A bill in the New Jersey General Assembly aims to protect all renters from “unconscionable” rent hikes.
The measure, now in an Assembly committee and sponsored by Assemblywoman Yvonne Lopez (D-9) of Middlesex County, seeks to shield renters from “large, predatory rent increases and prevent bad actors from taking advantage of renters.”
A similar bill, which has passed both houses, would restrict lot rent increases for mobile or manufactured home owners.
At a meeting of homeowners from the Osprey Cove Mobile Home Park in Ocean View, residents argued that the 30% increase currently being sought by the property owners, to be effective June 1, was unconscionable.
Lopez’s bill defines what “unconscionable” means by listing a number of criteria that would be used by a judge presiding over a rent challenge, including the amount of the increase, the landlord’s expenses and profitability, and whether the proposed increase would shock the conscience of a reasonable person.
“Establishing standards to address rent spikes that could put tenants at risk of being priced out of their homes is absolutely vital to our efforts to address housing affordability,” Lopez said. “This bill would ensure that if landlords raise rents to an extreme level, tenants have a fair chance to challenge them in court.”
Under the bill, the landlord would have the burden of proof to demonstrate that the rent increase was not unconscionable.
In the past two years, tenants of at least three mobile home communities in Cape May County have expressed concern about double-digit lot rent increases. Assemblymen Erik Simonsen and Antwan McClellan are co-sponsors of a bill aimed at keeping lot rent increases to 3% per year.
The Lopez bill does not list a figure at which rent would be capped, but sets a standard for a judge to determine if a rent increase is unconscionable.
Contact the reporter, Christopher South, at csouth@cmcherald.com, or call 609-886-8600, ext. 128.
