$500 rent increase in West Side!

Submitted by alex12m t3_ycnjzz in jerseycity

I live in one of the Cityline apartment buildings on Jersey City’s West Side. I moved in last year November and signed a 14 month lease. It is a 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom apartment about 647 square feet.They had a move-in special of 2 months free (the building is about 3 years old) if you signed a 14 month lease. So the base rent was $2085, but with the 2 months off discount the rent I actually paid monthly was $1787. Parking was additional charge at $95 so $1882 total. My lease expires at the end of December and they emailed that my new rent will be $2300, parking is going up to $125, they’re charging me for internet/wifi (it used to free), they’re charging me for water, so now the monthly rent all together will be $2,475. Insane.

Even if you consider the original base rent of $2085 as my real rent that’s still a $200+ increase in 1 year!

I already figured I was going to move out ($1787 is already at the top of my budget and I would like to save more money) but I was shocked by the extra charges and the increase. Especially for West Side. Like I hate when people talk shit about West Side but come on- there’s nothing much to do out here to be charging that type of rent! I can’t even walk to the Journal Square station, they have to provide us a shuttle to get there! Not convenient at all. For $2475 I might as well move somewhere in NYC.

I’m posting this mainly because I sometimes see people tell others on the sub to look outside of Downtown area for cheaper rent (I’ve done it also) and honestly…rent is going up everywhere! Yeah you can say that I’m in a “fancy” apartment but even the smaller landlord owned apartments by me are charging $1700+ with no dishwasher, tiny and in a worse area. And the availability sucks right now even in October! I tried looking at the Heights but places on StreetEasy are slow to reply to me and I realized most don’t have parking at all (I like having a car and visit family often in South Jersey).

I’ll most likely be moving out of Jersey City when my lease ends. It was nice but kinda overhyped and way too expensive. There’s not much to do Downtown besides eat and drink…that’s it lol. Dating in the area is not great. Seems like there’s a lot more couples and young families than anything here. I still want to visit Liberty State Park and the Science Center before I leave though. If anybody has any other recommendations of things to do in Jersey City before I move please let me know! 

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FinalIntern8888 t1_itn8yoy wrote

Pretty accurate tbh. That's insane rent to pay in the area. I live not far from you and pay about half that and have free street parking, that's the only way this area is worth it.

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alex12m OP t1_itnkgwv wrote

How did you find your place? I’m having a hard time finding small landlords renting 1 bedroom apartments.

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burrito__supreme t1_itnxj31 wrote

check some of the pre war buildings. i own my apt in a condo in an old pre war building in the neighborhood and a lot of my owners here rent out their 1bd 1ba apartments for under $2k/mo. we don’t have parking but still.

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alex12m OP t1_ito75qm wrote

Would they normally advertise on Zillow/apartments.com or would it be more like on Craigslist? Or is it through word of mouth/walking the neighborhood and seeing signs to rent?

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bu77munch t1_itnermz wrote

Looks typical of these type of luxury units they lure you in with the discounts and then when it comes time to renew they Jack up the rent and hope it’s too inconvenient to move. I agree with you rents have risen quite high in the past year and a half. And completely get your frustration OP.

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Jboogs856 t1_itnjdwj wrote

Not sure who's hyping up JC besides realtors and the occasional news article. That seems to be the norm lately with management run luxury buildings. There is more to do than eat and drink, you just have to know where to look. As far as dating goes, seems like a personal problem

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slax03 t1_itnmll6 wrote

You're getting downvoted but youre correct. My landlord tried to jack up my price 30% in September and I came back with the JC Municipal Code and they backed down.

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crazylegsbeansie t1_itntqep wrote

What’s this code? Want to be ready for if they try to jack me up next year

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slax03 t1_itnv2b0 wrote

"At the expiration of a lease or at the termination of a lease of a periodic tenant, no landlord of any dwelling as defined in § 260-1 may request or receive a percentage increase in rent which is greater than four percent or the percentage difference between the consumer price index three months prior to the expiration or termination of the lease and three months prior to the commencement of the lease term, whichever is less. For a periodic tenant or for a tenant whose lease term shall be less than one year, said tenant shall not suffer or be caused to pay more than one rent increase in any 12-month period, commencing 15 months prior to and ending three months prior to, the effective date of the proposed increase, whichever is less. However, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, no landlord may request or receive any rental increase at the expiration of a lease or the expiration of any periodic tenancy until the end of the state of emergency or six months from adoption of these amendments, whichever comes first. This paragraph shall be effective March 15, 2021."

https://www.jerseycitynj.gov/cityhall/HousingAndDevelopment/housingpreservation/landlordtenantrelations

Rent control ordinance. Essentially, a landlord can't raise your rent to an amount that outpaces inflation. The only way around it is putting the apartment back on the market, and they would need to give you 3 months notice before your lease is up to do that.

