a. “Qualified real rental property” means any building or structure or complex of buildings or structures in which five or more housing units are rented or leased or offered for rental or lease for residential purposes except:

(1) hotels, motels or other guesthouses serving transient or seasonal guests;

(2) buildings or structures which are subject to an abatement agreement under which reduced or no property taxes are paid on the improvements pursuant to statute, notwithstanding that payments in lieu of taxes are paid in accordance with the agreement;

(3) buildings or structures located in municipalities in which a rent control ordinance which does not provide for an automatic increase in the amount of rent permitted to be charged by a property owner upon an increase in the amount of property tax levied upon the property is in effect for the base year and the current year;

(4) dwelling units in a residential cooperative or mutual housing corporation;

(5) dwelling units in a condominium, other than those dwelling units which are occupied by qualified tenants under the “Tenant Protection Act of 1992,” P.L.1991, c.509 (C. 2A:18-61.40 et al.);

(6) dwelling units in a continuing care retirement community; or

(7) dwelling units within residential health care facilities; assisted living residences; facilities with a Class C license pursuant to P.L.1979, c.496 (C. 55:13B-1 et al.), the “Rooming and Boarding House Act of 1979” or similar facilities for which occupancy is predicated upon the receipt of medical, nursing or personal care services for the residents and the cost thereof is included in the rent.

Owner occupation of a building shall not be a factor in whether a building is qualified real rental property under P.L.1976, c.63 (C. 54:4-6.2 et seq.).

b. “Property tax reduction” means the difference between the amount of property tax paid or payable on any qualified real rental property in the base year, and the amount of property taxes paid or payable in the current year if less than the amount of property taxes paid or payable in the base year.

c. “Base year” means calendar year 1998.

If any of the following events occur, “base year” shall then mean:

(1) any calendar year after 1998 in which property taxes levied for qualified real rental property exceed the property taxes levied for 1998 for that property;

(2) the first calendar year after 1998 during which qualified real rental property is first offered for rent or lease;

(3) the first full calendar year after 1998 in which qualified real rental property is no longer subject to a tax exemption or tax abatement program;

(4) a calendar year subsequent to 1998 for which the property tax calculation reflects an assessment reduction from the prior base year assessment; or

(5) a calendar year subsequent to 1998 in which the property taxes paid in the base year and the property taxes paid in the current year do not reflect consistent budgetary and tax item components because sewer, solid waste or similar services provided through a taxing entity budget and reflected in the tax rate are changed to a separately billed user fee.

d. “Assessment reduction” means a decrease in the amount of assessed value of qualified real rental property resulting from an agreement entered into with a municipal taxing authority, an abatement, exemption, change in assessment imposed administratively by a municipal tax assessor or county board of taxation, or a judgment entered by a county board of taxation, the tax court, or by a court of competent jurisdiction.

L.1976,c.63,s.2; amended 1977, c.81, s.1; 1977, c.241, s.5; 1977, c.242, s.4; 1987, c.66, s.3; 1991, c.65; 1998, c.15, s.1; 2000, c.126, s.31.