We are asking all REALTORS and property owners to call Mayor Fulop’s office to ask them to work with Liberty Board for an efficient solution and table this amendment.
Mayor Fulop's Office 201-547-5200

The Jersey City Ordinance will change the following

1)  A Zoning Compliance Certificate (CO) will be needed for every real estate transaction; this includes both sales and rentals.  Before a CO can be issued an inspection is required

2) Property taxes need to be paid before a CO will be issued; this includes not only sales, but also rentals. This is problematic since often times the sellers are in a financial bind and the closing attorney pays the taxes from the proceeds of a sale.  This proposal will prevent some property owners to be able to sell their home. 

3) Since Jersey City’s public records have a history of being unreliable, a CO may not be issued quickly enough to prevent a mortgage commitment from expiring and can jeopardize the closing.

 4)  Anytime homeowners need a plumbing, electrical or a building permit, they need to schedule an inspection and pay $150 for a CO.  This will delay most sales and rentals. 

This proposal contends that there is currently no public records to effectively track changes of use for real property and protecting buyers of real estate from misrepresentation by sellers.   The Liberty Board’s leadership believes there is a lack of knowledge by the proponents of this proposal of the State of New Jersey’s Agency and Consumer Protection laws.  The most cost effective way for Jersey City to reach the goals of their proposal is to efficiently maintain their public records and by doing so, making them easily available to the public.