Tenants Have Rights. But Who Enforces Them?

Speakers at the Housing Justice Summit said New Jersey’s tenant protections are undermined by rent-deposit requirements, screening databases and uneven enforcement. They called for greater access to counsel and stronger legislation. 

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New Jersey has laws to protect tenants, but exercising those rights can be difficult. On Friday, more than 100 lawyers, law students, advocates, tenants and policymakers gathered at Seton Hall University School of Law for the first day of the fourth annual Housing Justice Summit, co-hosted by Seton Hall Law and Rutgers Law School. The central message was clear: Legal protections mean little if tenants cannot enforce them. 

In his opening remarks, Seton Hall Law Dean Ronald Weich highlighted the difficulty tenants face in affording and keeping their homes. “We all know there’s a housing crisis in this country,” he said, pointing to law school clinics, advocacy and programs such as the summit as ways to advance access to justice. 

New Jersey Assembly Speaker Craig J. Coughlin praised students and advocates who assist tenants facing eviction. He cited an additional $1 million appropriation for the Housing Justice Project in this year’s state budget but acknowledged that more funding is needed. “I’m sure that’s not enough,” Coughlin said. The state’s affordable housing legislation is expected to produce about 50,000 units over a decade, but “that’s still not going to be enough,” he said. “Standing up for people who need your help is what we ought to do. I think that’s a moral obligation as well.” 

Rights vs. Realities 

The morning panel, “Rights versus Realities: The Current Status of New Jersey Tenant Protections,” examined state safeguards against retaliation, the good-cause eviction law, the implied warranty of habitability and local rent control ordinances. Seton Hall Law Professor Lori Borgen and Managing Attorney Anne Kassalow placed those protections in the context of New Jersey’s history of housing discrimination and segregation. The discussion also covered recent changes to tenant-screening practices and eviction records, as well as state restrictions on algorithmic rent-setting. 

Seton Hall Law Professor Paula Franzese, a property law expert, questioned whether the protections work in practice. “Housing is a human right. Full stop,” Franzese said, arguing that addressing the crisis requires building more homes and removing barriers that prevent tenants from asserting their rights. 

New Jersey requires tenants raising certain habitability defenses to deposit with the court the full amount of rent claimed by the landlord. Franzese said the requirement can discourage tenants from challenging unsafe or unlivable conditions. She has spent 14 years urging lawmakers to repeal it. Citing a study of 40,000 eviction cases filed in Essex County in one year, Franzese said tenants successfully raised habitability as a defense in just 80 cases.

She also criticized private tenant-screening databases, warning that an eviction filing can jeopardize a tenant’s ability to secure future housing even if the case is dismissed or the tenant prevails. Access to counsel is another critical safeguard, Franzese said, citing a report by Stout prepared for the Seton Hall Law Center for Social Justice and ACLU of New Jersey.  That report estimated that every dollar spent on eviction right-to-counsel programs saves about $3. Franzese argued that tenants need practical support to exercise their legal rights. “Right, without a champion, will ring very hollow,” she said.

Shaping the Legislative Landscape 

Associate Professor Khabirah Myers moderated a town hall featuring Assemblywoman Katie Brennan, state Senator Raj Mukherji, Newark Deputy Mayor and Director of Economic and Housing Development Allison Ladd, and Renee Koubiadis, senior policy adviser at the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs. The panelists discussed two proposals introduced during the 2026 legislative session. Neither had been enacted at the time of the summit. 

Assembly Bill A-3998 would require landlords claiming exemption from rent control to provide supporting documentation and disclose the exemption’s expiration date in leases. It would also establish a searchable public registry of exempt properties. Brennan said tenants need clear information about whether rent control applies to their homes. 

A-5036, the “SLUMLORD Act” (Safeguarding Livable Units through Municipal Landlord Oversight and Regulation by DCA), would establish a habitability enforcement and affirmative litigation program within the Department of Community Affairs. It would also expand remedies for serious housing violations, increase accountability for property owners and agents, and appropriate $5 million. Mukherji sponsors the Senate companion bill. 

Mukherji said complex corporate ownership structures can make it difficult to identify those responsible for housing violations and secure repairs. He also discussed efforts to require disclosure of beneficial owners. “At some point, there’s a human in the chain,” he said. 

Ladd described Newark’s enforcement efforts, including sending 1,400 noncompliance letters and maintaining a public list of four property owners with repeated violations. Landlords must resolve all outstanding violations to be removed from the list and cannot receive city support while listed, she said. The City Council also unanimously passed an ordinance allowing the city to recover code-enforcement costs from landlords. 

Koubiadis said the Department of Community Affairs lacks direct legal authority to enforce habitability standards. To help tenants navigate eviction proceedings, the department launched an online guide connecting residents with information about their rights, court procedures and legal service providers in all 21 counties. It is also hiring staff for a centralized call center within its Division of Housing. 

Panelists urged attendees to press elected officials for action. Mukherji said cases brought to him by attorneys have helped prompt changes to state law. “When we’re coming up with legislation, it’s really important that we hear from people who are doing the work,” he said. 

Connecting Legal Advocacy and Community Action

Afternoon sessions explored how storytelling, appellate advocacy, education and tenant organizing can advance housing justice. Participants discussed how the experiences of Newark’s Terrell Homes community could inform advocacy, legal strategies to strengthen tenants’ rights, and education to help residents assert their rights.

Panelists represented Seton Hall Law’s Housing Justice Project, Community Health Law Project, Volunteer Lawyers for Justice, Essex-Newark Legal Services, Rutgers-Newark’s Cornwall Center, Homes for All Newark, the Newark Environmental Commission and the New Jersey Division on Civil Rights.

In the final session, veteran housing advocates Mitch Kahn of the New Jersey Tenants Organization, Felipe Chavana of Essex-Newark Legal Services, and Nancy Zak and Bill Good of the Greater Newark HUD Tenants Coalition shared lessons from decades of organizing, highlighting creative campaigns, collective action and coalition building to advance tenant protections.

Together, the sessions underscored the importance of effective enforcement, access to legal representation and sustained community advocacy in making tenant protections work in practice.

Day 2: Tenant Organizing and Legal Advocacy