‘I can’t live like this.’ N.J. apartment tenants fear eviction over rent hikes city ruled

Residents of a luxury apartment building in Hoboken say they are facing cascading rent hikes, sudden five-figure “balances” and the threat of eviction after a years-long fight over whether the property is subject to rent control.

The dispute, now the subject of multiple court cases involving the city, has left tenants saying they’re scared, exhausted and unsure whether they can stay in their homes, according to four who spoke with NJ Advance Media.

“It’s egregious behavior,” said tenant Zach Gotlib, a real estate attorney who has helped organize residents.

Gotlib said tenants began appealing rent hikes at The Jordan — a 159-unit building on Clinton Street — in early 2023, arguing the building should be covered by Hoboken’s rent control ordinance.

The city’s rent board ruled in the tenants’ favor in November 2023.

The board’s reasoning was roundabout, finding that the property was subject to rent control — but only because management had failed previously to provide tenants with sufficient notice that the building was exempt from rent control.

The city then doled out “legal rent calculations” that, for many residents, were lower than what they had been paying.

Tenants began paying those city-determined amounts; in Gotlib’s case, that meant a little over $3,600 for the two-bedroom apartment he shares with his wife, five blocks west of bustling Washington Street.

But the building’s management — Willow Bridge Property Management, hired by the building’s owner, Lincoln Property Co. — told residents in a letter reviewed by NJ Advance Media that it did not recognize the ruling and would accept any legal rent payments “under protest.”

The company would challenge the decision in court, it said in the undated letter, while maintaining “an account ledger” for each tenant, tracking the difference in rent paid versus what it believed it was owed.

A spokesperson for Willow Bridge Property Management did not reply to a request for comment.

Tenants who continued paying the city-approved rent saw large balances accumulate. In his case, Gotlib said, the difference totaled about $50,000.

“For the last two and a half years, we’ve been complying with the law,” he said. “We paid exactly what the town told us to pay, and now we’re being penalized for complying with the law.”

After management filed its own lawsuit, a Superior Court judge ruled this fall that The Jordan is not subject to rent control.

Shortly after, the building’s tenants were notified that they had to settle their outstanding balance and sign a new, more expensive lease, according to a copy of the letter reviewed by NJ Advance Media.

Otherwise, management reserved “the right to commence legal actions for eviction and/or collection, including reporting any open balances to credit reporting agencies,” it read.

Gotlib and his wife received the letter on Oct. 8. It offered them a 16-month lease at $4,245 a month beginning on Nov. 8. Their deadline to sign was Oct. 28. If the couple stayed in the apartment without signing, management would “automatically” renew their lease on a month-to-month basis at $4,679.

They signed. They’re still working on how they’re going to pay off their outstanding balance.

The city has appealed the court’s decision, but in the meantime residents have had to sign their leases and accept the increases or risk eviction.

A spokesperson for the city did not reply to a request for comment.

“This is a corporate landlord scaring people,” Gotlib said. “People are fleeing because they’re scared… and they don’t want to take this risk.”

Willow Bridge, which is headquartered in Dallas, Texas, calls itself “one of the nation’s largest multifamily developers” on its website. It manages more than 700 residential properties across the United States.

Just two of those properties — The Jordan and another building called 1125 Jefferson — are in Hoboken.

‘I just wish this wasn’t happening’

Greg Bernard, who moved to The Jordan in May 2020 with his wife — then pregnant with their first child — said the situation unraveled quickly after he received the city’s legal rent calculation in March 2024.

The city’s number was lower than the rent on his expiring lease, so he began paying it. Each month, he said, he emailed management to explain he was following the city’s determination.

Each month, he said, the building accepted his payment and sent back a notice saying they “didn’t agree” and listing an updated balance.

“They were charging me $1,300 a month more to accumulate a balance,” Bernard said, noting the balance totaled $25,000 at one point.

After the recent court ruling, management issued a revised letter reducing those balances to the difference between his last lease and the city’s legal rent figure. Bernard said his balance is still more than $7,600.

He was told he must sign a new lease at a higher rent by Jan. 5.

Anne, another tenant who asked not to be identified by her full name for fear of reprisal, described years of stress tied to rent increases and an eviction case she fought on her own two years ago.

She said that when she was first hit with a large increase, she had no idea other tenants were in similar situations.

“I was mortified,” she said. She was paying around $3,700 a month at the time for a two-bedroom apartment, she said, but still received an eviction notice.

As a single parent with children in the local school system, she tried to negotiate. Despite the fact that she works in fundraising and has no legal background, she represented herself in court. The case settled two days before the trial date.

Her rent has continued to rise — more than 20% in two years, she said — and she recently had to sign a new 16-month lease under pressure of facing another eviction proceeding.

“I just want to get myself together and I want to eventually get out of here,” she said. “I can’t live like this.”

Gotlib said some tenants are now considering their own legal options. He has filed a class-action consumer fraud lawsuit, but it cannot move forward unless the city’s appeal succeeds.

A small silver lining: Some residents have formed strong bonds amid the fight.

“We really like them,” Gotlib said of his neighbors. “People now talk to each other and play with their kids.”

Bernard, who works in media and tech and now shares two children with his wife, said his family has deep ties in the building.

“All their friends are here,” he said. “It’s a community. I just wish this wasn’t happening.”