'Unsafe, unhealthy': NJ renters struggle to find affordable housing in safe environments

Immigrants and renters of color in Passaic, Elizabeth and Perth Amboy continue to struggle to afford rapidly rising rents and live in unsafe environments, but largely did not apply for rental assistance, according to a survey released Tuesday of nearly 400 tenants conducted by the immigrant advocacy group, Make the Road New Jersey.

“Immigrant New Jerseyans have been particularly hard hit by the housing crisis,” the report said. “While New Jersey’s rental assistance programs were available to individuals regardless of immigration status, persistent fears over public charge, language barriers, technological challenges and informal rental situations meant that many immigrant New Jerseyans faced significant obstacles to applying for aid.”

After door-knocking and speaking to tenants at community meetings between May and September, Make the Road came up with policy recommendations that could help:

• Strengthen municipal rent control laws: New Jersey does not have a statewide law restricting rent increases, but about 100 municipalities have local ordinances, including Passaic, Elizabeth and Perth Amboy, where the survey took place. The advocacy group recommends ensuring that rents cannot be raised above a cap when a new renter moves into a building, and that buildings must not violate any state or local health safety codes before a landlord can increase rent. The report notes that Elizabeth’s rent control laws expire at the end of 2022, and Perth Amboy is considering amendments to its law.

• Address unsafe rental conditions: Cities should increase investments in city health and housing inspectors, and track tenant complaints to ensure landlords with multiple code and habitability violations face consequences.

• Expand rent assistance: New Jersey should set aside additional federal stimulus funds for rental assistance and put more energy into outreach to immigrant communities.

• Expand right to counsel: While landlords have attorneys in a majority of eviction cases, tenants usually do not. In Newark, and areas of Atlantic City, East Orange and Trenton, the cities offer free legal services to low-income tenants. Make the Road recommends Elizabeth, Perth Amboy and Passaic set up their own programs to increase the odds tenants stay in their homes.

These changes could help renters like Alba M. in Passaic, who lives in a “very old” building with her young children. She told Make the Road that rats hide in the walls and die, causing a horrible smell. Her landlord hasn’t fixed the holes in the walls, she said, instead giving her sponges to block the openings.

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Or Banessa Q. in Elizabeth, who cannot afford a $500 rent increase, which is legal because she lives in a two-family home where the landlord lives in the second apartment, a housing setup that is not covered by rent control. She had to take on another job and roommate to make the payments.

“I started to look for another apartment, but the rent is so high everywhere else that I couldn’t leave,” Banessa told Make the Road. “I know I’m not the only person this is happening to — when I speak with friends and family, they also worry about how they will be able to pay the rent.”

In Perth Amboy, Laura M., a single mother with six kids, lost her job during the pandemic and fell behind on rent. Despite receiving more than $10,000 in rental assistance, her landlord said she owes close to $9,000 and is threatening her with eviction if she does not leave. Even though she said "there are cockroaches and mice and a big hole in the floor” that make her fear for her and her children’s health, she can’t find another apartment her family can afford.

The survey found that one out of every five people interviewed said their housing conditions were “unsafe, unhealthy or dangerous,” and more than half of those families in Perth Amboy and Passaic said their landlords refused to make repairs.

And among the nearly 400 people surveyed, only 32 renters applied for rental assistance, with only nine receiving any aid. Without that help, families were making sacrifices, having to choose between paying for rent or food that month.

“Amid a growing housing affordability crisis, and in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic’s devastating impact on immigrant and working-class communities of color, New Jersey needs a visionary housing policy that will protect families from displacement and keep them safe,” Make the Road wrote.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: NJ renters still struggle to find safe, affordable housing