A Bayonne property owner is suing the city, alleging that the building department is utilizing an illegal fee system where they tried to make him pay as much as $28,000 for a Temporary Continued Certificate of Occupancy (TCCO).
The five-count amended lawsuit, filed in Hudson County Superior Court on September 14th by Perrault Jean-Paul and his company, Syntax Services LLC, against the City of Bayonne says he has owned 37 East 15th St. since August 4th, 2017.
“On or about June 2025, the Property passed all four final City inspections — electrical, plumbing, building, and fire. The City has never issued a Certificate of Occupancy for the Property. In communications with the City’s Building Department, Perrault Jean-Paul has been advised that the City does not issue a Certificate of Occupancy,” the court filing contends, also noting the property has remained vacant this entire time.
“The City’s stated policy accordingly charges the recurring monthly TCCO fee until the occurrence of a condition — issuance of a Certificate of Occupancy — that the City, by its own account, does not perform. As structured and administered by the City, the recurring monthly charge has no attainable endpoint.”…