The Senate Community and Urban Affairs Committee has approved legislation aimed at holding chronic code-violating landlords accountable and strengthening protections for tenants living in unsafe or uninhabitable housing conditions.

The bill, officially titled the “Safeguarding Livable Units through Municipal Landlord Oversight and Regulation by DCA,” or “SLUMLORD Act,” is sponsored by Senators Raj Mukherji and Brian Stack, both Democrats representing Hudson County.

The measure seeks to expand the state’s authority to enforce housing standards and provide new legal remedies for tenants suffering from habitability violations.

“Far too many tenants in my district are living in neglected rental units where landlords are cutting off heat or ignoring basic health and safety standards in order to force out tenants and maximize profit,” Senator Mukherji aid in a statement.

“Serial code violators are additionally hiding behind layers of shell corporations to dodge responsibility. The SLUMLORD Act gives the State DCA meaningful enforcement tools to hold chronic violators accountable when local resources are stretched thin, and it gives tenants additional remedies when dealing with habitability violations. If you are profiting while your tenants suffer in unlivable conditions, we will hold you accountable.”

Under the bill, the Department of Community Affairs (DCA) would create a Habitability Enforcement and Affirmative Litigation Program to assist tenants dealing with habitability issues, including providing information and pursuing litigation on their behalf. The legislation appropriates $5 million to establish and fund the program.

The measure also directs the DCA to maintain a habitability database cataloging code violations across the state, enabling local and state officials to identify repeat offenders and predatory landlords. Landlords who believe they were wrongly included in the database would have the right to petition for removal.

The SLUMLORD Act would further codify the implied warranty of habitability, a long-standing legal principle that requires landlords to maintain rental units in safe, livable condition. It explicitly requires landlords to repair vital systems such as plumbing, hot and cold water, heating, and electricity throughout the duration of a lease.

The bill also introduces new accountability measures, requiring landlords to designate at least one principal agent responsible for receiving tenant complaints, directing remediation efforts, and facing potential personal liability for serious violations.

Under the proposal, tenants would have clearer legal recourse to pursue private legal action against landlords who fail to maintain habitable conditions, potentially leading to personal or quasi-criminal penalties for offenders.