When she moved to the quiet Summit West community here two years ago, Beth Mann thought she had found an affordable home that would allow her to take a step back from her public relations business and lower her level of stress.
But in June, she received a letter from her landlord that dashed those plans. It said her rent would increase from $1,450 a month to $1,740 a month, or 20%. And she would need to increase her security deposit by $435.
“I was devastated,” said Mann, 58. “I was going to have to leave. And (move) to where?”
Mann is among the residents at the mobile home community facing double-digit rent increases this year from their landlord, Trivan Properties LLC, based in Clinton. One resident who was retired said she would return to work. Another who cares for her adult son with cerebral palsy said she would cut back on food. And Mann has filed a lawsuit, saying the rent hike was unconscionable.
“Rents are the high, and they’ve gone up quite a bit, particularly since the pandemic,” said Eric Seymour, a Rutgers University professor who co-authored a study looking at rent control in New Jersey. “And so there’s interest in understanding the policy levers available to try to keep rents manageable.”