Yesterday, TLS reported about a burning issue in Lakewood – the issue of massive rent increases many in town are facing.
As it turns out, there are many more residents facing astronomical rent increases than it was originally believed.
TLS reached out to Mayor Ray Coles to inquire about Township laws and more.
To start, says Coles, this is not just a Lakewood issue. This is a nationwide issue. Coles says this is mostly a post Covid issue, due to the fact that during Covid landlords could not evict tenants, even if they were not paying rent. As a result, many landlords have been struggling and are now catching up by increasing rents – which they could legally do.
Over the last few years, most of the complaints, says Coles, have actually been from folks who could not afford to make their rent payments. The Mayor says he has been referring those cases to STEPS to try and get them the help they need.
But recently, the Mayor says he’s been flooded with rent-related calls, as a large number of residents are officially without a legal lease.
Rent increase limits
Asking about rent increase limits in Lakewood, Coles says those limits only pertain to government-approved and ran apartment buildings in town. When it comes to private leases, those rent increase limits do not apply. Which means, technically, on a private home, the landlord can ask for as much as he’s like. And when a lease expires, he can up the rent as much as he’d like as well.
A big issue, says Coles, is that many people in this town never had a proper lease, or have relied on a handshake, and are therefore falling into a dispute. Not having a lease lands them in all kinds of issues, mainly that as property values rise, the landlord can raise the rents to whatever they’d like to cover themselves.
“It’s happening all over the Country,” says Coles.
Rent Control Board
Until a couple of years ago, Lakewood had a rent control board. That board was abandoned a couple of years ago, because there really wasn’t much the board can do, as they couldn’t force landlords or renters in any one direction. Mayor Coles says the rent control board basically heard disputes, and then took those disputes to court. There was no actual power to the rent control board, leaving it pretty much ineffective.
Over the last while, Coles says he has been working with the STEPS organization to settle disputes. The STEPS organization, says Coles, is in court virtually every week with landlord-tenant disputes it is trying to resolve. The disputes they can’t resolve are being referred to one of two legal services in New Jersey dealing with tenant issues.
What else can be done?
Mayor Coles says he will be meeting in the next week or two with representatives of Legal Services of South Jersey to discuss rents and to see what can and cannot be legally done by the Township to settle landlord-tenant disputes.
In the meantime, Coles is asking all who have leases and are experiencing issues to reach out to STEPS or to his office.
”Unfortunately it’s not an easy fix for the government to step in, because a lot of it has to do with the free market,” Coles says. “If you’re in a place and you have no lease, you really have no legal recourse.”
With regards to what Halacha allows, residents are encouraged to speak to a Rav.
The 5% increase limit is not a local township ordinance. It has been set in federal court as the limit for reasonable rent increase. This is not to be confused with rent control or government housing. Obviously this only applies to existing tenants.
Not sure how Landlords are struggling?Why is that an excuse to raise the rent at 10% or more?
All residential rentals are at maximum capacity with zero vacancies.
All rent payments are caught up as evictions are again allowed.
Some of these landlords bought these properties many years ago for pennies with large tax abatements and are making money all of the years hands over fist.
I first would like to state that I am not a landlord and never was. But landlords bought their homes with the intention of making money, it isn’t a chesed organization. Their day to date expenses have risen just like for everyone else. Not every landlord is a millionare and can afford to swallow the increase in costs. Those are just a few reasons why a landlord should be able to raise their rents to the going rate. On the other hand gouging is not an ehrlich way to do business – the question is, is this price gouging or the accepted going rate AT THIS TIME??
אין אונאה לקרקאות
Check the COOs. Many rentals are illegal. Landlords who don’t have a legit COO can be fined many times over the “rent” for each day the “rental” is occupied. The renter has 24 hours to leave after the inspection. I know. My wife, 2 babies and myself had to move in with my in-laws in Brooklyn. Went to Bais Din. Landlord never showed. Sued. Won enough to buy in Lakewood with a legit basement apt. We could have R’L, been homeless.
What about home sales? Maybe we should put a cap on how much people could sell for???
And what about food? gas? everything else?
We live in a democracy, where prices are regulated by supply & demand – not dictators telling you what you can buy or sell & for how much. Dont like it? 3/4 of the world have other types of governments – you might be suited to live elsewhere…
You may want to purchase a shulchan aruch..
There is a ordinance which caps rent increases to 5% or 6%if landlord provides heat… But not capped to a dollar per month max… People were forced to waive increases… And were raised 10% plus. Westgate is a official complex and accepts hud… But apparently has a free license to do anything they want…
Homeownership is great but don’t think you are safe, cos real estate taxes can be jacked up even more..
The 5-6% cap is retroactive to 4 years so if the land lord has not raised the max 5-6% each year, he can raise it up to a total of 20-25% in one year to make up for the last 4 years…..see township rent ordinances
That’s why people are moving to other states because of this issue
Raising rent more than 10-15% is considered an unconscionable raise.
The tenant has a very simple remedy, whether there is a sitting control board or not. Simply do not pay the amount that is above the standard 5-10%.
There’s nothing the landlord can do. If he takes you to court to try to evict you for non-payment, he will lose.
And if it takes you to a Din Torah , he will lose as well.
As people have said previously, the law is not as simple as that. It doesn’t pertain to owner occupied residences plus most people haven’t been raised 5 percent every year and owners are allowed to “catch up.” The halacha is also not like that as per the Bais Din analysis of the halacha in this past week’s Ami magazine. R’ Shlomo Miller was quoted.
That said, I am not raising the rate on my tenant because I don’t think I’ll see bracha on money made by imposing hardship on another Jew. They have no options to move with the rental market being what it is.
Mr. Me,
Rich people are not guaranteed that they will stay rich.
Nor do landlords have an insurance policy that hashem will keep them in control of their properties.
Of course they hadn’t raised the rent like this before because they have not provided preferred housing.
They were cheap because they had no choice but they were full and made loads of cash and never went lifnim mishuras hadin with their tenants.
By the way there is a shulchan aruch on raising prices and how much a person can earn even in America the shulchan aruch governs.
I think we should implore the developers to build more units. Instead of fighting and continuously making it more expensive for them to build we should incentivize it