Bill > A5432

This bill establishes a comprehensive framework for determining whether a rent increase is unconscionable, providing courts with specific criteria to evaluate potential rental price hikes. The bill requires courts to consider multiple factors when assessing rent increases, including the amount of the proposed increase, the landlord's expenses and profitability, comparison to rents in comparable properties (including federal Housing and Urban Development fair market rates), the relative bargaining positions of the landlord and tenant, and the property's condition. Importantly, the bill places the burden of proof on the landlord to demonstrate that a rent increase is not unconscionable, and specifies that no single factor shall be determinative. The bill also provides privacy protections for certain tenant-landlord court records, excluding from public access eviction records that were either favorably resolved for the tenant or are more than seven years old. Additionally, the bill explicitly states that these provisions do not apply to rent increases already regulated by local rent control ordinances or affordable housing programs. By providing this detailed framework, the bill aims to protect tenants from potentially excessive rent increases while offering a structured approach for judicial review.

Housing and Urban Affairs

https://www.njleg.state.nj.us/bill-search/2024/A5432