As Rents Rise, Housing Group Fights Ordinance To End Hoboken Rent Freeze

HOBOKEN, NJ — Rent increases in Hudson County this year have been among the highest in the nation, with Rent.com saying increases on one-bedrooms have climbed as high as 43.6 percent in the Jersey City area.

In Hoboken, a protection for tenants that was instituted during the pandemic may be lifted this week — and an advocacy group is fighting back.

Hoboken's Fair Housing Association said Tuesday that an ordinance on Wednesday night's City Council agenda to lift a moratorium on rent increases for certain units has language that may be illegal.

In Hoboken, apartments built through 1991 have been subject to the city's Rent Control Ordinance, passed back in 1972 to provide stability. The Rent Control Ordinance keeps annual rent increases to the rate of the Cost Of Living Index, usually a few percent each year. But landlords can also apply to pass along water and tax increases, or apply to the city's Rent Leveling and Stabilization Board for a hardship increase.

On April 15, 2020, at the start of the pandemic, the city froze increases on these units. But landlords have been saying they need a fair return. The city has proposed lifting the freeze.

However, the Fair Housing Association says that the ordinance to lift the freeze may actually allow several increases bundled into one year.

In a release, they said, "On Wednesday, April 6, the Hoboken City Council is set to pass an ordinance that will subject Rent Control tenants to illegal rent increases. The proposed ordinance violates Chapter 155 (Rent Control) of Hoboken’s Municipal Code, because it allows for multiple years’ increases at one time, without proper, timely notice."

They noted, "Despite input from Hoboken Fair Housing Association (HFHA), the city’s only nonprofit tenant advocate group, the council has made just minimal, and wholly inadequate, changes to the proposed ordinance, and seems determined to ignore the terms of Hoboken’s rent control law."

The group noted that the moratorium was instituted to protect tenants who'd lost income during the pandemic. "These potential increases could amount to 2 or even 3 years’ worth of increases at once, adding to the financial burden tenants continue to face as we only now begin to recover from the economic effects of the pandemic."

Various taxpayer groups and local officials have tried to revise Hoboken's Rent Control Ordinance many times over the last 50 years, but public protests or referenda often blocked the changes.

Earlier this year, the city declined to reappoint two local tenant advocates to the Rent Leveling and Stabilization Board. READ MORE: Controversy Stirs Over Hoboken Mayor's Appointments to Rent Board

Right now, the Rent Control Ordinance mainly applies to units built in Hoboken in 1991 and before. Tenants in newer, market rate buildings have also complained of rent hikes of as much as 20 percent recently.

The city has a tenant advocate and a constituent services office for those with questions. Information about the tenant advocate is here: https://www.hobokennj.gov/reso...

How To Watch The Meeting

The City Council meeting takes place at 7 p.m. tonight. You can watch it live on Facebook here.

The agenda, with more information about the meeting, is here.

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