‘Renters Bill Of Rights’ Could Help NJ Tenants Find Affordable Housing

NEW JERSEY — Tenants in New Jersey, who have little choice but to spend a significant portion of their income on rent, could get some help finding affordable places to live under a plan announced this week by the White House.

With the rollout of the “Blueprint for Renters Bill of Rights,” President Joe Biden directed the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the Federal Trade Commission and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to root out unfair housing practices that prevent applicants from accessing or staying in housing.

The Fair Housing Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Violence Against Women Act and the Fair Credit Reporting Act all offer some protections for renters, but there is no comprehensive set of federal laws protecting renters, resulting in a patchwork of state and local laws and legal processes renters must navigate.

A November 2022 national rent report by Zumper, a website that helps people find rental properties across the country, showed the average monthly rent for a one-bedroom unit in Jersey City totals $2,840 — the highest mark in the nation besides New York City, Boston and San Francisco.

While rent tends to get cheaper outside of Jersey City, tenants throughout the state have struggled to find affordable living situations. Households in every New Jersey county spent at least a quarter of their income on rent from 2017-21, according to U.S. Census data. Many exceeded the national average of 29.8 percent during that period.

This is how much household income went toward each county's median cost of rent and utilities from 2017-21, according to census data:

1. Cumberland County: 37.1 percent
2. Cape May County: 36.6 percent
3. Ocean County: 35.8 percent
4. Salem County: 35.4 percent
5. Atlantic County: 34.2 percent
6. Camden County: 32.4 percent
7. Essex County: 32.3 percent
8. Passaic County: 32.3 percent
9. Gloucester County: 31.6 percent
10. Monmouth County: 31.6 percent
11. Sussex County: 30.8 percent
12. Union County: 30.4 percent
13. Mercer County: 30.2 percent
14. Burlington County: 29.6 percent
15. Somerset County: 29.1 percent
16. Bergen County: 29 percent
17. Warren County: 28.8 percent
18. Middlesex County: 28.5 percent
19. Hunterdon County: 28.2 percent
20. Hudson County: 27.9 percent
21. Morris County: 26.6 percent

About 44 million households, whose occupants represent about 35 percent of the U.S. population, live in rental housing. About 19 million renter-households, or 43 percent of them, spent more than 30 percent of their annual income on housing costs in 2021, according to the 2017-2021 American Community Survey five-year estimates released in December.

Nationally, rent costs increased 8.3 percent for the 12-month period ending in December 2022, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ latest Consumer Price Index report.

Rental costs and demand remain high in part because of rising homeownership costs, including mortgage expenses that have more than doubled over the past year, but also because of inadequate rental inventory.

But price gouging by corporate landlords is also a problem, according to about 50 lawmakers, including Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), who urged President Biden in a letter to protect tenants from rate increases through executive action.

The lawmakers outlined seven steps to increase housing affordability, including one that directs the Federal Trade Commission “to issue new regulation defining excessive rent increases as a practice that unfairly affects commerce and enforce action against unfair rent gouging practices.”

They also asked that the Federal Housing Financing Authority establish protections for renters living in properties financed by government-backed mortgages, including anti-price gouging protections, just cause eviction standards, habitability standards and protections against source-of-income discrimination.

“To prevent future abusive landlord practices,” they wrote, the agency “must enforce these standards and make public any steps it takes to hold landlords accountable.”

The White House plan announced Wednesday addressed many of the lawmakers’ concerns, including those related to government housing. Specifically, it addresses:

• Access to safe, quality, accessible and affordable housing;
• Clear and fair leases;
• Education, enforcement and enhancement of tenant rights;
• The right to organize tenant organizations; and
• Eviction prevention, diversion and relief.

The plan is not binding, though some agencies have made commitments, The Washington Post reported. For example:

For the first time in its history, the Federal Trade Commission is seeking information on unfair rental practices. Along with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, it will also suss out the use of tenant background checks, including ensuring the accuracy of credit reporting systems. And the Justice Department is exploring competition in the rental market.

Much of the success is hinged on buy-in by state and local governments and market-level housing providers. A “Resident-Centered Housing Challenge” aims to get those parties working together to strengthen policies in their own markets.

That’s happening to some degree. For example, both the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority and Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency have agreed to cap annual rent increases at 5 percent per year for federal- or state-subsidized affordable housing.

Also, the National Apartment Association has agreed to work on programs that will help tenants build and improve credit, and Realtor.com has a pilot program to identify rental units and landlords that take federal housing vouchers.

Rep. Jamaal Brown, a New York Democrat, who signed the letter asking Biden to use executive fiat to impose rent control, doesn't think the plan goes far enough.

“We believe that the administration can go significantly further to help tenants struggling to pay rent as soon as next week,” Bowman told Yahoo! Finance. “We need actions that will urgently address skyrocketing housing costs, keep people housed, and rein in corporate profiteering … I look forward to continuing to work with the Biden Administration on this issue.”