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objectimpermanence t1_ito7r1g wrote

This is not accurate.

> no landlord of any dwelling as defined in § 260-1

That part is very important. These provisions only apply to apartments that are subject to the city’s rent control ordinance.

Most buildings built in the past 30 years or so are not subject to rent control. Many older properties are also not covered by the ordinance.

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baconhawk8907 t1_itofhdh wrote

I thought most buildings had this 4% rent increase cap unless they’re specifically exempt. There was that whole thing with the Rivington (a new building) trying to jack up rents but they didn’t have an exemption to the rent control ordinance. I believe you can look up if buildings are exempt.

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Knobbies4Ever t1_itoipvs wrote

Hoboken (Rivington) and JC have different rent control laws. What Objectimpermanence stated is correct for JC.

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Brudesandwich t1_itno1ez wrote

That's what I've been saying as well. The Realtor industry needs to die

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WinterGoddess_ t1_itoim2x wrote

Literally. I have never seen anyone saying “I want to move to Jersey City!” And do what here? Eat and drink? Go to fun places that’s not in Jersey City? The dating scene is horrible too. As someone who lived here my whole life, this place is BORING.

Edit: the people who are downvoting are most likely people who never lived here their whole lives cuz all my mutuals say the same shit.

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red__what t1_itnec7d wrote

>Even if you consider the original base rent of $2085 as my real rent that’s still a $200+ increase in 1 year!

Rent increase hurts but there's no even if.. $2085 was your base rent and $200 increase is not that crazy in this market.

>There’s not much to do Downtown besides eat and drink

thats pretty much on top on any neighborhoods draws. Plus Liberty State Park and the waterfront are major free perks. Street parking is way better than Hoboken and of course NYC and it's a million times easier to get in and out of the city for a quick hike by car.

>Dating in the area is not great

Compared to Manhattan? maybe not. But definitely JCs dating pool can hold it's own against cities it's size

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WarrenBuffetsDriver t1_itobyj7 wrote

>I live in one of the Cityline apartment buildings on Jersey City’s West Side.

LOL

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Morkitu t1_itoumun wrote

Moving to Jersey City became a sort of knee jerk reaction for folks shocked by the changes to NYC wrought by the pandemic. Changes with included massive rent increases, and a reduction in convenience and quality of life. Realtors and investors saw quick opportunities to throw up "luxury" structures and redevelop areas in anticipation. They cashed in on this hysteria and still are cashing in. With the greedy Board of Education and City Council approving gargantuan tax hikes, the cost of rent is now passed on to renters who are waking up to a new nightmare.

Now, I think the honeymoon period is wearing off, and people are seeing that they were promised Brad Pitt, but got Chris Pine instead. They were shown brochures of Downtown JC area and Newport waterfront areas, but many ended up in run down Journal Square, or the surrounding areas. Jersey City is undergoing lots of redevelopment, but it's still pretty rundown compared to other cities in NJ proper.

Thanks to Jenny (Gentrification) the rents are ticking up and getting close to Manhattan levels. So where's the bargain now? Where's the value? Is it worth being able to just hop a PATH train to Manhattan? With remote work, is it worth it still?

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Yeti_Urine t1_itpy5kr wrote

I would argue, yes. It's worth it because of the ability to, relatively, easily commute to Manhatten. These rents are not competing with Manhattie at all. Look at the increases over there. Small one bdrms in lower Manhattan are goin for about $3500 in pre-war walkups. JC is still, and probably always, gonna be a cheaper alternative to Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens. It'll probably never be as fun, but from an economics angle... yes of course.

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Morkitu t1_itqkdli wrote

Yes, hopefully at least some people will find value in JC versus Manhattan. Hopefully the rents will stay "cheaper" for at least another several years. Best wishes to you!

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JeromePowellAdmirer t1_ituvkp4 wrote

There's no chance JC rents will ever equal Manhattan, though it doesn't preclude both places rents from going up

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alex12m OP t1_itpyfzo wrote

I definitely agree with everything you said, although I didn’t move here from NYC- I moved here from south Jersey since my new job was in Manhattan. But I heard Jersey City had lots to do and was fun and had a bunch of young singles. And that the apartments were so much better than you would get in NYC (space, parking, amenities). It definitely seems like the NYC crowd moved in all over Jersey City including the West Side because even a “luxury” building down the street from me is charging $2450 for a 1 bedroom and they wouldn’t do that unless there were people that were willing to pay (probably NYCers). But at least they have a pool lol.

