LANDLORD SCORES COURT VICTORY OVER CONSTITUTIONALITY OF UNION CITY RENT CONTROL RULES

In a ruling issued by Hudson County Superior Court Judge Kimberly Espinales-Maloney on Sept. 12, the court clarified that the ordinance setting Union City’s procedures and regulations for rent control is unconstitutional, and it reaffirmed that the application of the ordinance violated the landlord’s rights.

UNION CITY: THE FIGHT GOES ON

Since our formation, the Union City Housing Initiative has been successful in protecting the legal rights of property owners in Union City. To date, our organization has made notable success, but challenges remain. Updated in this newsletter is our latest progress and the next steps in our path to restore the proper ‘checks and balances” within Tenant – Landlord regulation and Union City Rent Control administration.

Recent Accomplishments

Eviction Moratorium

The Union City Housing Initiative sued over the terms of the proposed Eviction Moratorium and forced the Council to repeal the initiative. Defeating this local ordinance protected property owners from unfounded tenant claims to dodge rent payments during and after the virus pandemic.

New Mailing Standard

Landlords, in multiple cases, received no notification of Rent Stabilization actions against them. This allowed for Tenant / Landlord hearings to be held and decided without Landlord participation. At the urging of the Union City Housing Initiative in October the Mayor and Council passed a resolution requiring USPS Certified Mail must be used for future notifications

Our Current Plans

The Union City Housing Initiative seeks to maintain steady pressure on the Union City Administration to expose the Landlord injustices that are occurring at the unbridled direction of Rent Control and the Rent Leveling Board.

• We seek rational administration of the existing rent control ordinance.
• We seek reasonable rent control laws, such as a two- or three-year limitation for base rent calculations. (like Hoboken and Jersey City).
• We seek a capital improvement program that allows Landlords to legally increase a vacant apartment’s rent based on additional capital investment renovations made to the apartment. This simple act upgrades and improves the general housing stock for Union City which benefits all residents and property owners.
• We will continue to gather more information on the City’s administration of the rent control ordinance through OPRA requests and other research that can be used in future litigation and public affairs programs.

JOIN US – Membership is Free to property owners holding under 30 units in Union City.

THE COMMUNITY OF PROPERTY OWNERS MUST SPEAK AS ONE VOICE!

We seek to expand our group. Visit our website at www.uchousinginitiative.com to anonymously see updated information or join our mailing list to receive current updates by email. To protect members from undue retaliation, our organization maintains a strict standard of anonymity for members and will never share contact information.
The Union City Housing Initiative represents several thousand rental apartments in Union City and continues to grow. We are supported by an experienced law team as well as The Liberty Board of Realtors.

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