Does anyone know the rules for converting a one family to a two family (renting out the ground floor which will have 2 exits) in the McGinley Square area. What sort of permits would be needed and would there be any difficultly doing this if it's not owner occupied?

\"I understand the mayor would like to make it legal for the people living in the illegal units, but I don\'t know how it\'s done,\" said city Planning Director Bob Cotter.


C'MON Bob, you know how, the city just changes the laws like it did for the Powerhouse Arts District, except This will take a bit more grease for the sprocket because it will be more widespread.

Quote: When he says, "would make the population too dense for its infrastructure", does he mean like Grove PointE? Seriously, here we have an issue apart from crime that clearly illustrates what is wrong with the approach of the clowns in charge.... Something illegal that you can't control? Simple! Change the law to allow it and collect some extra $$$ too!

http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/20 ... ty_mayor_healy_wants.html

Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy wants to bring illegal apartments in the city up to code and put them on them on the tax rolls.
In Jersey City, thousands of homeowners have illegal apartments tucked away in basements and attics. And if Mayor Jerramiah Healy has his way, he\'ll make honest landlords out of all of them.

But several people, including at least one city official, said Healy\'s idea might be impossible to implement and would flout zoning rules already in a place.

\"We\'d like to consider an amnesty program to recognize them (the landlords with illegal apartments) and have them increase their tax payments to the city,\" Healy said during an interview last week. \"There are literally thousands (of illegal apartments) out there. It will bring in a significant about of money to the city\'s coffers.\"

City spokeswoman Jennifer Morrill estimated that each illegal apartment that went legit would bring in between $522 and $833 extra money per year to the city due to the increased value of the property.

City Zoning Officer Tony Lambiase estimated that 25 to 30 percent of the buildings in Jersey City have illegal apartments, and perhaps 80 percent of these units could be brought up to code, which would include creating secondary exits in case of fire.

Several people questioned the practicality of Healy\'s idea, which the mayor acknowledged needs to be fleshed out.

\"I understand the mayor would like to make it legal for the people living in the illegal units, but I don\'t know how it\'s done,\" said city Planning Director Bob Cotter.

Bringing each case before the Zoning Board of Adjustment would overload the system and is arguably illegal, since zoning variances are meant to be granted only rarely, Cotter said.

One option would be to change the city\'s zoning laws, Cotter said. Most of Jersey City falls under the \"R-1\" category, which allows one- or two-family homes. Illegal apartments are usually added to two-family houses, Cotter said.

The city could change the R-1 category to allow three-families, but then the city could see a huge influx of new basement apartments, which, Cotter said, would make the population too dense for its infrastructure.

Barbara Petrick, president of the Sergeant Anthony Park Association, agreed. \"Higher density is something that can be okay (but only) if it\'s built for it,\" she said.

Rebecca Hoffman, president of the Riverview Neighborhood Association, said she didn\'t think many landlords would take the mayor\'s offer since under state law, three-family homes are considered \"multi-family buildings\" requiring a slew of expensive upgrades such as sprinklers and second egresses.

Plus, they\'d have to pay more in taxes.

\"It\'s a complicated issue, but I guess the bottom line is I don\'t think this really addresses the problem,\" Hoffman said.

The city needs to enforce the current zoning laws and build more affordable housing so people wouldn\'t need to live in illegal apartments, she said.

thanks for all the advice. i think the safest bet is to just extend my own apartment to the basement rather than rent it out.

Check your tax plate, your attorney or your realestate person should have told you if it's 2 or 3 units, if it is a two unit residential premises, you can use the basement as an office or rec room as long as there in no kitchen in it, and you have an entrance from inside the first floor to the basement, not a separate entrance. There is a Housing Task Force out there that is very active in finding people who rent out illegal apartments, they have people in court all the time fining them anywhere from $5000.00 to $10,000.00. Good Luck....

If most of the houses on the block are 2 family, it's most likely an R-1 zone (1-2 family houses) and converting to 3+ legal units will require a zoning variance. You'll need a lawyer, an architect, and a professional planner. There are various other fees, including paying for certified mail to give notice to all your neighbors, which can be significant if there's a large condo building within X hundred feet of the property. Budget at least $5k for all of this, and there's no guaranty you'll be successful, so it could be money down the drain.

Illegal without permission from the zoning board, and good luck with that! And if you do it anyway without permission, if/when you are busted, it will not be pretty!

Moreover, if you do it and there is a fire/damage to your house, it invalidates your homeowners insurance. If anything happens and the people living downstairs are injured/killed (fire), you may be liable.

The short answer is it's completely illegal.

The long answer....hmm where do I begin

if you have a "3rd unit" with 2 entrances etc it can be used as living space or office space(home office not commercial space) but it needs to be used by a family member that lives with you. meaning you cant have a family member live down stairs but you live in the burbs and rent out the other 2 units. it has to be part of your unit upstairs. "its the old mother daughter concept". No one will bug you.

Now if you rent it to a random tenant you just opened up a giant can of worms.

!. your insurance co can tell you to go screw if there is litigation, fire etc because you had illegal basement unit with stove etc.

2. the city/court will fine you lots $5000 to $10,000 for illegal dwelling. to take it one step further there are scammer tenants that will move into your place, live there for 2 years and stop paying rent...you go to court to evict and the judge turn around and says since its an illegal apartment you have to pay back all the rent they already paid to you and pay for their moving costs plus huge fines.

If your realtor cant provide you with this type of info well fire him/her...Good luck....

Quote:
Call The Jersey City Housing CODE Authoirty (201) 547 4825, and the Jersey City Zoning Dept. (201) 547- 6564
Only the home owner can live in the basement apartment, it cannot be rented. When the "tenants" report their income taxes the illegal basement apt. will surface, or when mail is delivered to one extra family. Also if they are section 8 that will spill the beans. http://www.cityofjerseycity.com/hedc.aspx?id=1184

yes it would make it a 3 fam. and i dont know where i'd be living yet, just somewhere in jc. i just dont know how the zones work. for example on my block there are only 2 fam houses... but when you get to the end of the block, there are 3, 4 and 5 fam houses.

would the basement be a 3rd dwelling? If so now you have turned a 2 family into a 3 family.

There is tons of info on this on the internet, it varies depending upon where you live.

hi all,

i'm looking into buying a 2 fam house in JC. i'm still in the relatively early stages of the game, but i had a question regarding renting out basement apartments. i've read many different pieces of info online, and i was wondering if anyone had any direct experience in the legality of renting one out

some stuff i've read:

- apt needs to have 2 exits and a large window
- needs to be registered
- needs to be in the correct 'zone'

how can i find out if a property i'm buying meets the requirements to be able to rent out the basement? the zoning dept? thanks