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Morkitu t1_itqk6r0 wrote

Well Jersey City is still in redevelopment, so hopefully the quality of life will improve for the prices. Hopefully the "juice will be worth the squeeze". Best wishes to you!

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JcpaNYC t1_itq4ehz wrote

If it makes you feel any better I own. My property taxes on a small condo unit went up $500 this year. Most people love to blame landlords but they’re just passing along tax hikes most times.

It’s the city’s inability to stay within budget that is the biggest problem. Vote out the BOE in upcoming elections

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mbstor23 t1_iu1b3qz wrote

Say it one more time for the people in the back.

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lilintrovert104 t1_itpj0z1 wrote

Doesn’t surprise me. They destroyed two parking lots for New Jersey City University to put up those cardboard apartment buildings overnight. purely a scam

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alex12m OP t1_itpyljs wrote

Lol cardboard apartments is right! I had so many problems with this apartment within the first month of me moving in that I seriously considered breaking the lease to move out.

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FishballJohnny t1_itpw0s8 wrote

How much renevue did these parking lot generate? Pretty easy question.

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lilintrovert104 t1_itq2wnp wrote

doesn’t really matter to me since the university is one of the only universities that lower income people in the area can afford. the land was renovated by the old president of NJCU to give the university a lot of money and lots of money has since been reported missing in the tenure of said president! and meanwhile when the lots were running the university was in much better financial standing

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JeromePowellAdmirer t1_ituu0zy wrote

Sounds like the issue here is embezzlement, not parking lot redevelopment. Parking lot redevelopment is very much a net good. You can't beat a housing crisis by refusing to build, ask San Francisco and NYC how that went. The rich care about proximity to NYC, not whether the building is new. They simply outbid you for the ancient housing and renovate it on the inside. Or you build new housing and stem the bleeding.

Secondly, poorer households are disproportionately car free, not the other way around. Cars are very expensive and a poor enough person such as practically everyone I know does not have 10k laying around to buy one. If you want to help the poor, improve public transportation and build housing near it.

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lilintrovert104 t1_itv4ooj wrote

a housing crisis isn’t solved by putting up cardboard luxury apartments low income residents of the neighborhood could never afford and that are poor quality. So if we want to help low income communities the luxury apartments no low income family could afford isn’t a solution at all. I agree w u on public transportation tho 1000% but unfortunately that’s not the case in that area of JC.

“poor people no have cars” isn’t a super great or nuanced take. lots of njcu students have cars. source, i graduated a few years ago and myself and many others saved for $1-2k beater vehicles to transport ourselves. NJCU is a commuter school, commuters will not attend without accessible parking. the destruction of the closest lot to the campus has not helped prospective students. The lot destroyed was a 15 minute walk from campus, the only affordable commuter lot available to students now is a 25 minute walk away

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JeromePowellAdmirer t1_itw7k2x wrote

Empirical source that the poorest NJCU students disproportionately own cars? I will literally bet my life savings that it is the other way around. Parking lots disproportionately benefit wealthier students.

Not building new apartments = raising the price of existing apartments. Again, we don't need to be playing guessing games with this. Look at San Francisco rents in non-dense areas and see for yourself. Ancient houses selling for millions because the rich care about location, not how new it is, and will always outbid you if there aren't enough yuppie fishtanks catching them. If the rich wanted "new luxury" apartments there's plenty of them sitting empty in North Dakota. They want location and they will outbid you for your apartment if nothing else is available. This city can't be allowed to turn into outer San Francisco with zero new development and multi million dollar ancient homes.

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JeromePowellAdmirer t1_itw83up wrote

You also seem to be able to afford to rent a beach house, something I could only dream of. You're not exactly the representative champion of the lower class lmao. Polling shows lower income people support building more housing. So stop going to bat for wealthy homeowners and Wall Street trying to inflate home prices by not building anything.

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lilintrovert104 t1_itw8b8f wrote

don’t worry Ibe been poor as shit for my whole life and finally my partner and 3 roomates and I can afford a beach house for like a week! you def know me because you’ve read through my post history. thanks for being happy for my growth out of poverty as an educator.

again, poor people can’t go on vacation is another super shitty take

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JeromePowellAdmirer t1_itwes7o wrote

If you can afford a beach house, you're not poor, simple as that. The poor should be able to go on vacation but they can't because of destructive anti housing policies.

