The Cost of Gutting Rent Control

and Why You Should Vote No on Hoboken’s Ballot Question

Posted Thu, Sep 26, 2024 at 9:51 am ET | Updated Fri, Sep 27, 2024 at 2:38 pm ET On Patch
Posted by Samantha T, Neighbor

Hoboken voters have yet another choice to make by the end of Election Day this November. An anti-rent control initiative is on the ballot (PSA: if you vote by mail, flip your paper ballot over and find the public question on the back.) The measure, if passed, will change Hoboken’s housing landscape for the worse and alter the character of our city forever. Its dire consequences for overall quality of life, and our already high housing costs and dwindling affordability, will touch nearly everyone in the Mile Square: renters, current and future, in units both private or public, and, yes, even owners.

The proposal was brought via referendum by a group called The Mile Square Taxpayers Association (MSTA), which is led by an out-of-town lobbyist. Their initiative asks Hoboken voters to allow landlords, including large corporate landlords, to purchase the right to full “vacancy decontrol.” This means they can remove rent control rules from their property once a unit is vacated, then raise the rent an unlimited amount for a new tenant. All they’d have to do to claim this mega-perk is to pay a small one-time fee of $2,500, to be placed in the Affordable Housing Trust Fund, which, reasonable people can agree, will never come anywhere close to replacing the housing stock the measure will systematically destroy.

Our task is both simple and crystal clear; in a city where rents are already among the highest nationally, Hoboken must vote NO to the anti-rent control referendum by November’s Election Day.

Vote NO to save rent control.

Here are just a handful of the reasons why:

Weakened rent protections, which would be the result of passing this destructive ballot measure, lead to increased market rates across the board, whether you live in a rent-controlled unit or not. When stock of rent-controlled units is driven down, which this referendum would also do if passed, it forces rents up in non-controlled apartments as well. The floor for pricing then becomes that much higher, creating a domino effect that will make Hoboken even less affordable for everyone.

Long-term tenants with stable rents will bear a heavy burden from this policy, at times becoming targets of both overt and covert pressures and subtle harassment to vacate their apartments from unscrupulous landlords, eager to maximize profits. Renters who are currently residing in 2- or 3-unit owner-occupied buildings will be made particularly vulnerable, where the owner may prefer to secure a higher rent for their unit, and can legally evict them at the end of their lease.

The obvious negative consequences for their friends and neighbors who rent aside, Hoboken homeowners might assume the gutting of rent control will not otherwise harm them. The truth is more complex. Think of the impacts on community support when affordability declines. Consider Hoboken’s dedicated essential workers, childcare workers, those who keep residents healthy, safe, and educated. What kind of climate do we create when teachers, nurses, social workers, and first responders can no longer afford to live here? Hoboken already has a large essential workforce that commutes in, often by car. Traffic and (you guessed it!) lack of parking, are worsening problems. How will these conditions be further exacerbated both for commuters and residents when what remains of housing affordability gradually becomes a thing of the past? As a homeowner myself these days, it is my hope that other owners will recognize the key part they can play in this effort, in prompting conversations to raise awareness, and why solidarity matters. It’s so important that we all spread the word and vote NO.

For public housing residents, reduced private rent control protections means fewer affordable private units should they wish to move out.

Small business owners, reliant on local customers, will also suffer. As residents stretch their budgets to afford higher rents, they’ll have fewer elective dollars to spend. Rising residential rents and additional gentrification will drive up commercial rents, making business ownership riskier.

Elders already living on fixed incomes will face challenges if they need to move closer to family. Will residents who may otherwise be making ends meet have the bandwidth to relocate and support their aging relatives as rents rise? How diminished would Hoboken be with fewer of our cherished senior citizens?

An increase in the number of unhoused individuals will also be a terrible inevitability. Stable housing is crucial for public health and safety. Forced relocations also disrupt care access and social connections, threatening individual mental health as well.

There are many more recent homeowners who, as transplants, deliberately chose to buy in Hoboken over a suburb because of its social fabric, history, and cultural diversity. What is lost when material conditions limit the array of residents who can make or keep a home here?

Our city benefits from its many engaged citizens committed to ensuring Hoboken is a place where all can thrive. Whether you regularly volunteer, organize or advocate for our public services, champion our local schools, housing, environment or health, you are natural allies to the vote no campaign to defeat the anti-rent control referendum, as it aligns with all efforts to assure the stability and wellbeing of our residents.

Finally, every single Hoboken resident will benefit from sending a very loud (think helicopters on the Hudson loud) message to corporate-funded groups thinking of trying to destabilize our community or unfairly profit from our residents: you will not divide us against ourselves. We are Hoboken Strong.

In closing, for the sake of our community and collective futures, please VOTE NO on Hoboken’s Public Question by November 5th.

~For more information on our campaign to defeat this anti-tenant initiative, visit the Hoboken Fair Housing Association (HFHA) or Hoboken United Tenants (HUT) Facebook pages or websites and please consider donating to our campaign. You can also email us at HobokenFairHousing@gmail.com.

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