Ironically, stringent laws enacted to protect tenants had a reverse effect of removing housing from the low- and moderate-income population. Landlords must adhere to all safety, sanitation and A.D.A. statutes. Discrimination and civil rights laws must be enforced.
Landlords must interview applicants, run credit and criminal checks, and interview prior housing managers to ensure a proper fit into new housing. Due to stringent laws, any applicant with past questionable actions will be rejected. Examples are a criminal record, periodic employment and past conduct complaints originating from fellow tenants and managers. Any past evictions will automatically lead to a denial of an application.
What applicants fail to understand: A landlord will always select the best-qualified tenant with the least “baggage.”
Cape May County is unique in our state. With a strong tourism economy, seasonal jobs provide limited income and benefits, causing major problems with paying current expenses, saving and planning for the future, and offering minimal career advancement. Our worker economy depends on low- and moderate-priced housing.
Warning signs are clearly visible explaining why worker housing has disappeared.
“Big Money” has discovered our county, with condominiums starting at $750,000, with visitors willing to pay.
Old homes are demolished. It is land that developers require. Boarding homes in the Wildwoods are gone. Home sharing is also disappearing.
There is increasingly too little profit in providing worker housing, along with a lot of heartache and headaches.
