Rutgers Law Housing Justice Clinic Wins Amicus Victory in Rent Control Referendum

Make the Road New Jersey and the Rutgers Law Housing Justice & Tenant Solidarity Clinic, directed by Greg Baltz, associate professor of law, played a significant role in a constitutional case litigating whether a rent control initiative in Elizabeth, New Jersey, could be put to the voters.

On July 27, 2026, a Union County Superior Court judge dismissed Elizabeth-area landlords’ complaint which had argued that a ballot initiative restoring a $20 annual rental cap increase for rent-controlled apartments violated both the U.S. and New Jersey constitutions. The initiative will now to go to Elizabeth voters to decide by referendum on November 3 pending the outcome of the landlords' appeal filed on August 3.

“The court’s decision follows decades of New Jersey precedent finding that proposed rent control ordinances are facially constitutional,” said Professor Baltz. “This ruling reaffirms that New Jersey landlords challenging rent control ordinances need to open up their books and demonstrate an actual inability to make a reasonable profit, not a hypothetical one.”

Rutgers Law Dean Johanna Bond added, “This victory reflects Rutgers Law School’s commitment to advancing access to justice through meaningful community engagement, which is a key priority of our Strategic Plan. By partnering with organizations like Make the Road New Jersey, our Housing Justice & Tenant Solidarity Clinic is helping communities participate in democratic processes and address pressing challenges affecting their neighborhoods.”

During the summer of 2025, the Fair Rent & Enfranchise Elizabeth (FREElizabeth) campaign organized to restore the limit on rent increases. They knocked doors and gathered petition signatures from voters, first securing a spot on the ballot and next a unanimous vote from the Elizabeth City Council. Elizabeth-based landlords sued.

The Housing Clinic and Make the Road New Jersey represented 15 separate New Jersey-based housing justice organizations as friends of the court as well as appearing as amici themselves. They jointly filed a brief challenging the landlords’ argument. Make the Road New Jersey Legal Fellow and Housing Clinic alumnus Elias Bull ’24 argued on behalf of the amici.

Bull said, "This decision recognizes, once again, that communities can shape rent control policy to meet local needs. We're glad that the people of Elizabeth will be able to see their efforts on the ballot in November.”

The amici involved numerous organizations, including the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey. ACLU-NJ Legal Director and Rutgers Law alumna Jeanne LoCicero ’00 said, “In a time when fundamental freedoms are under attack, it’s important to ensure communities can turn to democratic processes, like municipal ballot initiatives, to protect the rights of residents. Everyone in New Jersey should be able to access affordable housing, and we applaud the Court’s ruling that ensures voters will be able to decide whether to adopt a municipal rent control ordinance to address housing affordability.”

Additional amici included the Community Health Law Project, Elizabeth Coalition to House the Homeless, Fair Share Housing Center, Greater Newark HUD Tenants Coalition, Hoboken United Tenants, the Housing and Community Development Network of New Jersey, the HUUB, New Brunswick Tomorrow, New Jersey Citizen Action, the New Jersey Tenants Organization, Seton Hall Center for Social Justice Housing Justice Project, University of Orange, Volunteer Lawyers for Justice, the Waterfront Project. The New Jersey Appleseed Public Interest Law Center represented the Committee of Petitioners for the FREElizabeth campaign.

"Rent control is one of the most important tools municipalities have to help longtime residents stay in their homes as housing costs continue to soar," said Laura Smith-Denker, managing director of Litigation at Fair Share Housing Center. "Elizabeth's voters deserve the opportunity to decide whether restoring the city's longstanding rent control protections is the right approach. This ruling is a win for democratic participation and for communities seeking solutions to the housing affordability crisis."

Matthew Hersh, vice president of policy and advocacy for the Housing and Community Development Network of New Jersey, added, "In Union County, a worker would need to earn $42.40 an hour to afford the fair market rent of $2,205 per month for a standard two-bedroom apartment, yet the average hourly wage is just $26.92. Fair rent stabilization policies, like the one being proposed in the City of Elizabeth, protect both tenants and landlords and are essential to our local economy. When families are forced to spend more of their income on rent, they have less money to support local businesses and contribute to the economic activity that strengthens our communities. Measures like this can help make our state a place everyone can afford to call home.”

The ruling ensures that the debate over rent control in Elizabeth will now be decided by voters, allowing residents to weigh in directly on a policy that could help address housing affordability and displacement concerns in one of New Jersey’s largest cities.

Dan McGuire, CEO of the Elizabeth Coalition to House the Homeless said, "The Elizabeth Coalition to House the Homeless is gratified by this ruling, and that Elizabeth residents will have an opportunity to decide for themselves at the polls. According to the NJ Department of Community Affairs dashboard, 8 percent of Elizabeth renters were served with an eviction filing in 2024. The Elizabeth Coalition is certain that a rental cap will stem the growing tide of at-risk and homeless households that we are seeing, while providing a fair option for landlords to document why a cap exception is justified in certain instances."