MANCHESTER – A rent leveling ordinance was changed to provide clear rules for how a landlord would appeal to increase rent more than the annual cap.
According to the meeting agenda, the ordinance will “provide greater clarity and transparency for landlords seeking to increase rent over the annual cap set by the rent leveling board.”
The prior version of the ordinance allowed a mobile home park owner to bypass the cap if they could show that 75% plus 1 of the residents agreed to the increase.
Park owners tried to use the fact that residents signed contracts to show that they approved of the increase. However, the township’s opinion was that the tenants were not signing because they were OK with their rents going up, but because they didn’t want to move.
The township recognized that park owners could make major improvements that would benefit all residents. The owner could appeal to raise rent higher than the cap to reimburse themselves for such costs. The new ordinance describes the process for how an owner would do so.
Attorney Lori C. Greenberg, who represents Pine Ridge, said that the change was in violation of a settlement that had been reached between the landlords and the township.
One contention was that the town will require management to plan any capital improvements five years in advance. She said that there’s no telling what state mandates might come down the line that will force improvements the managers wouldn’t be able to prepare for.
Manchester’s Business Administrator, Carl Block, said that issue was advisory – to give the public notice if management is considering a project. It can change.
Block used to be the business administrator for Ocean County, and before that, mayor of Stafford. He said that municipal and county government makes plans like that all the time.
The rent leveling ordinance was crafted last year to protect residents in manufactured communities who were facing large rent increases.
“The intent of this ordinance was to protect the community,” Mayor Robert Arace said.
A number of residents spoke out in support of the ordinance.
“The rent is getting out of control,” said Mary Norris, a Pine Ridge resident.
Someone who is 80 years old doesn’t have higher Social Security because they never made that much back when they were paying into it, she explained. They can’t afford rent increases.
Frank Gaulrapp said he has lived at Pine Ridge at Crestwood for 25 years. He gets one check a month – the amount never goes up, but the rent does.
Andrew Kerstein, chair of the Rent Leveling Board, urged the council to make the change to correct a mistake made in 2023.
“Asking for a plan is not unreasonable. Nobody’s binding them to do it if they put it on a list and nobody would hold a government mandate against them,” he said.
Mark Clancy of Pine Ridge said people are moving away because of increases. They either move out of state or move in with their family.
“We’re all pretty much on fixed incomes. Whenever we get an increase in Social Security, it’s taken away right away,” he said.
Bill O’Donnell, of Pine Ridge At Crestwood, said residents didn’t know about the settlement in 2023. “I’m hoping this new writing of the ordinance will help us like the previous ordinance should have.”
The Township Council adopted the new ordinance unanimously.
