Fed-Up NJ Renters Pack City Council Meeting, Demand More Protection Against Landlords

PASSAIC, NJ — It was a “win” for working-class tenants in one of New Jersey’s largest cities, advocates say.

The Passaic City Council unanimously advanced an ordinance this week that would lower the city’s current rent cap from 6 percent to 3 percent. The proposed “rent stabilization” law would also eliminate vacancy decontrol – a clause that advocates say allows landlords to jack up the rent when a tenant moves out of an apartment.

The council introduced the ordinance on Tuesday. It is scheduled for a final vote on Sept. 2. Watch video footage from the meeting here.

The vote came after months of organizing from housing advocates, who rallied outside City Hall to demand more protection for local renters.

Speaking at the rally – and later at the meeting – tenants shared stories about living in “uninhabitable” conditions, facing harassment from landlords and being saddled with “unconscionable” rental increases.

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According to Make the Road New Jersey – an advocacy group that helped to spearhead the campaign in Passaic – times are rough across the county:

“The council’s decision comes amid a worsening eviction crisis in Passaic County. According to Court Management Statistics, eviction filings jumped from 2,652 in 2021 to 6,745 in 2024. The number is projected to rise to 6,992 filings in 2025. In terms of demographics, 80% of these evictions represent minority tenants, well in excess of the national average. Additionally, these numbers represent a disproportionate number of women (62%) and families with children (53%). Most of the tenants facing eviction have faced a rental increase in the last 12 months and are having difficulties covering household expenses. Currently, in order to afford an average two-bedroom apartment in Passaic, a family would need to earn approximately $5,000 a month. Which explains why evictions in Passaic are more heavily represented in higher-income ranges than the rest of the country. Families making $50,000 or more are 40% of those threatened by eviction.”

Nearly 70 percent of Passaic City residents are considered Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed (ALICE), meaning that they struggle to afford basic necessities, according to Mary Celis, president and CEO at the United Way of Passaic County.

Full-time workers need to earn nearly $40 per hour to afford a modest, two-bedroom apartment at fair market rent in New Jersey, according to Matthew Hersh, vice president of policy and advocacy at the Housing and Community Development Network of New Jersey.

“Contrast that with the average New Jersey renter earning $23.97 per hour, and it makes [the state] the seventh-most expensive place for renters in the nation,” Hersh said.

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Tenants weren’t the only ones who showed up at City Hall to support the ordinance.

A small landlord in the city spoke in support of his tenants, calling them hardworking and saying that he takes pride in providing them a place to live (article continues below video):

“This week’s victory is a win for the thousands of working-class tenants who refused to stay silent as rents skyrocketed and living conditions deteriorated,” charged Maria Montesinos, organizer with Make the Road New Jersey.

“This is what community power looks like,” Montesinos said, adding that they plan to keep up the pressure until the ordinance crosses the finish line.

The drive for rent stabilization in Passaic also saw support from the mayor of New Jersey’s largest city, Ras Baraka of Newark, who made affordable housing a key part of his recent campaign for governor.

“Where the federal government has failed and continues to drive efforts to destabilize housing protections, this vote proves that when elected officials listen to their residents, and not to corporations, real people win,” Baraka said.

“I applaud the tenants, organizers, and city leaders who are working to take this across the finish line,” he said.

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Other support for the ordinance came from Jersey City Councilman James Solomon, labor union 32BJ SEIU, the Passaic County Education Association, Monarch Housing Associates, and the Laundry, Distribution and Food Service Joint Board Workers United.

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