STATE OF NEW JERSEY
218th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2018 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman RAJ MUKHERJI
District 33 (Hudson)
Assemblywoman ANNETTE CHAPARRO
District 33 (Hudson)
SYNOPSIS
Allows municipalities with rent control to limit amount residential tenants may be charged for landlord-required real estate broker services to $100.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act allowing municipalities with rent control to limit the amount residential tenants may be charged for certain real estate broker services and supplementing Title 2A of the New Jersey Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. A municipality that has adopted and has in effect a rent control or rent leveling ordinance, other than an ordinance adopted pursuant to P.L.1966, c.168 (C.2A:42-74 et seq.), may by ordinance limit to $100 the amount a residential tenant may be charged for real estate broker services required by the landlord in order to lease the subject residential property.
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill would allow municipalities with rent control to limit the amount that tenants may be charged for landlord-required real estate broker services to $100. Landlords who require tenants to go through a real estate broker in order to rent their housing often require the tenants to pay the broker’s fee. This charge, which can be substantial and is in addition to the security deposit, can make the upfront expenses of renting housing cost-prohibitive to many tenants who could otherwise afford to rent the property. This bill would address this problem in those municipalities that have rent control, which are already struggling with rent affordability issues, by limiting the amount of real estate broker fees that may be passed on to tenants to $100.