Public Advocate’s Testimony on S-630 (Vitale) before Senate Community and Urban Affairs Committee

Bill clarifies intent of Legislature to protect certain senior tenants; aligns housing age restrictions with federal law.
June 5, 2008

Good morning Chairman Rice and members of the committee.  My name is Wali Abdul-Salaam and I am the Deputy Chief of Staff at the Department of the Public Advocate.  On behalf of Public Advocate Ronald Chen, I am here to testify in support of S-630.  We should ensure that senior citizens who live in senior rental housing receive the important protections offered by rent control ordinances, and this bill would accomplish that objective.

Without these protections, many older New Jerseyans could be forced to shoulder significant rent increases although they are living on fixed incomes.  That means that either they will be forced to move and their lives will be disrupted unnecessarily, or they will be forced to forego essentials – such as filling their prescriptions.

I commend the sponsor for introducing this bill to provide relief to many of New Jersey’s seniors.  They are often the first to feel the impact of economic bad times.  Rising prices in energy, food and health care often hit them the hardest.

This bill is the right thing to do, and it is the necessary thing to do.  Twenty years ago, when the Legislature chose to provide an incentive to builders to develop rental housing by exempting them from local rent control ordinances for a period of time, there was an unintended consequence.  Senior citizens living in senior housing would also lose those critical protections for a period of time.  This bill clarifies the law and correct course.

In closing, I would like to thank Senator Vitale for introducing such an important piece of legislation and you, Chairman, for graciously posting S-630 for a committee vote.  We are happy to see this statute clarified to provide an exemption from a rent control ordinance only to those buildings in which occupancy for seniors will not be reserved.