What does the ballot question do?

If the ballot initiative passes, it would allow landlords to raise the rent on their units to whatever they can get in exchange for a meager payment of $2,500 to the city’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund when the current tenant vacates or is evicted without cause as is permitted by state law in smaller buildings.

The supporters of the initiative CLAIM this will bring much-needed affordable housing to Hoboken, but a single unit of affordable housing costs hundreds of thousands of dollars to construct, so the fees the landlords will pay to de-control their apartments are a drop in the bucket and are unlikely to result in even a single affordable unit.

Why should I Vote “NO”?

Hoboken’s rent control ordinance already ensures that many residents are able to afford their housing. While we don’t dispute the need for more affordable housing, this initiative is unlikely to create even a single affordable unit, while putting as many as 8,000 rent-controlled units at risk.

If this initiative passes, it would put a target on the back of all of Hoboken’s long-term residents who currently have affordable apartments due to rent control. The promise of decontrol provides a strong incentive to landlords to evict or otherwise harass these tenants out of their apartments so that they can increase the rent 100, 200, or even 300 percent or more.

But this doesn’t just affect long-term residents. Increased rents on older apartments will put upward pressure on rents throughout the city, causing the average rent to increase. Hoboken’s rental market is already extremely expensive, and we don’t want it to get even worse! If rents continue to rise, new teachers, nurses, and first responders won’t be able to afford to move here. How can we maintain quality services if essential workers can't live in our community?

Many people would be harmed both directly and indirectly if this initiative passes, and the only people who would benefit are a handful of landlords who, despite their complaints, already own property in one of the strongest real estate markets in the world.

Who is behind the ballot question?

The petitioners who got this question on the ballot are the Mile Square Taxpayers Association (MSTA), a landlord group in Hoboken run by out-of-town lobbyist Ron Simoncini and financed by large corporate landlords and developers. They got the question on the ballot by collecting signatures from Hoboken residents, many of whom now feel they were lied to about the initiative’s intended effects.