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New amendments were adopted by the New Jersey of Civil Rights (“DCR”) regarding the Multiple Dwelling Reporting Rule (“MDRR”) on April 7, 2025
By April 22, 2025 Posted in Landlord/Tenant Law Share
One of the biggest changes with the adoption of these new amendments to the MDRR is the requirement to provide applicants and leaseholders with DCR’s Applicant / Tenant Inquiry document. This document was produced by the DCR. Reporting information back to the DCA in regard to the MDRR has always been mandatory, that is not changing. However, the use of the DCR’s document was used to assist owners in gathering information that the DCR has required to have on file. This is where the change comes into play.
While the use of the DCR’s Applicant / Tenant Inquiry document is now required, a housing provider cannot require, applicants, tenants, or occupants to complete and return the form. In another sense, it is mandatory for housing providers to complete the form but voluntary for applicants and/or tenants to fill it out.
When should the MDRR Tenant/Applicant Inquiry document be provided?
The Applicant/Tenant Inquiry document must be provided in order to be in compliance, in the following scenarios:
1. To applicants upon their completion of their application process;
2. To leaseholders when the housing provider gives them a signed copy of the lease; and
3. To leaseholders with each offer of lease renewal (or on an annual basis if the lease term is one year or less).
An owner may provide leaseholders with the current form at additional times, in order for occupants to voluntarily report information to facilitate the owner's or owners' obligation to report accurately.
Another major update to the MDRR reporting requirements is that housing providers are prohibited from requesting the information in regard to the MDRR Tenant / Applicant Inquiry document from an applicant prior to the completion of their application process. Pursuant to the changes to the MDRR, the application process is considered completed when the applicant in question has completed and provided all of the necessary information and documentation required by the owner for purposes of a tenancy at their dwelling.
As many firms have moved to electronic application, leasing, and communications platforms, how does one navigate these new requirements in a digital world? For those who opt to use online applications or lease signings electronically, you are not prevented from the use of the MDRR Applicant / Tenant Inquiry document to applicants and/or leaseholders, as nothing in the rules prohibits such use. Should you venture to complete this process electronically, you should familiarize yourself with N.J.A.C. 13:10-2.5(c). Under the aforementioned statute, information received must be kept confidential. However, an exception is made when it is made for reporting purposes and must be kept separate from all other tenant files and rental records.
Further amendments to the MDRR reporting rule are that the expansions to the universe of housing providers subject to reporting. In the past, the compliance with the MDRR applied to owners of multiple dwelling complexes that had twenty-five (25) or more units. However, under the newly adopted changes, housing providers are required to comply with MDRR reporting if they have twenty-five (25) or more rental dwellings in the state of New Jersey. These twenty-five (25) or more rental dwellings can be either at the same location or across various locations within the State of New Jersey, and they have either ownership or management in common. Multiple single-family dwelling units operated under one management or with ownership in common, even if geographically spread out, shall be considered a multiple dwelling for the purposes of this rule. The rule defines these buildings, or groups of buildings, as a “multiple dwelling,” even if they are multiple single- or two-family units. Multiple dwelling does not include long-term health care facilities licensed by the New Jersey Department of Health pursuant to N.J.S.A. 26:2H-1 et seq., or academic housing owned or operated by colleges and universities for the exclusive use of their students, such as dormitories. Who may file these reports on behalf of an owner or owners of a multiple dwelling building? Under the law, a property manager or other individual who is responsible for the operation of said multiple dwelling building may do the filing.
There have been changes to the MDRR reporting report with the expansions to the demographic criterial that will need to be reported to the DCR and expansions to the reporting also include known occupants in addition to tenants and applications. The annual reporting of the MDRR required by the DCR, that has to be submitted each year by January 30, must include the following information and/or demographics:
1. Racial / ethnic designation,
2. Gender,
3. Familial status, and
4. Receipt of rental assistance such as Housing Choice (Section 8) Vouchers, for rental applicants, leaseholders, and known occupants
In addition to previously required data regarding racial / ethnic designation, is necessary to fulfill its responsibilities pursuant to the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination ("LAD") to eliminate housing discrimination based on these protected characteristics. Therefore, landlords are permitted pursuant to the LAD to request the information from tenants, consistent with this rulemaking.
