SENATE STATE GOVERNMENT, WAGERING, TOURISM & HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMITTEE
STATEMENT TO
SENATE, No. 2953
with committee amendments
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
DATED: October 28, 2024
The Senate State Government, Wagering, Tourism & Historic Preservation Committee reports favorably, with committee amendments, Senate Bill No. 2953.
This bill limits the amount a landlord may increase the rent on a tenant of a dwelling site within a manufactured home park, upon which the tenant is permitted to install a modular or industrialized building, or manufactured home, as defined in the bill.
The bill prohibits a landlord, as defined in the bill, of a covered dwelling site, from increasing the rent over the course of a 12-month period by more than three percent. The bill defines the term "covered dwelling site" to mean a parcel of land within a manufactured home park that is leased to the owner of a modular or industrialized building, or manufactured home for living and dwelling purposes. Under the bill, "rent" includes lot fees, including license fees, charged by a landlord to a tenant, in addition to tax surcharge costs passed on to the tenant, and any other special expenses.
The bill provides, with limited exceptions, that if the landlord increases the rent in excess of the bill’s limitation: (1) the applicable rent for the duration of the present lease term, or subsequent lease term if the present term is month-to-month, is to be the rent for the year or term preceding the violation; and (2) the landlord would be liable for a penalty of $1,000 per violation per unit, upon the complaint of the Commissioner of Community Affairs or the Attorney General. The bill’s limitations would function in addition to the existing prohibition on unconscionable rent increases pursuant the Anti-Eviction Act, P.L.1974, c.49 (C.2A:18-61.1 et seq.), and would permit a tenant to assert the violation as a defense to an eviction as an unconscionable rent increase.
A violation of the bill would:
(1) permit a tenant to petition the court to terminate a lease or agreement in violation of the bill, and to recover reasonable attorney’s fees or expenses; and
(2) subject a landlord to a private cause of action, brought at the discretion of the tenant, who would be permitted to recover $500 for a first offense by the landlord, and $1,000 for a second and any subsequent offense by the landlord, in addition to reasonable attorney’s fees or expenses.
A landlord would be subject to the penalties set forth in the bill for each violation against each tenant, brought at the tenant’s discretion.
The bill permits a landlord to petition the Commissioner of Community Affairs (commissioner) to request approval to increase the rent on a covered dwelling site by either: demonstrating that the present rental income and additional charges from the manufactured home park are insufficient to cover the costs of tax increases, assessments, or maintenance to the manufactured home park; or by submitting proof or documentation of capital improvements to the property, which require the increase in rent.
The bill permits the commissioner, after a hearing and consideration as specified in the bill, to grant the landlord a rent increase sufficient to meet the landlord’s requirements or needs. The bill requires a landlord petitioning the commissioner for a rent increase to:
§ prior to filing the petition, post notice of the petition setting forth its basis in a conspicuous place in and about the manufactured home park;
§ prior to filing the petition, serve each affected tenant personally, or by certified mail, with the petition to be filed with the commissioner;
§ notify each affected tenant personally, or by certified mail, of the hearing date set by the commissioner; and
§ post notice of the hearing in a conspicuous place in the manufactured home park for at least 10 days prior to the date of the hearing.
The bill would: only preempt other laws regarding rent control, rent leveling, or rent stabilization adopted by the governing body of a municipality that result in a higher permitted rent increase over the course of a 12-month period, and not preempt laws regarding rent control, rent leveling, or rent stabilization adopted by the governing body of a municipality resulting in a rent increase that is less than or equal to three percent. The bill would take effect on the first day of the third month following the date of enactment, and be applicable to tenancies commencing on or after the effective date of the bill. The commissioner would be permitted to take anticipatory action necessary to effectuate the provisions of the bill.
COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS:
The committee amended the bill to:
(1) define the term "manufactured home" as a structure for which the manufacturer has filed a certification required by the Secretary of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development and which complies with the standards under the National Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards Act of 1974 (42. U.S.C. s.5401 et seq.).
(2) define the term "industrialized or modular building" as any building of closed construction, including, but not limited to, modular housing that is factory-built single-family and multi-family housing, including closed-wall, panelized housing, as well as other modular, nonresidential buildings.
(3) exclude from the definition of an "industrialized or modular building" any structure subject to the requirements of the National Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards Act of 1974.
(4) replace all references to a "modular or manufactured home" with the terms "industrialized or modular buildings," or "manufactured homes."
(5) raise the rent increase limit prescribed by the bill from two percent to three percent;
(6) provide an exception to the rent increase limit for capital improvements to the property, which require the rent increase, on condition that the landlord petition, and receive approval from, the Commissioner of Community Affairs and submit proof or documentation of the capital improvements to the commissioner, as described in the bill;
(7) require the Commissioner of Community Affairs to schedule a hearing and make a final determination on a petition to increase the rent on a covered dwelling site that exceeds three percent within 90 days;
(8) specify that the bill would only preempt other laws regarding rent control, rent leveling, or rent stabilization adopted by the governing body of a municipality that result in a higher permitted rent increase over the course of a 12-month period, not preempt laws regarding rent control, rent leveling, or rent stabilization adopted by the governing body of a municipality resulting in a rent increase that is less than or equal to three percent;
(9) provide a penalty of $1,000 per violation per unit for a landlord’s violation of the rent increase limit set forth in the bill without first receiving approval from the Commissioner of Community Affairs; and
(10) make conforming changes.