Portside Towers Legal Fight for Rent Control

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Disclaimer: I, Kevin Weller, am not an attorney, nor do I represent tenants in a legal capacity. All information shared here is for informational purposes only to support tenant advocacy. For legal matters, please consult our licensed legal team.

We are the tenants of Portside Towers, two buildings located in Jersey City, NJ, and we urgently need your help. In the past 24 months, over 500 units in our buildings experienced staggering rent increases of 20-40%. However, under local rent control laws, these increases should not have exceeded 4%. We believe that our landlord, Equity Residential, has failed to comply with Jersey City’s and New Jersey’s rent control laws, leading to what we see as a serious violation of tenant rights.

To make matters worse, we believe that the current Jersey City administration, in an apparent effort to protect the landlord from financial repercussions, has chosen to ignore these violations rather than enforce the laws intended to protect renters. As a result, tenants across our community are overpaying by more than $500,000 every month. Many residents are now facing the devastating impacts of these unrestrained increases—being forced from their homes, facing financial hardship, and, in some cases, becoming homeless.

Our fight goes beyond Portside Towers; it’s a stand for renters across the country. This struggle serves as a warning of the lengths to which some landlords, aided by weak enforcement of tenant protections, will go. We aim to send a powerful message that tenants deserve fair treatment and lawful protections. Together, we can make a difference that reverberates nationwide, challenging even the most well-coordinated landlord practices.

In our efforts, we uncovered a troubling reality: despite laws meant to protect us, enforcement often falls short. We assumed laws and local officials would protect our homes and families from illegal practices, but our experience has been a shocking revelation of how larger forces can seem above the law. Imagine you or your loved ones facing effective eviction, even as national media sheds light on these injustices. When support is purposefully withheld, justice becomes difficult to attain.

Here is our story:

It all started with an email to the Jersey City office of Landlord-Tenant Relations in May of 2022.

…a tenant emailed a simple question after being subject to crazy high rent increases: “Is my building subject to rent control?”

The answer came back: Yes. And in that reply, we were first told about Annual Landlord Registration Statements.

We obtained these statements for our buildings, which confirmed, under the signature of our landlord, and subject to penalty, that Yes, our buildings were, and are, subject to rent control.

These statements require documented proof if a landlord seeks to establish that a building is not subject to rent control. This proof takes the form of a claim of exemption, which can only be filed by the building’s original owner. Critically, this filing must occur at least 30 days before the completion of the building’s construction, marked by the issuance of the building’s certificate of occupancy. These requirements are embedded in both our local ordinance and New Jersey state law.

Note: All information provided is based on tenant-collected records and our understanding of the rent control ordinance. Any legal questions should be directed to a qualified attorney.

We received confirmation from the Office of Landlord-Tenant Relations that at least one of Portside Tower’s buildings was subject to rent control. From there, we obtained copies of the Annual Landlord Registration Statements, which confirmed the rent control status for both buildings. Additionally, we obtained the certificates of occupancy and requested the statutorily required claims of exemption for each building. These claims of exemption should have been filed at least 30 days before the issuance of the buildings’ certificates of occupancy.

No exemption filings were located for either of Portside’s buildings. At this point, the full picture started to come into focus.

We then reviewed Jersey City’s rent control ordinance (local Ordinance 260), which the Office of Landlord-Tenant Relations is responsible for enforcing. This ordinance states that rent control is the default unless a building’s original owner takes specific steps to obtain a temporary exemption. The Director of the Office of Landlord-Tenant Relations, titled the Rent Leveling Administrator, oversees these determinations.

In September 2022, Jersey City’s Rent Leveling Administrator, attorney Dinah Hendon, issued official determinations for both Portside buildings, stating that each building had a 30-year exemption from rent control. The determination letters included statements that, in our view, do not align with rent control laws, favoring the landlord, Equity Residential.

