A3361 caps annual rent increases for tenants leasing dwelling sites in manufactured or modular home parks, limiting hikes to 2% per year over the previous 12-month period. Landlords may set a new rate when a different tenant moves in, and they can petition the Department of Community Affairs for a higher increase only if costs such as taxes or maintenance justify it. Violations allow tenants to use the overcharge as a defense in eviction and to seek court relief—recovering $500 for the first offense (and $1,000 thereafter), plus attorney’s fees and the right to terminate the lease if it includes an illegal rent provision.
The New Jersey State Senate passed A3361 on June 30, 2025 by a vote of 26 to 12. We have assigned pluses to the nays because government-imposed rent control is a blatant violation of the Bill of Rights, particularly private-property rights protected under the Fifth Amendment. Rent should be determined by the free market and negotiated voluntarily between tenant and landlord—not dictated by bureaucrats. Additionally, this measure violates Article I, Section 10 of the U.S. Constitution, which prohibits states from passing laws impairing the obligation of contracts.