Fate Of Montclair's Rent Control Law In Hands Of Appellate Court

MONTCLAIR, NJ — The fate of Montclair’s rent control ordinance will now be decided in appellate court, officials say.

The Montclair Township Council passed the ordinance in April 2020. It would limit annual rent increases in the township to 2.5 percent for seniors and 4.25 percent for other tenants, with some exceptions. Read the ordinance here.

A court injunction has kept the law from going into effect, however.

Montclair town officials released the following update on Thursday evening:

“Earlier today, Judges Heidi Currier and Greta Goodenbrown of the Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division granted the township’s motion to appeal Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Beacham’s March 16 ruling, which ordered the township clerk to certify the Montclair Property Owners Association’s petition to put the ordinance on a ballot as a referendum question. The appellate judges accelerated the appeal and stayed the March 16 order until further notice from the court.”

According to the statement, the township has until June 1 to submit its brief to the appellate court, the Montclair Property Owners Association’s (MPOA) brief must be submitted by June 21, and any reply brief must be handed in to the court by July 1.

Some Montclair residents, including mayor Sean Spiller, have claimed the new ordinance is a long overdue and much-needed victory for people who are at the mercy of landlords seeking to raise their rents. But critics, including the MPOA, have argued the law was pushed through during the coronavirus crisis and will impact property taxes paid by single-family homeowners.

Read more about the MPOA's position on the ordinance here.

“The council and I are very pleased with this decision,” Spiller said Thursday.

“Naturally, it is our hope that the court rules in our favor, and in the favor of residents currently subject to unconscionable rental increases,” Spiller said. “Our neighbors living in rented housing will be afforded greater financial stability to be able to remain in their homes and better plan for the future.”

• See related article: Rent Control Fight In Montclair Still Alive; Law May Hit Ballot
• See related article: Rent Control In Montclair: Critics Try To Bring Issue To Voters

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