Here are a few examples:

“NJSA 2A:42-84.4 requires that a written statement of the owner’s claim be sent to the municipal construction code official 30 days before the issuance of the CO…” – Director Hendon

“Portside was not the owner at the time the CO for 100 Warren was issued in August 1992, and evidently the owner at that time did not apply for the exemption because the intention was to have condominiums, not rentals, in the building…” – Director Hendon

“To date, no letter to the Construction Code Official in connection with the requested exemption from rent control for 155 Washington has been located.” – Director Hendon

Despite no lawful basis, Dinah Hendon changed her original determination, communicated to tenants in May 2022 (confirming the buildings were subject to rent control), to a determination favoring the landlord in September 2022 (stating they were exempt for 30 years). Furthermore, Hendon disregarded multiple years’ worth of Annual Landlord Registration Statements—signed under penalty—where the landlord certified that Portside Towers were subject to rent control, dismissing them as “clerical errors.” This shows a willful disregard for official documentation.

Hendon’s explanation for the lack of required exemption filings within the statutory timeframe was simply that city employees might have lost them, and these documents must be assumed to exist regardless.

You get the picture—something big and nefarious is at play here. Jersey City’s government appears to have expected us to give up after receiving these determination letters in September 2022.

But the mayor and his administration underestimated us. We did not back down. Instead, we organized. We formed tenant associations for both Portside Towers buildings, garnered national and local press coverage, and began appearing regularly at City Council meetings. At one meeting, Jersey City Council President Joyce Watterman stated, “…because if paperwork was not filed correctly, I see your point. I do. I just think that as a city, when we fall short, we just gotta own it, so to say. Please don’t clap. We just have to do what’s right.” Her words offered some hope that the public might rule in our favor before New Jersey’s Superior Court could even intervene. However, Watterman’s words did not translate into action to stop the harm inflicted on tenants.

Now, nearly six months later, we recognize that this is a battle bigger than Portside tenants alone. We are fighting a citywide effort that enables our landlord, Equity Residential, to exploit legal loopholes and delay resolution in an attempt to wear us down. This landlord has overcharged tenants by more than $40 million, and the city seems complicit. If they succeed, it will set a devastating precedent, dooming tens of thousands of tenants across the country to similar fates.

Help us continue this fight. Every dollar raised will go directly to fund our legal team’s representation of tenants' rights in New Jersey's courts. The outcome of our case has the potential to impact tenants' rights on a larger scale and could influence future decisions nationwide. Any remaining funds will support other Jersey City tenants also facing unlawful rent increases.

Learn more about us and watch the impassioned, fact-based speeches we’ve delivered at City Council meetings:

City Council Meetings:

November 9, 2022 (The FIRST 2 Speeches!)=> Click Here

November 28, 2022 => Click Here

November 28, 2022 (The City Council Responds!)=> Click Here

December 14, 2022 (We have signs!)=>Click Here

December 14, 2022 (The City Council Responds!)=> Click Here

December 22, 2022 (Special Meeting)=>Click Here

January 11, 2023 (Call For Richardson Statement)=> Click Here

January 25, 2023> Hudson County Commissioner => Click Here

January 25, 2023 => Click Here

February 8, 2023> Hudson County Commissioner Letter => Click Here

February 8, 2023 => Click Here

February 23, 2023 => Click Here

March 23, 2023 => Click Here

News Articles:

October 30, 2017 – Politico – Bid Rig =>Click Here

October 4, 2021 – Hudson County View - Solomon proposes Jersey City ethics reforms =>Click Here

October 10, 2022 - Patch.com >Click Here

November 21, 2022 - Wall Street Journal =>Click Here

November 21, 2022 - Patch.com =>Click Here

November 21, 2022 - The Real Deal =>Click Here

November 23, 2022 - YouTube Story =>Click Here

December 1, 2022 - Patch.com =>Click Here

December 7, 2022 - Hudson Reporter =>Click Here

December 15, 2022 - Hudson County View =>Click Here

January 13, 2023 - Jersey City Times =>Click Here

January 17, 2023 > - Hudson County View - Ron Bautista Letter=>Click Here

January 17, 2023 > Ron Bautista Video=>Click Here

January 23, 2023 - Hudson County View =>Click Here

January 24, 2023 – Eleana Little – I stand with Portside Towers =>Click Here

January 26, 2023 - Hudson County View =>Click Here

February 11, 2023 - NJ.com =>Click Here

February 19, 2023 - Front Page Star Ledger =>Click Here

February 24, 2023 - Hudson County View =>Click Here

Thank you for your help!

-Tenants of Portside Towers

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