N.J. Admin. Code § 5:27-1.5

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 21, November 4, 2024

Section 5:27-1.5 - Construction and alteration; change of use

(a) Except as otherwise provided in these rules with regard to required alterations, no rooming or boarding house may be constructed or altered except in accordance with the Uniform Construction Code. Requirements of any adopted subcode of the Uniform Construction Code that exceed requirements of this chapter shall be inapplicable to required alterations unless the Bureau shall otherwise direct.

(b) No building which is not lawfully occupied and used as a rooming or boarding house on August 27, 1980 shall be used as a rooming or boarding house unless the owner and any operator thereof has been licensed by the Bureau and unless a certificate of occupancy allowing use as a rooming or boarding house, as the case may be, for the number of residents accommodated or intended to be accommodated has been obtained from the construction official having jurisdiction, if a certificate of occupancy is required as a result of change of use group or as a result of construction or alteration.

(c) A certificate of occupancy shall be required in the event of any change in use other than a conversion from a one or two-unit dwelling to a rooming or boarding house occupied or intended to be occupied by five or fewer residents.

1. A certificate of occupancy shall not be required for the change in the character of use of Class F, cooperative sober living residences pursuant to N.J.A.C. 5:23-6 provided that:

i. Single-family dwellings of Group R-3 or R-5 that are being converted to a cooperative sober living residence shall meet the requirements of this section;

ii. There shall be not more than 10 occupants, excluding staff; each occupant, including staff, shall be capable of prompt self-evacuation;

iii. Each home shall have smoke alarms that comply with the Uniform Fire Code (N.J.A.C. 5:70-4.19). Fire alarm systems installed in accordance with the One- and Two-Family Dwelling Subcode shall also be deemed to comply. Smoke alarms shall be located in each sleeping room, in the area outside separate sleeping rooms, and on each additional story of the dwelling, including basements and habitable attics;

iv. In the vicinity of each sleeping area, each home with a fuel burning appliance or with an attached garage shall have carbon-monoxide alarms that comply with the Uniform Fire Code (N.J.A.C. 5:70-4.19) or with the Regulations Governing Rooming and Boarding Houses, N.J.A.C. 5:27-14.1; and

v. Each bedroom shall have an operable egress window that complies with the Uniform Construction Code (N.J.A.C. 5:23).

(d) A certificate of occupancy shall be required in the event of any change in occupancy or intended occupancy that will increase the number of residents from five or fewer to six or more or from 20 or fewer to 21 or more.

1. A certificate of occupancy shall not be required for the change in the character of use of Class F cooperative sober living residences pursuant to N.J.A.C. 5:23-6. However, a cooperative sober living residence shall comply with the standards established in (c)1 above.

(e) The construction official having jurisdiction in each municipality is hereby designated as an agent of the Bureau for the purpose of inspecting newly constructed, converted or altered rooming and boarding houses in order to enforce the provisions of this chapter dealing with the construction of the building. Copies of all permits and certificates of occupancy issued by the construction official for rooming and boarding houses shall be provided by him or her to the Bureau.

(f) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to impair the power of the construction official to enforce all provisions of the Uniform Construction Code pertaining to rooming and boarding houses, including, without limitation, provisions concerning hazardous conditions in existing buildings.

N.J. Admin. Code § 5:27-1.5

Amended by 50 N.J.R. 310(a), effective 1/16/2018