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Mobile Home Rent Control Put On Hold While Ordinance Is Reviewed
By Catherine Snipe
Township officials are hoping to craft an in-depth proposal for a rent leveling board for mobile home tenants. The tenants are deserving of protection from exorbitant rent increases faced in one of the township's two mobile home parks, officials said.
The township council discussed how to create a rent leveling board and establish mobile home park rent control at its caucus meeting this week. Township Attorney Jean Cipriani built a proposed ordinance around state law and leveling board codes from other townships.
The idea is to protect mobile home tenants from large rent increases. In the proposal, increases more than five percent must come before the rent leveling board for approval.
It has been a constant struggle, said residents of the Laurelton Mobile Home Park. Tenants there told council this week that the Edgewood-Properties owned park is poorly maintained. Despite this, a proposed rent increase could have topped 30 percent.
The complaints have persisted since late last year.
"If these rents go up, I don't know where these people are going to go," Acropolis said. "These are people that need our protection."
If approved, the ordinance would be specific to mobile home tenants. It does not extend rent control to tenants who rent houses or apartments. Why just mobile homes?
"You can go, have a super, you knock on his door and things get done. The mobile home doesn't have that," Acropolis said.
It's also hoped the board could improve conditions at the Laurelton Mobile Home Park, he said.
However, Councilwoman Kathy Russell asked whether the ordinance could provide a slippery slope to offer rent control to apartment dwellers.
"Are we opening a Pandora's box here?" she asked.
Russell argued that since it was the outcry of a well-organized group of mobile home residents that pushed for the rent board, couldn't a well-organized group of apartment tenants seek their own rent control provisions?
Councilman Joseph Sangiovanni said that may or may not happen.
"That group can be formed no matter where the ordinance is," he said. In this case, "I think we're on the right track."
On the whole, council members agreed they do not want to have rent-controlled apartments in Brick. "It's not what we want and it's not why we're doing it," Acropolis said.
However, after the council discussed some of the language in the proposed ordinance, they decided it needed another look. At more than 40 pages, Councilman Dan Toth found some sections that may contradict each other.
Cipriani agree. It may be several weeks before the code is put up to vote.
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