Bill Text: NJ S4451 | 2026-2027 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Establishes Statewide rent control.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)
Status: (Introduced) 2026-06-15 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Community and Urban Affairs Committee [S4451 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2026-S4451-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Senator BRITNEE N. TIMBERLAKE
District 34 (Essex)
SYNOPSIS
Establishes Statewide rent control.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning rent increase limits, and supplementing chapter 18 of Title 2A of the New Jersey Statutes and chapter 27D of Title 52 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. As used in P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill):
"Base rent" means the amount charged in monthly rent for a rental unit.
"Landlord" means the person or persons who own or purport to own a building in which there is rented or offered for rent a rental unit under either a written or oral lease. In the case of a mobile or manufactured home park, "landlord" shall mean the owner of an individual dwelling unit or a dwelling site within the mobile or manufactured home park, if the dwelling unit or dwelling site is offered for rent.
"Rental unit" means any building or structure, or any part thereof or land appurtenant thereto rented or offered for rent for living or dwelling purposes, but shall not include public housing or dwelling space in any hotel or other place of transient accommodation. "Rental unit" shall also mean, in the case of a mobile or manufactured home park, an individual dwelling unit or a dwelling site within the mobile or manufactured home park, if the dwelling unit or dwelling site is offered for rent.
"Public housing" means housing for persons of low- or moderate-income, which is owned by a municipality, county, the State, or the federal government, or any agency or instrumentality thereof.
"Tenant" means a lessee, sublessee, licensee, or other person entitled to the possession or to the use or occupancy of the whole or a part of a rental unit.
2. a. Except as provided in section 3 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), a landlord shall not increase the rent on a rental unit:
(1) for a current tenant, by more than four percent within a five-year period over the rent charged during the previous rental term, or more than two percent within a one-year period; or
(2) for a new tenancy in which no tenant from a prior tenancy in the prior year remains in lawful possession of the rental unit, by more than 10 percent over the rent charged during the last term of the previous tenancy.
b. The provisions of subsection a. of this section shall not apply to:
(1) a multiple dwelling subject to the provisions of P.L.1987, c.153 (C.2A:42-84.1 et seq.); or
(2) a rental unit that is subject to affordability controls pursuant to:
(a) project-based federal rental assistance, authorized pursuant to section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. s.1437f), or other federal or State project-based assistance;
(b) the Uniform Housing Affordability Controls promulgated by the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency; or
(c) the rent and income limits established by the federal Low Income Housing Tax Credit program pursuant to section 42 of the Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C. s.42).
c. A landlord may file an application for a waiver of the rent increase limit as set forth in subsection a. of this section, in accordance with section 3 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).
d. A landlord who violates subsection a. of this section shall be liable to a penalty, payable to the tenant, in an amount equal to the greater of $500 or three times the difference between the rental increase and the allowable rental increase, plus reasonable attorney fees and expenses incurred in proving a violation. The penalty shall be collected and enforced by a summary proceeding. The Superior Court of New Jersey, Law Division, Special Civil Part shall have jurisdiction over the proceedings.
3. A landlord may file an application for a waiver of the rent increase limit set forth in subsection a. of section 2 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) with the Commissioner of Community Affairs. In reviewing a landlord's application, the commissioner shall consider whether the rent increase limit would cause an undue hardship to the landlord because of the landlord's financial condition or any other factor relating to the landlord's ownership of the premises. In determining undue hardship, the commissioner shall consider equity, mortgage interest, insurance costs, capital improvements, the most recent five-year history of maintenance and upkeep expenses, and any increase in local property taxes, water and sewerage costs, and heating or fuel directly affecting the property on which the rental unit is located. If the commissioner grants a landlord's application for a waiver pursuant to this section, the commissioner shall set the rent at an amount that will not cause the landlord undue hardship, which in no case for an existing tenant shall be set at more than six percent over the rent charged during the previous rental term over a five-year period. The commissioner shall not grant a waiver if the landlord has any outstanding State or municipal violations related to the property for which the waiver is requested.
4. This act shall take effect immediately, but shall remain inoperative until the first day of the seventh month next following the date of enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill establishes Statewide rent control. Specifically, the bill prohibits a landlord from raising the rent of a rental unit: (1) for a current tenant, by more than four percent over the rent charged during the previous lease term within a five year period, or more than two percent in a given year; or (2) for a new tenant, by more than 10 percent over the rent charged during the last term of a previous tenancy.
The bill permits a landlord to file an application for a waiver of the rent increase limit (application) with the Commissioner of Community Affairs (commissioner). In reviewing a landlord's application, the bill requires the commissioner to consider whether the rent increase limit would cause an undue hardship to the landlord, based upon factors described in the bill relating to the landlord's financial condition and ownership of the premises. If the commissioner grants a landlord's application, the commissioner is required to set the rent at an amount that will not cause the landlord undue hardship, which for an existing tenant is not to exceed more than six percent over the rent charged during the previous rental term over a five-year period. The bill specifies that an application is not to be granted if the landlord has any outstanding State or municipal violations related to the property for which the waiver is being requested.
The bill provides that a landlord who violates the rent increase limits specified in the bill would be liable to a penalty, payable to the tenant and enforceable in the Superior Court of New Jersey, Law Division, Special Civil Part, in an amount equal to the greater of $500 or three times the difference between the rental increase and the allowable rental increase, plus reasonable attorney fees and expenses incurred in proving a violation of the bill.
The bill would take effect immediately, but would remain inoperative until the first day of the seventh month next following the date of enactment.
