Have You Noticed an Increase in Rental Properties in Toms River…Thank Marisa Matarazzo, of the Division of Community Development & Code Enforcement for Mayor Daniel Rodrick

Have you noticed an increase in rental properties in Toms River?  Have you seen a home in your area sell and then be turned into a rental?  Wonder why it seems that more and more properties are being purchased and turned in to rental properties lately?  Are you wondering why Mayor Daniel Rodrick’s choice for Board of Education is Marisa Matarazzo, a manager in the Division of Community Development and Code Enforcement? Here’s one possible answer…

While the Mayor Daniel Rodrick and his administration are adamant that the cancellation of the Resale Certificate of Occupancy (CO) process back in January was a good thing as it was just a money grab (maybe it was, maybe it was needed, but that doesn’t matter here), they have hidden from you that they also made significant changes to the RENTAL Certificate of Occupancy Inspection requirements.  This was done with no Council or subcommittee approval, just between Mayor, Business Administrator, Counsel and staff, so most people have no idea this was even done.  But, why was it done? 

How does lessening the requirements to obtain a Rental CO benefit anyone in the town, aside from absentee landlords?  What prompted this change?  Is this because of the recent hiring of Marisa Matarazzo, a local Realtor, now working in The Division of Community Development and Code Enforcement?  Yes, that name likely looks familiar since it happens to be plastered across town on the current Board of Education campaign signs as well.  Who else does this change benefit?  It certainly does not seem to benefit any of the residents, that’s for sure.

Maybe we’d give them the benefit of the doubt and wonder if perhaps the Toms River Rental CO process was overkill and this change was to better align it with surrounding municipalities, but when reviewing the rental CO requirements for other towns we found that Toms River now has the weakest guidelines by far.  The changes have made Toms River one of the easiest towns to obtain a rental CO- Easier than Brick, Lakewood, Jackson, Manchester, Berkeley, Beachwood, Seaside Heights, and plenty of others.  No wonder investors seem to be buying up properties left and right.   Copies of the 2022 requirements and 2024 requirements provided for your review.

So we ask again….who does this benefit and why was the change necessary? Mayor Daniel Rodrick’s Rules of Chaos is also a set of rules of deception. Don’t be deceived! Know the facts!