Title
AN ORDINANCE AMENDING TITLE II, ADMINISTRATION, CHAPTER 10, DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMIC AND HOUSING DEVELOPMENT, SECTION 11, UNCONSCIONABLE RENT INCREASE, AND TITLE XVIII HOUSING CODE, CHAPTER 17, RENTAL PROPERTY REGISTRATION, SECTIONS 5, 18, 19 AND 20 OF THE REVISED GENERAL ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF NEWARK, NEW JERSEY, 2000, AS AMENDED AND SUPPLEMENTED, BY AMENDING THE DEFINITION OF UNCONSIONABLE RENT AND ADDING PROVISIONS TO DETERMINE VIOLATIONS OF THIS ORDINANCE AND PENALTITES.
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WHEREAS, a housing study in Newark conducted by CLiME, Rutgers Law School, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, found that rents have increased by 66% in fifteen (15) years in the City of Newark (the "City" and/or "Newark"); while household incomes have only increased by 24% in that time; 45% of City residents live in small apartment buildings of two (2) to four (4) units; 78% of Newark residents are renters, an unusually high rate; 60% or 41,000 households of renters in Newark are rent-burdened; and
WHEREAS, the coronavirus pandemic brought unprecedented hardship to renters, the State of New Jersey has encountered unconscionable rent increases, coupled with rising consumer costs, that are harming New Jersey renters; and
WHEREAS, in adopting the Anti-Eviction Act, N.J.S.A. 2A:18-61.1 et seq., New Jersey's legislature recognized that the acute shortages of supply and high levels of demand for residential dwellings in New Jersey motivated the removal of blameless tenants in order for landlords to profit from conversion to higher-income rental or ownership-interest residential use. NJSA 2A:18-61.1a.; and
WHEREAS, the City wishes to adopt legislation that aligns with the legislative intent of New Jersey's Anti-Eviction Act, N.J.S.A. 2A:18-61.1 et seq.; and
WHEREAS, under Section (f) of the Anti-Eviction Act, N.J.S.A. 2A:18-61.1, a landlord cannot evict a tenant for failing to pay an unconscionable increase in rent; and
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