Make the Road New Jersey tenant leaders are building tenant power by organizing for better and safer conditions in our buildings and fighting for laws that protect tenants’ rights. Our members are organizing to directly negotiate with their landlords to shift the balance of power between the real estate industry and tenants.
In early 2022, MRNJ launched a Housing Justice campaign after members identified the issue as the priority in our membership assembly.
Our work has focused initially on the three cities where we have built a strong base Elizabeth, Passaic and Perth Amboy. MRNJ has taken a multi-pronged approach to address the housing crisis: building tenant power through community organizing and leadership development, the provision of legal and support services to aid tenants to stay in their homes, and campaigns to strengthen local rent control laws in our municipalities and to address a growing crisis of habitability. In the past year MRNJ has won two campaigns for rent control and launched tenant organizing projects in each of our cities.
In 2022-2023, MRNJ successfully strengthened Perth Amboy’s rent control law, reducing the amount that landlords are able to increase the rent, and defended Elizabeth, NJ’s rent control ordinance.
We are taking on the largest, worst corporate landlords in each of our cities to build tenant power by organizing tenant unions that can create demands and build pressure to ensure landlords make repairs, do not increase the rent and respond to tenant needs. Our goal is to organize tenants to directly negotiate with their landlords to shift the balance of power between the real estate industry and tenants.
In early 2022, MRNJ launched a Housing Justice campaign after members identified the issue as the priority in our membership assembly.
Our work has focused initially on the three cities where we have built a strong base Elizabeth, Passaic and Perth Amboy. MRNJ has taken a multi-pronged approach to address the housing crisis: building tenant power through community organizing and leadership development, the provision of legal and support services to aid tenants to stay in their homes, and campaigns to strengthen local rent control laws in our municipalities and to address a growing crisis of habitability. In the past year MRNJ has won two campaigns for rent control and launched tenant organizing projects in each of our cities.
In 2022-2023, MRNJ successfully strengthened Perth Amboy’s rent control law, reducing the amount that landlords are able to increase the rent, and defended Elizabeth, NJ’s rent control ordinance.
We are taking on the largest, worst corporate landlords in each of our cities to build tenant power by organizing tenant unions that can create demands and build pressure to ensure landlords make repairs, do not increase the rent and respond to tenant needs. Our goal is to organize tenants to directly negotiate with their landlords to shift the balance of power between the real estate industry and tenants.