You know how I know you're not really poor? Because it's apartments that get you mad, as if the only valid way to live is in a single family house. That's been the American upper class modus operandi for decades and it's why public housing stopped being built. There's million dollar Bayonne Boxes going up all over the Heights, where's the outrage about that? How does that help poor people? That's what happens when you don't allow enough apartments to serve as yuppie fishtanks.

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lilintrovert104 t1_itwf0ri wrote

who said I’m not outraged about that? And I never said only apartments made me mad, you’re assuming. I’m discussing a specific apartment complex that was built on university property not to help the students the university served, that’s it lmaooo

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JeromePowellAdmirer t1_itwfw4o wrote

Note also that these days 100% subsidized housing projects are built by nonprofit community partners to look exactly the same as market rate buildings do. Is that also a cardboard apartment?

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JeromePowellAdmirer t1_itwfqjb wrote

You've said all over this thread that you hate "cardboard apartments" generalizing every single new apartment as being of poor build quality, and now you don't hate them?

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lilintrovert104 t1_itwfysu wrote

I can hate cardboard apartments AND other kinds of shitty living situations! it’s possible to do more than one :) this is a crazy “conversation” and you’ve just been assuming shit and barely reading what I’m writing- bye Jerome

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suztomo t1_itptg71 wrote

Thank you for deciding moving out. That’s only pressure we, renters, can give to the corporate landlords.

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alex12m OP t1_itpz2qb wrote

Yep! And I’m gonna write a very thorough Google review, apartments.com review and wherever else I can post a review of them because they are definitely not worth even $1900 a month in rent. My dishwasher started leaking a week after I moved in, the heater would blow cool air for about 2 months during the winter last year, etc. so many issues I can’t wait to tear their ass apart.

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JeromePowellAdmirer t1_ituuy7p wrote

I mean if you move to another place on your own that's a demand increase there. Ask an apartment owner and you'll find the only way to really hurt them is by living with parents or roommates, as household formation (plus lack of supply) is what drives rent growth.

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GoHuskies1984 t1_itq08q6 wrote

Good luck finding a true one bedroom in NYC for less than $2475 especially in a newer building with W/D in unit, dishwasher, and secured package delivery.

You can’t find this in downtown Jersey City anymore and this is approx what one bedrooms lease for now in Harrison.

Prices are tricking outwards double so on these LUXURY rentals than every new transplant wants to live in.

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alex12m OP t1_itq96zr wrote

Personally I don’t need it to be a luxury building. When I moved to jersey city I was short on time (new job in NYC) and the smaller apartments had issues (dead roaches on the floor, dirty/broken appliances). In NYC I wouldn’t even look for a “luxury” building since those are mostly for the wealthy. Can definitely find an apartment in NYC under $2475.

Honestly most people in my building don’t even use the amenities so luxury buildings are not worth it besides the (usually) extra space in square ft in the apartment.

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Reeks_Geeks t1_itokxaz wrote

My net rent with 3 month concession to net renewal offer next month is 1k more. Jersey City luxury apt. It's the covid deal vs no covid deal AND rent hike combo wombo

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alex12m OP t1_itpxi4e wrote

Wow! Are you gonna renew the lease?

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Reeks_Geeks t1_itpzpfn wrote

Not this time unfortunately. We've renewed once already and have been here for 3 years, great spot. The net rent is going from 2750 to about 3750 for a 1 bedroom.

The jump feels big since there's no concession this time. The gross rent was about 3300 before the 3 months free I think. But still, a big jump.

Our decision is not entirely based on the rent jump. I'm getting married in December and will be gone for all of December. So it kind of makes sense to just float for a month without rent! Timing ended up perfect.

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alex12m OP t1_itq8kqt wrote

Congratulations on the Wedding! 🎉

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deereverie t1_itoi4uh wrote

Check your lease. Renewals can only change in the rent amount. If wifi and water are not stated in the terms, then you're out of luck.

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alex12m OP t1_itpx8ji wrote

So are you saying if the original lease didn’t have water and WiFi in it then the renewal can’t include them in the increase?

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deereverie t1_itq1ux3 wrote

Opposite. If the original lease had it, the renewal has to as well. If it didn't, then it doesn't have to be in the renewal and they can start charging for it.

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[deleted] t1_itplf6j wrote

You can’t do the comparison based off the net effective rate from Y1.

