Last month, the Jersey City council passed a right-to-counsel ordinance, which was seen as a step toward helping tenants know their rights in housing court, providing lawyers for tenants facing eviction and having developers pay a fee to help pay for it.
Councilman James Solomon, a sponsor of the bill, said, “I think the biggest challenge tenants have is being scared and not knowing their rights. So we have some tenants who leave before a formal eviction filing because they just get a threatening letter from a landlord, not knowing that they don’t have to leave an apartment, but they’re worried about what might come next.”
But landlords, who argue that the ordinance is flawed, are suing to have it overturned. They say it targets just one class of taxpayers by charging only developers and landlords a fee to pay for tenants’ services — and does little for landlords, who provide a critical service with small margins.
