Montclair Tenants Clash With Landlord Over Rent Control, Conditions

MONTCLAIR, NJ — Some residents of an apartment building in Montclair are clashing with their new landlord, alleging that they’re facing subpar living conditions and new parking fees that exceed the town’s rent control law, reports say.

Rockledge Ventures LLC purchased Hawthorne Towers in late March for $38 million. Located at 36 Hawthorne Place, the midrise had been under the same ownership for more than 50 years prior to the sale.

But since the building was sold, multiple residents at the 133-unit apartment building have lodged complaints with the town’s newly created rent control board. Some tenants who previously had parking spots included in their rent are now being required to pay $85 for them, and they say the combined total exceeds the rent control cap, NorthJersey.com reported.

Rents at Hawthorne Towers – about $1,800 for a large one-bedroom unit – are “well below market,” NorthJersey.com reported.

Montclair’s rent control law – which went into effect in May – allowed for a “one-time” increase of 6 percent to renters under 65 years of age if no rent hikes were made since May 1, 2020. Aside from that increase, the maximum allowable rent hike is 4 percent every 12 months – or 2.5 percent if a tenant is 65 or older.

A landlord can exceed the cap in a few cases, including if the annual operating expenses for any one building exceed 65 percent of the total gross income, or if there has been a “major capital improvement” to the property. Read More: Montclair Rent Control Advocates Share Some FAQs About New Law

Here’s what the law says about parking fees:

“Any parking provided by the landlord, or anyone related to the landlord, rented in conjunction with the apartment rental to the tenant, whether or not billed separately, is covered by the rent control ordinance and any increases to parking must not exceed what is permitted under the ordinance.”

Residents are also complaining about garbage smells, the cleanliness of the building’s pool and the replacement of a 24-hour doorman with an electronic system. However, the CEO of Rockledge Ventures, Marc Watkins, said that dozens of repairs and upgrades that have been made in the last two months at the building.

Watkins also questioned claims that the previous building owner made deals with specific tenants about parking payments when they signed leases, and that “a lot of people's leases showed that they were not paying for their parking space, even though they were,” Montclair Local reported.

“There's a few people who do not have a parking lease, who knew that they needed to sign a parking lease months ago, maybe years ago, who have not been paying for parking for months or years, who do not have parking included in their apartment rent, who now that we are signing new leases, all of a sudden, want to hold us to a below-market parking rent on a lease that doesn't exist,” he said. “That will not stand.”

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