On Wednesday, Newark City Council adopted an ordinance that will limit rent increases to 5% a year in newly developed apartment buildings that have been exempt from rent control by state law. Any landlord who violates the measure will face fines of up to $1,200. There is no state law governing rent increases but local municipalities like Newark can create their own.
“Three out of four people rent in our city of Newark. We also know that our median income is about $34,000 – $35,000 for families in our city. In addition, we know that rent control cover is about 70% of our units that are currently built in our city for rental purposes,” said Newark Deputy Mayor Allison Ladd, director of economic and housing development.
While some people agree there are good intentions behind the new ordinance, they say the lack of affordable housing remains a major problem in the city.
“Newark needs more housing and needs more housing investments. It needs good landlords to come in and make the improvements that the city needs to have done,” said Nicholas Kikis of the New Jersey Apartment Association, who added that the new ordinance is focused on a “narrow subset of properties.”
