Housing in Focus: Key Bills on This Week’s Assembly Committee Agenda

TRENTON, NJ — Housing stays on the radar with three bills scheduled for the Assembly Housing Committee.  Let’s take a look at three bills residents can track on the legislative calendar this week – two are likely to engender strong support and equally fierce opposition from residents if they make it out of committee, while the third would likely receive broader support.

A3497 — Agreements Among Rental Property Owners  

Seeks to prevent landlords and other rental entities from coming to agreements that would artificially influence pricing. This connects to a bill we covered last week (S451) that centered on the use of software to influence pricing; this bill appears to deal with the coordination side of the equation (human/algorithmic) and would allow the Attorney General to bring civil action against groups of landlords which some might view as a significant expansion in how anti-trust laws are used.

Supporters will likely argue that this protects free market forces by preventing actors from coordinating in ways that influence pricing or supply.

Critics will say that it’s not always easy to distinguish between unlawful coordination v. normal market behavior.  They’ll also point to the risk of litigation that may come with broad, loosely defined legislation.

A3507 — Standards for Unconscionable Rent Increases  

This would attempt to establish guidelines in determining when rent increases are ‘too much’ and seems to shift the burden of proof away from the tenant to the landlord.  A landlord would need to prove that an increase is not ‘unconscionable’.

Supporters will point to the benefits of a clearer framework for tenants and courts in trying to determine whether a rent hike is excessive.  It may also blunt what many feel are out of control housing costs.

Pushback will likely be based on the position that one can’t artificially keep rents low when the cost of owning and managing properties continues to increase  (taxes, insurance premiums, maintenance).  One can also argue that it could backfire as there will be less of an appetite to build/own/manage/properties in a way that could reduce supply.
 

A3586 — Annual Report on State-Owned Property for Affordable Housing  

Assembly Bill A3586 requires an annual report identifying State-owned property that could potentially be used for affordable housing.

The argument for this bill is simple – if we are asking towns to give more then the state should have an idea of what it owns and can be used to build affordable housing. It asks the state to lead by example.The pushback will like center on ‘another report that will lead to nothing’ and that not all land may be suitable for building (an argument townships and residents have been pointing to for years).

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