Let's Enact 7.5 Percent Rent Cap, Says Hoboken Rent Board Chair/Council Candidate

HOBOKEN, NJ — When tenants in Hoboken buildings — both rent-controlled and exempt — have been hit with rent increases last year as high as 30 percent, the city's solution was to write four strongly worded letters to corporate landlords, and eventually, to take one luxury landlord to court.

Yet, several of the buildings whom the city said broke the law are still telling tenants their rent will go up more than 15 percent, tenants have told Patch. And this leaves tenants to scramble to find ways to fight them, often in court.

The state of New Jersey has a law that applies to all buildings, whether rent-controlled or not, whether the lease is month to month or year to year, saying a tenant may not have to pay an increase that's deemed "unconscionable."

But the state hasn't clearly defined what an unconscionable rent would be.

On Wednesday, the unpaid chair of the city's Rent Leveling and Stabilization Board, who is running for a spot on the City Council this November, unveiled some specific policy proposals that he said he'd advocate if elected to the nine-member body.

(It should be noted that these policies are part of Rafi Cordova's campaign platform for council, rather than proposed as a Rent Control Board member.)

Among them is a policy similar to one recently enacted in Newark: A proposed 7.5 percent cap on all units in town.

Rent controlled units, governed by a separate Hoboken law, may have a lower cap depending on the CPI increase and other factors.

But is this a campaign promise or idea that could never happen, in reality? Cordova is running with the backing of the mayor, with whom he could have already, theoretically, broached these ideas. Several council candidates are also allies of the mayor and could have broached these ideas.

When asked if the mayor would support such a cap, spokesperson Marci Rubin responded, "For the past several months, Mayor Bhalla and the City Council have been working diligently to combat unconscionable rental increases in several residential buildings in Hoboken. The Mayor looks forward to reviewing any and all policies that protect tenants from further unconscionable increases and looks forward to working with any and all stakeholders to help make this a continued reality."

Cordova said in his release that he would also propose measures such as tax breaks to help small-time mom-and-pop landlords, advocate against tear downs of rent-controlled housing, make sure landlords and tenants understand the laws, and address buildings with specific exemptions and unique situations such as Marine View Plaza, which started as a moderate income building and has a long waitlist.

Cordova's release is, in part, below.

(Patch has followed the rent increase controversy over the past year. See links to prior stories below.)

Proposal from Rafi Cordova

I support preventing unconscionable rent increases through legislation

New Jersey’s state law against “unconscionable” rent increases applies to every single tenant in New Jersey, whether or not we live in rent-controlled buildings. Although our rent control laws define maximum yearly increases, our non-rent controlled properties are exempt from those restrictions and the state law is the controlling authority on yearly increases. However, the law does not define what is (or is not) “unconscionable” and recently this has led to an environment where many corporate landlords have been getting away with blatantly excessive increases. Since the pandemic, many renters have been faced with 30% and even 40% increases year after year, far outpacing income growth! As your City Council representative, I will help tenants organize and fight the unconscionable increases that so many corporate landlords have been demanding. Together, we can curb the trend of our friends and neighbors being “priced out” and displaced from Hoboken via unconscionable rent increases.

More concretely, I propose to clearly define legal and illegal rent increases through legislation similar to that which was adopted recently by the city of Newark. The legislation I will introduce the first year I am in office will cap all rental increases in non-rent controlled buildings at 7.5% per year, codifying an interpretation of “unconscionable” as any rent increase above 7.5%. While this is above Newark’s 5% rate, it is an amount which measures the stability needs of tenants with the increasing costs faced by landlords. I also intend to promote the inclusion of this same 7.5% cap for residential rentals in any of our redevelopment agreements. I believe in the long run such caps will create a greater sense of predictability and a stronger sense of community with less transience.

Prior Reporting In Patch

Are 25 Percent Rent Hikes Legal? Hoboken Lawsuit May Set Precedent