Controversial NJ anti-eviction bill. Landlord not happy

Credit: 70023venus2009 from Flickr (CC BY-ND 2.0)

Tenants who have been unable to pay rent during the COVID-19 pandemic would have up to 2 1/2 years to repay their arrears without fear of eviction under a controversial bill now before the New Jersey Senate.

The so-called People’s Bill would give renters 6 months to repay each month of unpaid rent and require all arrears to be paid within 30 months. It’s part of a package of measures designed to prevent a flood of evictions whenever Gov. Phil Murphy’s current ban on evictions ends. On March 19, Murphy ordered a moratorium on evictions during the public health crisis, to remain in effect up to two months after that ends.

Landlords warned that passage of the bill would ruin some property owners and lead to higher tax bills for homeowners. They have been fighting the bill (A-4034/S-2340) since it was introduced in July, saying property owners should not have to wait so long for full repayment of back rent, especially since many have already been unable to collect rent from unemployed tenants during the pandemic and have no early prospect of relief.

By giving people more time to pay arrears and setting penalties for landlords who don’t comply, the bill’s supporters hope that would make it easier for renters and homeowners to catch up with their payments and stay in their homes.

“What this bill tries to do is establish a fair repayment schedule for the tenant and the landlord,” said Nina Rainiero, a spokeswoman for the Housing and Community Development Network of New Jersey, one of the housing advocacy groups that organized an online rally on Thursday to press the Senate to act. “You can’t just say, ‘OK the moratorium is up, I need five months of rent by tomorrow.’”

The bill’s lead sponsor in the Senate, Sen. Troy Singleton (D-Burlington), has worked to meet the interests of both sides, and is hoping Senate President Steve Sweeney will put the bill up for a vote in December, said his policy coordinator, David Smith. “The consequences of further inaction will be devastating for New Jersey,” he said.

Earlier attempt stalled in Senate

An earlier version of the bill was passed by the Senate and Assembly. It is now being reconsidered by the Senate because of amendments during its passage in the lower house but appears to have “stalled” in the Senate, Rainiero said.

If there’s a dispute over how much a tenant owes, a court could require a landlord to pay a penalty of 20% of the difference between the amount the landlord seeks and the amount actually owed, the bill says.

Homeowners who can prove they have suffered a “negative financial impact” from the pandemic would be entitled to obtain a forbearance from mortgage payments for at least 90 days. They would have to show that their gross household income does not exceed $150,000 a year and that they have less than six months’ worth of cash reserves in the bank.

Brian Kulas, who rents his home from a private landlord, said during the online rally that he temporarily lost his job because of the pandemic and now has a past-due rent balance as well as a zero balance in his bank account.

“There’s the fear of the uncertainty that can’t be erased,” he said. “You take it with you when you go to bed at night and it’s right there when you wake up in the morning. That fear is being evicted, or for a homeowner, not being able to pay their mortgage.”

Kulas, who receives Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, said he and his landlord are equally affected by the pandemic. “We impact one another,” he said. He called on the Senate to approve the bill.

Biden pandemic relief package

But David Brogan, executive director of the New Jersey Apartment Association, which represents larger landlords, said there’s no reason to pass the bill now because renters and homeowners are protected from eviction by the governor’s moratorium, and because he expects federal rental assistance to…