The Jackson Township council is getting tough on illegal rentals and weak code enforcement operations by calling for the restructuring of the code enforcement department and enacting a new ordinance that will hold landlords and tenants liable for violating the town’s landlord ordinances.
Jackson Township’s council meeting Tuesday night turned to decades of weak code enforcement and mismanagement within the department.
Council President Jennifer Kuhn and Vice President Mordy Burnstein took aim at what they called a broken code enforcement system, citing years of inaction on illegal rentals and vowing to restore accountability through new oversight and department restructuring.
Residents and elected officials defended recent actions to tighten enforcement, including installing GPS trackers on code officers’ vehicles, responding to claims that some township employees were not performing their duties and allowing persistent housing violations to go unchecked.
The council also explained their recent ordinance, which requires all LLCs renting homes in the town to register their rentals with a human agent—removing the veil of the LLC that previously prevented the township from levying fines against delinquent landlords. Under the new ordinance, tenants can also be fined for violating the township’s ordinances.
The council leaders were united in their disappointment about how the code enforcement department was operating before the new ordinance, stating that some code enforcement officers were not doing their jobs properly, and in some cases, avoiding their responsibilities to the township.
“You can turn around and do a 360 and find 10 violations. They’re not being issued. That’s not happening,” said Kuhn, visibly frustrated. “We had to put GPS trackers on their vehicles because we don’t know where they (code enforcement officers) are. There’s 40 hours in a work week, and they come up with three violations. Yes, there were problems—and yes, I do stand behind exactly what I did.”
Kuhn said years of complaints about illegal rentals—often involving multiple families living in single-family homes or properties rented out for parties and pool use—were ignored by the township’s enforcement arm.
She said residents had effectively taken over the role of inspectors, reporting violations because township staff weren’t doing the job. Even after residents reported the issues, many of the complaints were not being dealt with, she said.
“Why were residents giving code enforcement jobs to do?” she asked. “Everything came from the council and residents. Nine violations came from code enforcement, the rest were ours. That’s not how this is supposed to work. They’re supposed to be out doing their jobs and looking for violations and addressing those violations.”
Kuhn also confronted a TikTok influencer that she claims has distorted the truth and has been creating viral videos to build an online brand using lies and half-truths to generate clicks.
She pushed back against his outlandish accusations that council’s actions were politically motivated or targeted, stating that she was not “scared” of backlash, videos, or campaigning critics.
“I’m not scared of you, or your videos, or your t-shirts,” Kuhn told the influencer, who just recently moved to Jackson. “I’ve lived here my whole life. You think I don’t see the changes? I do. We’re trying to do the right thing.”
Council Vice President Burnstein explained why restructuring code enforcement is a key component required to ensure that proper enforcement of Jackson’s ordinances is important.
The council’s power lies in financial oversight and structural change. He noted that problems with code enforcement date back years and that many residents—some of whom he had previously disagreed with—were right to raise alarms.
“It’s our responsibility to hold code enforcement accountable to the residents who pay their salaries,” Burnstein said.
“Residents have been coming since the day I’ve been sitting on this dais,” Burnstein said. “Some of the residents who I strongly opposed over the years came and said, ‘Morty, what are you going to do differently?’ And I told them—I’m going to do my due diligence.”
Burnstein confirmed that the township has approximately 2,000 rental properties, many of which have triggered community complaints for years. He said it was unacceptable that neighbors had to send “hundreds and thousands” of emails documenting issues that township officials should have been addressing.
“Yes, I had a problem with code enforcement officers taking cars home during lunch,” he said. “When I asked where the cars were for two hours, I couldn’t get an answer. It wasn’t transparent. That’s when I knew things had to change. I asked why some cars were idling for two hours at a time and no violations were being produced.”
The township has since passed a fully funded ordinance creating a specific role tasked solely with rental inspections and code compliance—an unprecedented step meant to streamline enforcement and relieve pressure on residents.
“We created an entire ordinance for this,” Burnstein said. “To give people the job of literally sitting there checking on inspections. That wasn’t happening before.”
He acknowledged there are good officers in the department but reiterated the need for structural change.
“Sometimes you have to look and ask, are we getting 100 cents on the dollar? In my opinion—we weren’t.”
Both Kuhn and Burnstein stressed that enforcement would continue within the boundaries of state and federal housing law. Burnstein confirmed that the township attorney has been asked to review policies to ensure full compliance. He said that he would also have the township’s legal team look into new federal guidelines issued by President Trump at the suggestion of one resident who spoke earlier in the meeting.
