HOBOKEN, NJ – Hoboken’s City Council narrowly defeated a proposal on Wednesday to set a 10 percent limit on annual rent increases in the city, but said renters need more “tools” to fight increases that would “shock the conscience.”
In the last few years, some corporate landlords in Hoboken have raised the rents of longtime tenants by 25 percent or more.
New Jersey law bans “unconscionable” rent increases, but leaves it up to a tenant to withhold rent and plead their case to a judge — creating an uneasy situation between them and their landlord.
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Two Hoboken council members proposed an ordinance to limit rent increases on units not already under rent control, imposing a cap of 10 percent. The law would apply to buildings with 10 or more units.
On Wednesday night, Councilwoman Emily Jabbour, one of the sponsors of the ordinance, said, “This is a fight worth taking on.”
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She and other council members cited the large increases, and the fact that the state law left “unconscionable” rent increases vague.
Councilman Phil Cohen said that an increase larger than 10 percent could push someone to have to leave town and take their child out of the school system.
Jabbour referred to a national battle going on over rent-setting software that, according to the U.S. Justice Department, may have resulted in landlords in various areas “colluding on rents.”
But some council members said they thought the measure would just provoke litigation, especially from newer buildings that are exempt from Hoboken’s stricter rent control rules. They said several towns should try to get the state to set a limit or better define “unconscionable,” and that Hoboken could look at other measures, such as pushing landlords to justify their increases.
Jabbour said it might be worth it for Hoboken to set a precedent, as it has before.
“Hoboken should be leading the way,” she said.
She noted that Hoboken’s tenant advocate is already helping residents fight high rent increases, so the city is already paying for litigation.
But in the end, the ordinance was defeated 4-4. Jabbour, Cohen, Jim Doyle, and Joe Quintero voted yes, and council members Paul Presinzano, Michael Russo, Tiffanie Fisher, and Ruben Ramos voted no.
What’s The Law?
For many older units in Hoboken, the city already has Rent Control laws to limit increases and allow some exceptions for landlords.
But many types of units are exempt. These include many newer complexes, and units originally built under special programs.
Ten Units Or More
The new proposal applied to buildings with 10 or more units. And as with the Rent Control Ordinance, there were exceptions if a landlord could show why a larger increase is needed, and for buildings already covered by Rent Control or owned and operated by the government.
The measure can be read here.
In Hudson County, the popularity of the area has caused rents to spike sharply in the last few years, causing some tenants to face increases they were not expecting. The median rents in Jersey City and Hoboken have risen to more than $4,000 per month — among the highest in the nation.
In recent years, Mayor Ravi Bhalla has fired off letters to several corporate tenants who ignored rent control laws or levied increases of 15 percent or more on their tenants. But those landlords are suing Hoboken, in turn.
Watch The Video
You can see the meeting on Facebook here; YouTube here.
You can also see the agendas and packets here.
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Other Laws About Tenants And Landlords
New Jersey has various laws on the books to prevent renters from ending up homeless or destitute. One law says that landlords must have “good cause for eviction” or lease non-renewal, in larger buildings. Landlords can only fail to renew a lease if the tenant breaks rules, fails to pay rent for several months, or for certain other listed reasons. (Read more about that here.)
The state also says that rent increases can’t be “unconscionable,” regardless of the type of rented unit — but in order to determine which rents qualified, tenants often have to end up in eviction court and plead their case (read more about that here).
Read more about what various towns are doing to protect tenants from eviction here.
Want help? Various nonprofit tenant advocacy groups in North Jersey will help renters and landlords understand the laws, and fight unfair evictions and increases. The New Jersey Tenant’s Organization based in Fort Lee, Waterfront Project in Jersey City, and tenant advocates in several towns can help. The state also provides some programs here.
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