NJTO LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
for the Year 2011:
THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY
The Good…
A-2891, sponsored by Assemblywoman Valerie Huttle (D-37) would protect victims of domestic violence from facing discrimination in housing. A recent law allows tenants who experience domestic violence to break a lease. This bill would protect individuals who utilize this law from facing discrimination as a result of doing so. This Bill is out of committee in the Assembly. The Senate version of this Bill, S-1932, sponsored by Senator Loretta Weinberg (D-37), has not moved in the Senate yet.
A-480, sponsored by Joan Voss (D-38), and S-279, sponsored by Brian Stack (D-33) would require landlords to replace old showerheads and toilets with low-flow devices, and would save billions of gallons of water each year, while costing them nothing, since they'd get their investment back in about 3 years through lower water bills due to less use. This bill is our answer to the sub-metering (scam) bill A-2216/S-1758 (see under The Bad).
The Bad…
S-1295, sponsored by Senator Anthony Bucco (R-25), would create another “cause” for eviction. This bill would allow a landlord to arbitrarily declare a policy regarding maximum occupancy in an apartment. The tenant does not even have to sign or agree with this policy, and it can be instituted at any time. The Just Cause for Eviction Laws already allow for eviction based on legitimate overcrowding as set out by State and Local occupancy standards, a more objective standard than some random rule implemented by a landlord looking to evict a tenant. This Bill also allows for additional fines for overcrowding and allows them to be passed to the tenant. S-129 is currently out of committee in the Senate.
A-2072, sponsored by Assemblywoman Joan Quigley (D-32), and its Senate Bill, S-395, sponsored by Senator Robert Singer (R-30), was not originally a “bad” bill. However, all the changes to it have morphed it into a piece of legislation that would provide ways to switch responsibility from the landlord to the tenant for eradication of bedbugs. This Bill has passed the Assembly. Nothing has happened in the Senate yet. We hope to convince Senator Singer not to move his bill.
A-2216 in the Assembly, sponsored by John McKeon (D-27) and S-1758 in the Senate, sponsored by Bob Smith (D-17) would permit landlords to install one or more water sub-meters in tenants' apartments and charge them separately for water and sewerage use. Purporting to promote conservation of water, it would actually cause more water to be used, since the landlords would no longer have the incentive to conserve by replacing water wasting toilets & showerheads and by fixing leaks promptly. It is only about making tenants pay for a cost that is rising faster than the rents.
The Ugly…
The really dangerous news is that the Law Revision Commission has recently “reviewed” all tenant Laws, including the Eviction for Just Cause Law and the Security Deposit Law. There will be a comment period, during which NJTO intends to comment. After that, the Commission will propose sweeping changes to our hard earned tenant protections in Bill form. This Law Revision Commission bill could essentially dismantle tenant protections in New Jersey.
New Jersey Tenants Organization
Click on the navigation buttons on the right to see the history of what NJTO has been doing in the struggle for tenants rights and low-income housing.
