Belleville Rent Leveling Board Needs 2 New Members

BELLEVILLE, NJ — The Township of Belleville is seeking two tenants to serve on its local Rent Leveling Board.

The position gives board members a chance to act as a voice for tenants in Belleville, and participate in decisions related to rent control and landlord-tenant relations in the community. See the official notice here.

Eligibility requirements include:

• Must be a tenant residing in Belleville
• Commitment to attend regular board meetings
• Interest in fair housing practices and rent control policies

Residents who want to serve on the Rent Leveling Board can submit a letter of interest to Ngalioto@bellevillenj.org, including their contact information and any relevant experience. For more information, contact the board’s secretary at (973) 844-2118.

The municipal website offers some background about the board’s origin and purpose:

“The governing body of the Township of Belleville in April of 1974, April, 1976 and October, 1978 found and affirmed that a housing crisis existed and that the demand for increases in rent were exorbitant, speculative and unfair, and the governing body of the Township found and declared that under the police powers granted to the Mayor and Board of Commissioners of the Township under N.J.S.A. 40: 48-2, in order to protect and promulgate the health and welfare of the citizens of the Township, a rent leveling board was declared to be necessary within the Township, and the governing body thereafter adopted an ordinance referred to in the title hereof for the purpose of regulating rents.”

The Belleville Rent Leveling Board consists of two landlords, two tenants, and three single-family homeowners. The alternate members consist of a landlord, a tenant and a single-family homeowner.

RENT INCREASES IN BELLEVILLE

According to the municipal website:

“Establishment of rents between a landlord and a tenant to whom this section is applicable, shall hereafter be determined by the provisions of the Rent Leveling Ordinance 12-12. At the expiration of a lease or at the termination of the lease of a periodic tenant, or at the annual anniversary of a lease for a term of more than one year (if lease so provides), no landlord may request or receive a percentage increase in rent which is greater than four percent (4%).”

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