In addition to the above, owners will be required to provide and report information regarding rental turnovers, description of the rental recruiting techniques, rental rates by dwelling unit size, whether the dwelling is barrier free. There may be additional information that the Attorney General may inquire from an owner.
Penalties for the MDRR has also had a change with these amendments. For noncompliance of the MDRR reporting rule, the fines have been increased and enhanced. This includes penalties for late submissions. Late submission are reports submitted after January 30. However, there is a mechanism in place to provide relief to owners who file reports late, or fail to file reports with good cause shown. There will be an imposition of penalties for submitting false information to the DCR. Please note that an owner would not be liable for false reporting if they accurately reported data to the DCR based on the information the owner received through the MDRR Tenant / Applicant Inquiry documents, and that is information the DCR could easily verify.
Pursuant to the law, N.J.A.C. 13:10-2.7 Late filing and false reporting penalties are as follows:
(a) An owner or owners of a multiple dwelling who files a report more than 15 calendar days after the time for filing reports set forth at N.J.A.C. 13:10-2.4, but not later than 30 calendar days after such time for filing, shall be subject to a penalty for late filing of $ 500.00.
(b) An owner or owners of a multiple dwelling who files a report more than 30 calendar days after the time for filing reports set forth at N.J.A.C. 13:10-2.4, but not later than 60 calendar days after such time for filing, shall be subject to a penalty for late filing of $ 1,000.
(c) An owner or owners of a multiple dwelling who files a report more than 60 calendar days after the time for filing reports set forth at N.J.A.C. 13:10-2.4, but not later than 90 calendar days after such time for filing, shall be subject to a penalty for late filing of $ 1,500.
(d) An owner or owners of a multiple dwelling who files a report more than 90 calendar days after the time for filing reports set forth at N.J.A.C. 13:10-2.4 shall be subject to a penalty for late filing of $ 2,500.
(e) An owner or owners of a multiple dwelling who submit a false report shall be subject to a penalty for false reporting in an amount designated by the Director of the Division on Civil Rights pursuant to N.J.S.A. 10:5-14.1a. The Director of the Division on Civil Rights shall also require the filing of a corrected report.
(f) Payment of the fees pursuant to (a), (b), (c), (d), and (e) above shall be transmitted in the form of a check made payable to "Treasurer--State of New Jersey."
(g) The Director of the Division on Civil Rights may, in their discretion, waive all or part of the penalties incurred with the late filing of a report or reports for good cause shown, so long as such waiver would not compromise the purpose of the reports as set forth at N.J.A.C. 13:10-2.1. An owner of a multiple dwelling may apply to the Director of the Division on Civil Rights for a waiver or relaxation of the penalties incurred because of the late filing or failure to file a report or reports. Such request shall be submitted electronically on the filing portal at https://mdrr.njcivilrights.gov and shall set forth, with specificity, the owner's reasons for late filing or failure to file. If applicable, documentation supporting the request should be included. The Director may consider such factors as the owner's previous filing history, the owner's promptness in filing the report upon notice of delinquency, Division on Civil Rights' resources expended on addressing the delinquency, and any exceptional circumstances related to the delinquency (which may include an owner's undue hardship, economic or otherwise).
(h) The Director of the Division on Civil Rights may, in their discretion, issue a Notice of Violation for failure to comply with any of the requirements in this section, setting forth the required penalties and other fines deemed appropriate.
Should you have any questions regarding the updates to the MDRR please contact our office.
The information in this Client Alert is provided solely for information purposes. It should not be construed as legal advice on any specific matter and is not intended to create an attorney-client relationship. The information provided herein may not be applicable in all situations and should not be acted upon without specific legal advice based on particular circumstances. Each legal matter is unique, and prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.