Montclair Sees Debate Over Rent Control Amid Coronavirus

MONTCLAIR, NJ — UPDATE: The Montclair Town Council passed the ordinance establishing rent control in the township during its meeting on April 7. Our original article follows below.

Renters in Montclair say it’s a long overdue victory for people who can’t afford to buy homes. A local property owners association says it’s a “toxic” idea that’s being pushed through during a time of crisis. But as the town council grapples with the difficulties of moving to virtual meetings in the coronavirus outbreak, its members are finding themselves confronted with another difficult issue: rent control.

On Tuesday, the Montclair Township Council is expected to vote on a proposed rent control ordinance, which would limit annual increases to 4.25 percent, and 2.5 percent for seniors. The ordinance exempts two-, three- and four-family residences, Montclair Local reported.

It’s a big issue for a township whose housing stock is composed of 42 percent rental units, according to the U.S. Census.

• See related article: 1 Complex Provides 16 Percent Of Montclair's Affordable Housing

According to the proposed ordinance:

“The rapid upsurge in the market and speculation in multiple dwellings with rental apartments has resulted in a substantial increase in the amount of rents over a short period of time, causing and threatening to cause the dislocation of tenants unable to adjust to the higher rents… The governing body finds that intervention in the market is necessary to allow for a more gradual and orderly transition to higher rent levels without dispossessing existing tenants, and to maintain a supply of relatively affordable housing though the time of the rising market.”

Read the full ordinance here.

The proposal has gained support from a cross section of community members and groups, including Councilman Sean Spiller, who introduced the ordinance, and Councilwoman Renee Baskerville, both of whom are running for mayor this year.

After the ordinance was introduced on March 10, Baskerville suggested it be dubbed the “William L. Scott Rent Stabilization Ordinance” in honor of Scott, a longtime community activist.

“This was a victory for rent stabilization, socio-economic diversity in Montclair, and for all Montclairions,” Baskerville said.

In addition to Scott, Dierdra Malloy, the co-chair of the Montclair Housing Commission, and several other “concerned residents” were instrumental in moving the proposed ordinance along, Baskerville said: the Tenants Organization of Montclair (TOOM), Ahava Felicidad and Toni Martin, the Montclair Landlord-Tenants Association, the Montclair NAACP Housing Committee and President Albert Pelham, the Montclair Interfaith Clergy Association, and Leslie Houseworth-Fields, pastor of St. Mark's United Methodist Church.

TOOM members have been speaking out at council meetings for almost a year, alleging that new landlords have been taking over their buildings, raising rents and adding new fees for pets and parking, Montclair Local reported.

MONTCLAIR PROPERTY ASSOCIATION PUSHES BACK

Last week, the Montclair Property Owners Association (MPOA) blasted the proposed rent control ordinance, alleging that it will end up raising taxes for local homeowners.

According to the group, owners of nearly 800 apartments in Montclair have committed to a voluntary rent freeze for the next 90 days, and are asking the town council to postpone any vote on the ordinance.

“In addition to being inequitable since the council heard only from tenant advocates during its development, the proposed ordinance features unconstitutional conditions and is unenforceable,” MPOA Executive Director Ron Simoncini wrote in a letter to council members.

“We cannot imagine that you will actually vote to adopt this ordinance due to [Gov. Phil Murphy’s] restriction on this very type of legislative activity,” Simoncini wrote, referring to Executive Orders 107 and 108.

Montclair voters are also being deprived of their right to collect petition signatures that would force a referendum should the council adopt the ordinance, the MPOA alleged.

“Montclair citizens have a long history of applying a very practical rationale — rent control does not create affordable housing — and has avoided rent controls for 47 years,” Simoncini charged. “The COVID-19 crisis is taking away from the voters the very device they need as a check and balance to bad government. This ordinance is clearly driven by currying favor with a narrow segment of voters and ignores the impact it will have on the rest of the community. Homeowners will end up paying for this in the form of higher taxes after being deprived of a meaningful chance to be heard on the issue.”

“Montclair’s leaders are allowing the issue to become a mayoral election issue with each candidate vying to pander to the tenant vote,” Simoncini added. “This is a perfect example of the toxic political nature of rent control.”

Some supporters of Montclair’s latest rent control proposal have rolled their eyes at the MPOA’s claims, however.

“First, we want to point out that the Montclair Property Owners Association is a group that has only popped into local view in the past two weeks,” TOOM members wrote in an op-ed published on TAP Into Montclair. “It is not a functioning organization in the community.”

“As for the landlord ‘freeze’ on rent hikes during the COVID-19 crisis… really?” the group questioned. “Which feckless landlord would try to raise rents now, even without the quid pro quo of rent control delay?”

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