The City of South Orange NJ REQUIRES all homeowners to fix their sidewalks! See below.
Chapter 138 Section 26 (ecode360.com)
” Maintenance and repair of sidewalks and curbs shall be the responsibility of the abutting property owner. Sidewalks and curbs installed by the Village must be maintained and repaired in kind as installed by the Village. Should the abutting property owner or owners fail to maintain and repair the sidewalks and curbs which are their responsibility, in accordance with the ordinances of the Township of South Orange Village, and should such failure be reported to the Village Administrator by the village official having jurisdiction of the matter, then, in such event, the Village Administrator or his/her designee shall, by notice, direct that the sidewalks, curbs or any parts thereof be repaired by and at the cost of said abutting property owner or owners, within 30 days of a receipt by such owner or owners of the notice. Repairs of said sidewalks and curbs require a permit, which is to obtained from the Department of Code Enforcement and Inspections. There shall be no fee charged for the issuance of said permit.”
Sidewalk repair in addition to maintenance in the State of New Jersey is the duty of the abutting house owner. Thousands of house owners are not aware of this ordinance and they assume that their city or state is liable for repairing defective sidewalks. In many cases, the home proprietor will employ contractors to make the repair or their municipality will employ the work but will charge the property proprietor for 100% of the job cost. In 2012, the borough of Highland Park in New Jersey launched a program that required estate proprietors to repair defective sidewalks adjacent to their homes. Your city or borough can be next!
A lawsuit waiting to happen…
House owners in South Orange are liable for upholding the sidewalks adjacent to their property. When they fail to effectively preserve their sidewalks, they become responsible for the injuries that pedestrians experience. These pedestrians that hurt themselves because of your damaged sidewalk have the legal right to sue you since you are the home owner. There are also dozens of lawyers that love to follow through with these kinds of premise liability cases, which will amount to a lot of money in the long run. Thousands of estate proprietors in the State of New Jersey have been taken to court because of their laxity or the lack of understanding in regards to sidewalks and responsibility.
Your municipality or borough can also send you a notice requiring you to repair your sidewalk. Failure to agree within a limited time frame will result in fines and penalties. Spare yourself a lawsuit and fines by calling a sidewalk repair company ASAP!
Types of Sidewalk Defects
There are many types of defective sidewalks that can prove dangerous for South Orange pedestrians.
- Tree roots: When sidewalks go too long without repair, tree roots may cause them to become uneven.
- Collapsed sidewalks: Severely damaged sidewalks may have large parts caved in or separated from the rest of the walkway. This type of a situation certainly poses a serious fall hazard.
- Trip hazards: It is easy to trip and fall on large cracks that cut across poorly maintained sidewalks.
- Improper slope: Uneven sidewalks may have large portions that do not line up with the rest of the walkway.
- Patchwork: In an effort to save money on repairs, it is common to see inadequate patchwork jobs on specific locations that make the sidewalk surface uneven.
- Missing cobblestones and bricks: It is necessary to properly maintain walkways that are not made from concrete to ensure the safety of pedestrians.
South Orange NJ Sidewalk Repair Contractors
Employing a sidewalk contractor to fix your broken sidewalk is the ideal way to evade any lawsuits or fines from your municipality. HOLESSolutions, a Clifton based infrastructure repair company, specializes in sidewalk repair. With numerous crews working throughout Northern New Jersey, HOLESSolutions is highly capable of fixing your sidewalk within a few hours which in turn will minimize liability and improve the look of your home’s aesthetics immensely. Just a quick call to HOLESSolutions will end the daily gamble you’re taking. Available 24 hours a day/7 days a week, you can dial 973-779-4653 to get your sidewalk repaired professionally!