City Council Beefs Up Rent Control Laws In Newark (VIDEO)

NEWARK, NJ — The Newark City Council has given a final green light to an ordinance that will beef up local rent control rules by preventing “unconscionable increases” for tenants.

On Wednesday – carrying out their meeting despite lingering smog from the Canadian wildfires – the council voted 6-3 to approve changes to Newark’s housing code on second reading. The changes apply to properties not already regulated by the existing rent control ordinance, which cover about 70 percent of units in the city.

Under Newark’s new rules, rent increases of more than five percent in a single year are banned. The city is allowed to fine landlords up to $1,200 for each violation.

The ordinance builds upon a state anti-eviction law, which makes it illegal for a landlord to impose a rent increase so large that it is “unconscionable.”

City officials estimate that three out of four Newark residents rent their homes. A study from the Rutgers Center on Law, Inequality and Metropolitan Equity (CLiME) found that rents in Newark have increased by 66 percent in the span of 15 years. However, household incomes have only increased by 24 percent – a gap that’s leaving many longtime residents in the red.

The ordinance saw “yes” votes from Patrick Council, C. Lawrence Crump, Dupré Kelly, Louise Scott-Rountree, Michael Silva and LaMonica McIver. It saw “no” votes from Carlos Gonzalez, Luis Quintana and Anibal Ramos Jr.

Some council members shared their thoughts on the ordinance before casting their votes, with Ramos questioning whether the city will be able to enforce its old rent control law – let alone the new rules. He also said it won’t affect property owners who decide to start rents high in the first place.

Ramos added that the ordinance won’t put a dent in a more serious problem, the proliferation of mostly anonymous corporate home buyers in Newark. Read More: Corporations Own Most Of Newark's Homes. New Laws Are Pushing Back

Gonzalez said he agrees that people with low incomes need more housing protection in Newark. But he said the ordinance that was approved Wednesday will mainly apply to wealthy people who can already afford to pay their rents.

“I believe the ordinance is good-intentioned, but the effect is going to be detrimental to the residents of the City of Newark,” he said.

Other council members said the ordinance is an overall positive step in the right direction.

Council president McIver said the new rules aren’t a “fix-all” solution and more legislation is needed to protect local renters. But there are a lot of people in the city with decent-paying jobs who are facing astronomical rent increases – and that’s who this ordinance aims to protect.

“Everybody that lives in a new development is not new to the city of Newark,” she said. “There are a lot of young professionals who went to school here, grew up here, got a good job, went to college and got a master’s [degree] and came back to the city. And you mean to tell me that they can move into a new building – start off paying one amount of rent – and then be paying over 10 percent or 7 percent the next year? They won’t even be able to afford to live there … and they’re from here.”

McIver said she agrees with many residents that rent control in the city should go even further, perhaps to 1 or 2 percent. But it was difficult enough to get to 5 percent – for now, she said.

“Right now, for me, I’m choosing people over profit,” McIver said.

The new ordinance also got a thumbs-up from Mayor Ras Baraka, who said it will help the city fight a battle against a “crisis of affordability.”

“The value of property in Newark is increasing rapidly,” Baraka said. “Landlords are charging rents of over $2,000 for one-bedroom apartments in areas where they were just $750 five years ago.”

According to the mayor, the City Office of Tenant Legal Services – which provides free legal services for low-income tenants facing eviction – reports that low-income tenants have faced rent increases of as much as $945 in the East Ward, $816 in the South, $750 in the Central, $550 in the North, and $445 in the West.

“[About] 30 percent of the rental housing in Newark is not under rent control, and there is presently no penalty for how much a landlord can increase those rents,” Baraka continued. “The Unconscionable Rent Increase Ordinance is one important step that we have taken toward keeping Newark affordable. It’s not the only one, but it’s a big step toward continuing to be the kind of culturally and economically diverse city that makes Newark so special.”

Several residents spoke in support of the new law during the public comment portion of the meeting, sharing details about their own struggles paying rent. But others argued that the law won’t benefit working class people, who often don’t get yearly raises that reach 5 percent.

Other people pointed out that landlords need to be able to make sure they don’t get swallowed up by inflation and rising costs – or they may decide to get out of the housing business altogether.

Watch a video of the hearing and vote on the ordinance below (video is cued to the beginning of the discussion).

• See Related: Newark Law Will Shine Light On Anonymous Corporate Home Buyers
• See Related: Buy A House For A Buck? Newark Can Sell Homes For $1 Under New Rule

Send local news tips and correction requests to eric.kiefer@patch.com. Learn more about advertising on Patch here. Find out how to post announcements or events to your local Patch site. Don’t forget to visit the Patch Newark Facebook page.