That’s like saying a store gave you 10 percent off coffee during their opening week, then “raised” their rates 10 percent. You knew it was a promo.

I’m guessing the free WiFi was also advertised as a move-In promo or something along those lines.

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alex12m OP t1_itpyrb2 wrote

No they never advertised free wifi as a promotion. It was always just free wifi. Wifi is not even mentioned in the lease agreement as being a waived fee or anything. It was always something they just provided.

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[deleted] t1_itqtz6f wrote

Ok well you can’t be pissy it didn’t last forever

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TristanShan t1_itq4nt6 wrote

My rent was about 2100 at the west edge of Newport and the renew offer they sent me is about 2800 lol. I was already expecting a large increase but not that much lol. At this point I might as well move to Brooklyn

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datatadata t1_iton6m1 wrote

$2,300 minus $2,085 is $215, not $500. Yes, it feels like it's a $513 increase, but you can't look at it like that. You were just too used to the discount + additional benefits (free wifi and water)

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doglywolf t1_itqjg70 wrote

I dont understand who is paying these rates - rents gone up nearly 30% in most places since covid . I used to think the $2400 i paid for my 2br just a few years back was too high. Now my old Apt is renting for $3500 and the place is full.

Almost 40k a year for 1200 sq apartment downtown !. Downtown has not improved or changed much in the last few years to justify any of this . Same amount of bars and restaurants same quality WORSE transit options , more expensive beers at most places .

There is no reason for this other then pure greed and HOW the hell are they filling these places at these rates . I moved downtown in 2010 to be close to some well priced bars and places to eat and be able to easily walk to everything and meet up with friends a few days a week. I originally thought my place was expensive at like $1800 /mo + $149 a month for a spot in the garage . Now it double that , i moved out obviously and pay less then that for a 3400 sq foot house now its insane .

​

I understood the bit of the premium at 1800 for being close to nyc /downtown JC when Newark ave we coming back up , but nothings really changed in 10+ years now , no new venues or complexes with entertainment - the mall is dying and not making a transition to an entertainment complex like many other have even though it would be perfect for it .

​

Just nothing justified or explains this or how there are so many crazy well off people willing to pay those rates.

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Ilanaspax t1_itqvphk wrote

When you have so many properties owned by corporations they can wait out vacancies and/or work together to artificially inflate the rental market. That’s why only building giant luxury rental buildings isn’t going to do shit to solve the pretend housing crisis until there is a serious policy change.

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JeromePowellAdmirer t1_ituvchh wrote

> pretend housing crisis

lmao. Ask Vancouver how a vacancy tax only approach goes. I'm all for a vacancy tax but pretending it will magically solve everything is ridiculous. Rent control won't do it either. NYC has strongest rent control in the nation... and highest rents in the nation.

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Ilanaspax t1_iu5kfob wrote

I said neither of those things in my comment but it’s flattering to see that you are so obsessed with me you’re at the point where you’re writing fanfic.

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doglywolf t1_itqvy8v wrote

Hmm i can see that . I have a buddy that live over in the Beacon and they say they are fully populated and only have 2-3 openings.

But he says he feels like his floor is empty and never sees or hears any neighbors anymore when his floor used to be a super busy hub.

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mbstor23 t1_iu1bggp wrote

Fuck off with your “pretend housing crisis.” It’s very much real and harming a lot of people.

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Ilanaspax t1_iu1got4 wrote

Oh no sounds serious. Hope they catch whoever is causing it

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Yeti_Urine t1_itpxadm wrote

Hate to say it buh... inflation. Also, that's the lure. 2 months free and cheap, you have to know they will jack it up. I was saying that to my wife before they finished those because they were hurting the wider rental market.

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pmax2 t1_itnw78z wrote

NJ Jersey courts are notoriously pro tenant. Offer a reasonable increase (5-7%) and stick to it. Make them take you to court. They won’t. They will cave rather than set precedent. Keep it quiet. They will Be more willing to acquiesce if it’s only you and not every tenant. The law is on your side.

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SonOfMcGee t1_ito53ny wrote

The $200 increase is only a 9.5% increase. The rest is them charging for utilities they used to cover, which I don’t think is considered a rent increase.

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pmax2 t1_itq6sp4 wrote

It certainly is an increase. They’ve changes the terms of the lease Unless they made it explicit that it was for one year only.

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QuantumCryptoKush t1_itnine4 wrote

Years ago I looked into rent increases I believe jersey city has a cap of 7% per year

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bodhipooh t1_itq0wlq wrote

No, they don't. Stop spreading misinformation.

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