces or in ventilation ducts, in such amounts as to raise
concerns for health of the residents of the building, in accordance with
standards promulgated by the Department of Community Affairs pursuant to
P.L.����� , c.���� (C.���� ) (pending before the Legislature as Assembly Bill
No. 1007 of 2014).

(cf: P.L.2013, c.253, s.53)

���� 12.� Section 7 of P.L.1967,
c.76 (C.55:13A-7) is amended to read as follows:

���� 7.��� The commissioner shall
issue and promulgate, in the manner specified in section 8 of P.L.1967, c.76
(C.55:13A-8), such regulations as the commissioner may deem necessary to assure
that any hotel or multiple dwelling will be maintained in such manner as is
consistent with, and will protect, the health, safety and welfare of the
occupants or intended occupants thereof, or of the public generally.

���� Any such regulations issued
and promulgated by the commissioner pursuant to this section shall provide
standards and specifications for such maintenance materials, methods and
techniques, fire warning and extinguisher systems, elevator systems, emergency
egresses, and such other protective equipment as the commissioner shall deem
reasonably necessary to the health, safety and welfare of the occupants or
intended occupants of any units of dwelling space in any hotel or multiple
dwelling, including but not limited to:

���� (a)�� Structural adequacy
ratings;

���� (b)�� Methods of egress,
including fire escapes, outside fireproof stairways, independent stairways, and
handrails, railings, brackets, braces and landing platforms thereon, additional
stairways, and treads, winders, and risers thereof, entrances and ramps;

���� (c)����� Bulkheads and
scuttles, partitions, walls, ceilings and floors;

���� (d)�� Garbage and refuse
collection and disposal, cleaning and janitorial services, repairs, and
extermination services;

���� (e)�� Electrical wiring and
outlets, and paints and the composition thereof;

���� (f)�� Doors, and the manner of
opening thereof;

���� (g)�� Transoms, windows,
shafts and beams;

���� (h)�� Chimneys, flues and
central heating units;

���� (i)��� Roofing and siding
materials;

���� (j)��� Lots, yards, courts and
garages, including the size and location thereof;

���� (k)�� Intakes, open ducts,
offsets and recesses;

���� (l)��� Windows, including the
size and height thereof;

���� (m)� Rooms, including the area
and height thereof, and the permissible number of occupants thereof;

���� (n)�� Stairwells, skylights
and alcoves;

���� (o)�� Public halls, including
the lighting and ventilation thereof;

���� (p)�� Accessory passages to
rooms;

���� (q)�� Cellars, drainage and
air space;

���� (r)��� Water-closets,
bathrooms and sinks;

���� (s)�� Water connections,
including the provision of drinking and hot and cold running water;

���� (t)��� Sewer connections,
privies, cesspools, and private sewers;

���� (u)�� Rain water and drainage
conductors;

���� (v)�� Entrances and ramps;
[
and
]

���� (w)� Presence of lead-based
paint hazards in multiple dwellings and in single-family and two-family
dwellings, exclusive of owner-occupied dwelling units, subject to P.L.2003,
c.311 (C.52:27D-437.1 et al.).� In a common interest community, any inspection
fee for and violation found within a unit which is solely related to this
subsection shall be the responsibility of the unit owner and not the
homeowners' association, unless the association is the owner of the unit
;
and

����
(x)�� Visible substantial
presence of mold on any interior surface, including in ventilation ductwork,
and the presence of conditions which contribute to that mold formation in
multiple dwellings and in single-family and two-family dwellings, exclusive of
owner-occupied dwelling units, subject to P.L.��� , c.�� �(C.������ ) (pending
before the Legislature as this bill). �In a condominium, cooperative, or
planned real estate development with common elements, any mold, or condition
contributing to the formation of mold, which is not under the sole control of a
unit owner and which in any manner concerns a common element or facility, shall
be the duty of the homeowners� association to remedy; any inspection fee for
and violation found within a unit which is solely related to a condition caused
by the owner within the individual unit shall be the sole responsibility of that
unit owner and not the homeowners' association, unless the homeowners� association
is the owner of the unit.

(cf: P.L.2007, c.251, s.5)

���� 13.� This act shall take
effect immediately.

STATEMENT

���� Entitled the �Mold-Safe
Housing Act,� this bill would create mechanisms for tenants living in
mold-contaminated rental housing to have the mold effectively removed, or be
relocated to safer rental housing.� In addition, the bill provides a system of
inspection of all rental housing for the presence of mold.� Single family and
two-family rental housing will be required to be inspected upon a change in
occupancy, as well as every five years as part of the multiple dwelling
inspection.� Multiple dwellings will be inspected every five years for mold
under the �Hotel and Multiple Dwelling Law,� which is enforced currently by the
Bureau of Housing Inspection in the Department of Community Affairs.

���� The bill provides that a
prospective home purchaser can specify that an inspection for presence of mold
be performed by a licensed home inspector, should they retain such an inspector
prior to purchase.�

���� The bill permits tenants whose
landlords fail to abate a mold hazard, upon written request to do so, to notify
the Department of Community Affairs, who shall investigate each claim and
determine whether to relocate the tenant.� Current relocation assistance laws
would apply in such circumstances.� In addition, the bill requires the court to
notify the department whenever a tenant is constructively evicted due to mold
or some other issue of habitability in the rental property.