One of the most contentious issues in Hoboken has always been rent control. Property owners want to make money, but longtime tenants want to remain stable with affordable rents. But is there any way to make the laws more fair without making the existing renters vulnerable?
The city’s Rent Control Ordinance, first passed in 1973, said that all rental properties (except tax abated) would have to adhere to rent increases that corresponded with the federal Cost of Living Increase, usually 2 or 3 percent a year. There are several exceptions, such as a 25 percent vacancy decontrol every three years if a tenant voluntarily leaves.
Over the years, attempts to fine-tune the laws have failed when tenant advocates pointed out flaws in these proposals that would create incentives for landlords to intimidate tenants into leaving.
This past week, a taxpayer group says they made faint progress in possible ‘rent control reform’ in Hoboken by fighting against what they say are the city’s sometimes ‘arbitrary’ interpretations the law that result in rolling back rents, sometimes based on past property owners’ mistakes. For more on this controversy, click HERE.
Meanwhile, to learn more about the city’s Rent Control Ordinance and the attempts to revise it over the last thirty years, click an in-depth Reporter story, Three decades of rent control: Is the law still valid in Hoboken? HERE.