“No one wants to see pool rentals,” Burnstein said. “No one wants to see multi-room rentals. No one wants to see this kind of illegal, inappropriate behavior happening next to their homes.”
Kuhn concluded her remarks by standing by her commitment to reform what’s not working in the township, saying she’s not intimidated by criticism from employees who won’t do their jobs or from their friends with cameras and TikTok accounts seeking to maintain the status quo.
“I’m not scared of you, I’m not scared of your videos, and I’m not scared of your T-shirts,” she told the TikTok influencer. “I know I’m doing good for the town I grew up in.”
Pollack will be crushed politically. He is a sicko looking for attention. Did anyone see him running into the meeting last night? The guy needs meds.
You don’t know Chris, but I do. On a personal level. One of the hardest working guys i know with a beautiful family. I’ve lived in Jackson my entire 43 years. I met Chris and his family about 5 years ago when we became neighbors. I love them all dearly. All of our beliefs or opinions may not align, but I am 110% behind him in what he’s doing for Jackson. It’s going to take a person with an immense amount of passion to stand up against the machine. Don’t mistake passion for psychosis.
Good! Landlords should abide by the rules, check on the tenants for subletting and overcrowding, and keep the property clean out of respect for the neighbors and keep the character of the neighborhood before the landlord bought there.
Attn Lakewood Town can u please enforce as well? It would help us
Careful what you wish for.
Think about all the code violations that go on.if you’re requesting enforcement you may just get it.
Home Day Care centers should be regulated and inspected. They cause traffic issues in residential areas
Traffic issues are your big concern with home day cares? The safety and well being of the chidren is paramount, look at what’s finally being dealt with in Rockland County. Babies and children in unsafe and unsanitary conditions, crammed in as though in warehouses. Despicable on the part of the owners and parents alike yet only the local government is showing concern for the children with the owners deflecting blame and the parents feigning ignorance. Laws apply to EVERYONE as well as the consequences and rightly so.
Good. There should be none of these going on in the first place.
Desperately needed
M’sira in the making. People that get involved in this on a political level better ask their local for guidance so they don’t have to deal with it after 120. There are very serious halachik issues
People who cram houses with illegal migrants who are not properly vetted, who ruin their neighbors’ quality of life, who sit outside their house with guns visible on them (like my neighbors) will have more to deal with after 120.
people who outbid frum families looking for a place to live, to put in shady characters who go outside half naked, also have very serious halachic issues.
The people that rent to or hire what some like to label “illegal ” immigrants aren’t the one’s that serve any consequences. Maybe put some emphasis on that. “Illegal ” immigrants are the least of Ocean County’s problems. BTW, a large percentage of Mexicans in particular, have a substantial amount of indigenous north American DNA. The lower half of this country was Mexico before it was taken once again from the white man. Know what I’m trying to say?
No. But reality is, weare a country of laws. Abide by the laws, or pay thepenalties.
I agree. As a invester i have the right to Stuff 20 illegals into a 1 bedroom house by dividing the kitchen and dining room in to a 4 bedroom. They all can have party’s until 3am at night. And you are a moiser if u stop it
I wish more towns would take this same approach , people do not want to se illegal rentals next door to them . I understand how the residents could be frustrated with inaction by the township regarding infractions of code enforcement
Nobody wants local government to issue code violations besides a couple hot heads if you continue down this path you will lose the election
Criminal mind set. If it’s illegal, they need to be fined.
Town ordinances are out of hand and probably in violation of private property rights
Just because it’s private property, doesn’t give you a right to put everyone at risk. Putting 20 kids in your garage/playgroup is dangerous. That requires local enforcement. It’s also Assur from the Torah, V’Nishmartem.
So if the 3 bedroom house next to you is rented out and occupied by 20 people, numerous non running cars in pieces all over the place, the grass is never cut which causes a tick infestation on your property and piles of junk all over the place that you would be ok with that? We have dealt with that on numerous properties in our neighborhood.
Yay! Prices in Jackson will drop soon. Investers are saying it’s not worth it to buy in Jackson. Rabbosai we can repeat this on other areas. Investers we will make sure there is a crackdown in all of central jersey. The game is up
That’s interesting : same people who complain few years ago about the township to be too hard with them in zoning and fines are now up tu fight against others the very same way the were crying about.
think about it
100%
Living down here it’s for the birds