New Jersey Real Estate Broker Exam — All Questions

A buyer purchases New Jersey land that has been farmland-assessed and converts it to residential use. Roll-back taxes are imposed for:

• a.the tax year of the change in use only
• b.the three tax years immediately preceding the change in use
• c.the tax year of the change in use and the five tax years immediately preceding
• d.the tax year of the change in use and the two tax years immediately preceding✓

N.J.A.C. 18:15-7.4(a), implementing N.J.S.A. 54:4-23.8, states that "[r]oll-back taxes are applied to land for the tax year in which the change in the use of the land occurs and for such of the two tax years immediately preceding such year if assessed under the Act" — so up to three tax years in all, and the liability follows the land to whoever owns it when the use changes. To have qualified in the first place the land must be at least five acres actively devoted to agricultural or horticultural use, and must have been so devoted "for at least two successive years immediately preceding the tax year for which such assessment is requested" under N.J.A.C. 18:15-3.1(a). Note also that PSI's outline calls this the "Farmland Reassessment Act"; New Jersey's statute is the Farmland Assessment Act of 1964, and there is no act by the bulletin's name.

The Truth-in-Renting Act requires a New Jersey landlord to distribute the State's statement of tenant rights. The Act does not reach a landlord renting:

• a.a unit in a building containing not more than eight dwelling units
• b.a unit in any building the owner has held for less than one year
• c.a unit in premises containing not more than two dwelling units✓
• d.a unit under a lease with a term of more than one year

The Act works through its definition of "landlord" at N.J.S.A. 46:8-44(a), which covers anyone renting dwelling units for a term of at least one month "except dwelling units in rental premises containing not more than two such units, or in owner-occupied premises of not more than three dwelling units, or in hotels, motels or other guest houses serving transient or seasonal guests." So the exemption turns on the size of the premises, not on how long the owner has held them or how long the lease runs. A covered landlord must give each new tenant a copy of the current statement at or before the tenant takes occupancy and keep a copy posted where tenants can see it; N.J.S.A. 46:8-49 adds that no waiver or refusal by a tenant alters the landlord's duty, and N.J.S.A. 46:8-47 sets a penalty of not more than $100 for each offense.

Under the Municipal Land Use Law, a municipal zoning board of adjustment may grant a use variance under N.J.S.A. 40:55D-70(d) only by the affirmative vote of:

• a.a simple majority of the members present and voting
• b.a simple majority of the full authorized membership of the board
• c.at least five members of the board✓
• d.every member of the board who is present at the hearing

The Municipal Land Use Law treats a use variance as the most consequential thing a board of adjustment can do, because it permits a use the zoning ordinance does not allow in that district at all, and it sets a supermajority accordingly: "[a] variance under this subsection shall be granted only by affirmative vote of at least five members, in the case of a municipal board, or two-thirds of the full authorized membership, in the case of a regional board." A simple majority, whether of those present or of the full membership, is the standard for the ordinary bulk or hardship variance under subsection (c), which is granted where narrowness, shallowness, shape or topography would make strict application of a regulation an undue hardship. Requiring unanimity of those present is not a standard the statute uses anywhere.

Which characteristic is protected in housing by the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination but is NOT a protected class under the federal Fair Housing Act?

• a.Familial status of a household with children under 18
• b.Source of lawful income used for rental or mortgage payments✓
• c.National origin of a prospective tenant or purchaser
• d.Disability of a prospective tenant or purchaser

New Jersey protects a longer list than the federal statute, and source of lawful income is the addition a licensee meets most often. N.J.S.A. 10:5-12(g) makes it unlawful to refuse to sell, rent or lease real property because of, among other things, "source of lawful income used for rental or mortgage payments," and N.J.S.A. 10:5-5 defines that term to include "any federal, State, or local public assistance or housing assistance voucher or funds, including Section 8 housing choice vouchers." Advertising a unit as one where vouchers are not accepted is therefore unlawful in New Jersey though not under federal law. Familial status, national origin and disability are on both lists, being three of the federal Fair Housing Act's seven. New Jersey's other additions include marital status, civil union and domestic partnership status, affectional or sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, and service in or liability for service in the Armed Forces.

For a cause of action accruing today, the maximum recovery from the New Jersey Real Estate Guaranty Fund in connection with any one transaction, regardless of the number of claimants, is:

• a.$10,000
• b.$20,000✓
• c.$50,000
• d.$100,000

N.J.S.A. 45:15-34 caps recovery at "the sum of $10,000 in connection with any one transaction regardless of the number of claims, persons aggrieved, or parcels of, or interests in real estate involved in the transaction," then raises it: "[t]he maximum amount recoverable per transaction shall be increased to $20,000 for claims filed on the basis of causes of action which accrue after the effective date of P.L.1993, c.51." The $10,000 in the first clause is the pre-1993 residual, which is what makes it the trap. The cap is per transaction and not per claimant, so several people defrauded in one deal share it. Reaching the fund at all is deliberately hard: under N.J.S.A. 45:15-37 the claimant must reduce the claim to a final judgment, pursue all available remedies and be unable to satisfy it from the licensee's assets, and then obtain a court order directing payment.

The New Jersey Real Estate Sales Full Disclosure Act, N.J.S.A. 45:15-16.27 et seq., regulates the offering of subdivided lands that are:

• a.situated outside New Jersey and offered to a person in New Jersey✓
• b.situated anywhere in New Jersey and offered as 100 or more lots
• c.situated in any state and offered as fewer than 100 lots
• d.situated in a New Jersey Pinelands or coastal management area

The surprise in this Act is its geography. N.J.S.A. 45:15-16.28 defines "subdivision" and "subdivided lands" as "any land situated outside the State of New Jersey," and N.J.S.A. 45:15-16.31 supplies the hook to this State: the Act applies where an offer or disposition is made in New Jersey, or where an offer originating elsewhere is directed to a person or resident here. It is a consumer-protection statute aimed at out-of-state land promotions sold to New Jersey buyers; in-state planned developments are governed instead by the Planned Real Estate Development Full Disclosure Act. A subdivider must register with the Commission's Bureau of Subdivided Land Sales Control and deliver a public offering statement before the purchaser signs, and the purchaser may rescind without cause by midnight of the seventh calendar day after executing the contract. Offerings of fewer than 100 lots, parcels, units or interests are exempt.