October 15, 2019
City
Council of Jersey City
280
Grove Street, Room 202
Jersey
City, New Jersey 07302
Dear Council Members:
We took note that
Mayor Stack and others spoke before your
rent control committee. This
office
wants to make sure the committee has additional understanding of the
testimony as
it relates to tenants’ rights and affordable housing.
First, let me
assure you, I personally have the highest
regards for the Mayor. He
is no doubt
the hardest working Mayor in Hudson County especially as it relates to
constituent services. He
has been helping
his neighbors with tenant rights since he was a teenager. He does it
with a
heavy heart and I always admired his energy and love for the residents
of Union
City. Even though I
have the highest
regard for him, we have disagreed over the years on how to solve the
problem of
affordable rents for those that need assistance.
Rent control is not
the solution to affordable housing nor
does it create affordable housing.
Since
rent control was enacted in New Jersey almost 50 years ago, if you
exclude
those buildings built after 1990 prohibiting rent control on new
buildings and
those that receive some type of government subsidies, there
are less privately-owned housing units available
for moderate income residents in every New Jersey city that has
implemented
rent control. During
the last 50 years,
the only city, that I know of, who solved the problem of affordable
housing in
New Jersey for moderate income residents was Hoboken.
The shame is the government subsidies
that
began many years ago are expiring and the city is not doing enough to
assist the
longtime residents that are having their rents increased to market
rents. One would
have to conclude; the city is more
concerned with the new taxes the once subsidized housing will begin
paying.
Please review
attached report of facts, the City Council
should consider before they make a decision.
Hopefully the City Councils main
objective is to solve the problem for
affordable housing for moderate income residents.
As always, this office is available to
assist
in any way it can.
Sincerely,
Joseph
W. Hottendorf
Executive
Vice President
Cc:
The Honorable Mayor Steven Fulop
Cc:
Robert Byrne, City Clerk
FACTS TO BE
CONSIDERED
Evictions: The Mayor
mentioned that there are 18,000*
evictions in Hudson County every year.
What he didn’t mention is many evictions
are for nonpayment of rent or
for sub-renting by the tenant without authority. Many of the evictions
are
heartbreaking stories, but what most people don’t realize is the amount
of time
the eviction takes and during this time the property owner is required
to pay
the expenses to maintain the services for the building including real
estate
taxes. It would be
negligent for me not
to mention how quickly the city issues tax liens or their outrageous
usury
interest rates for property owners who do not pay their taxes in a
timely
matter.
Overcharging
rents:
In Jersey City, because of
public reports, it appears that this has
been a practice for some property owners to charge rents higher than
the rent
control law permitted. We
don’t condone
ignoring the rent control law, but it appears many of these property
owners were
honest when reporting their rent rolls on the 2018 REVAL form. What the city should be
more concerned with,
if they require the rents to be reduced, will those properties be
eligible for
a tax appeal? Lower
taxes from rent
controlled buildings equals higher taxes for small homeowners! What should not be
done is to reduce the rent
of the tenant that is mentioned in the rent-controlled report that is
paying
more than $5,000 each month and was overcharged.
Anyone willing to sign a lease for more
than
$5,000 does not need protection nor is there a shortage of apartments
for tenants
that can afford $5,000 apartments.
Section 8: The reason why
we have a Section 8
program is because the federal government recognizes the need for rent
subsidies,
but it doesn’t do enough in urban cities for the housing needs of
moderate-income
residents. We agree
with your Director
of Housing that the city made a mistake when it eliminated the ability
of a
property owner in receiving market rents with the difference in the
increase
being paid by the federal government.
It was an incentive for property owners
to rent to Section 8
tenants. However,
we don’t agree that
property owners are electing to choose new residents as a form of
discrimination. New
tenants that meet
qualification standards including acceptable credit ratings are
attracted to
Jersey City because of its renaissance.
Renaissance: It’s great for a
city to enjoy a
renaissance, but they always bring problems if the city does not use
the
increase in tax revenues to assist the long time low-and
moderate-income
residents. If you
do not permit property
owners to charge market rents, the city cannot increase the assessment
on rent
controlled buildings and in turn increase tax receipts. Without the
increase in
tax revenues no new housing will be created for those in need. If a city goes
the route of tougher rent
control regulations all you need to do is look at Hoboken when they
went in
that direction. In
1983, I spoke before
the city council and warned them not to increase the authority of rent
control
on the property owners. I
predicted then
that within 30 years there may not be any rent control units in two and
three family
buildings. I admit
I was wrong! What I
should have predicted was that in 40 years most rent controlled
buildings would
be converted to condominiums and almost all the two and three family
buildings
would be converted to condominiums or to one family homes. Plus, there would be
almost no rent
controlled buildings left.
Concern and Affordable
Housing
Solution:
Because
of some public
statements by elected officials this office is concerned that Jersey
City is
going in the same direction that Hoboken’s policy led them, with a
policy that
almost eliminates families who have lived in the city for more than one
generation, displacing mostly low-and moderate-income residents. The city should remember
that r
ent control was enacted in 1973 to
protect
tenants from unreasonable rent increases since then new laws in New
Jersey
place
the burden entirely on property owners
to prove any rent
increase given is
not unconscionable and is reasonable.
If
the city is sincere in solving the unaffordable problem, they need to
provide
subsidies for those that society need to assist.
One such solution to generate revenue is
the
city allows the new high-income tenants pay for the subsidies by paying
market
rents.
*Note: It should be noted the 18,000
evictions are not actually tenants being removed from their apartments
but
instead notices from the court to the tenant.
110A
Meadowlands Parkway, Suite 103 •
Secaucus, New Jersey 07094 • 201-867-4415
|