Jersey City becomes 21st jurisdiction with tenant right to counsel
In June 2023, the Jersey City Council approved an ordinance establishing a right to counsel for tenants. The law covers evictions, proceedings to terminate housing subsidies, proceedings related to violations of the maintenance code, and proceedings related to violations of rent control laws. The right to counsel is expected to cost roughly $4 million and will be funded via passage of a separate ordinance that collects fees on new development.
The bill’s introduction and passage have been covered by The Real Deal, Insider NJ, NJ dot com, Shelterforce, Next City, Hudson County View, People’s World, Gothamist, and NJ Spotlight News.
The ordinance was the result of a year-long campaign by the Coalition for Right to Counsel Jersey City, and the campaign was recently endorsed by Jersey City Together. In New Jersey dot com, an opinion piece from a New Jersey City resident urged the passage of right to counsel, calling it a “moral imperative” and saying, “Housing should not be a commodity to be traded and speculated on, but a basic human right. A right to counsel places us in the right direction.”
The NCCRC worked with the community campaign Right to Counsel JC.
