BY JESSICA SMITH
Staff Writer
Residents of a state-subsidized senior housing development in Old Bridge are working with local and state officials to curb a 5 percent rent increase.
The increase would be the second one within a year’s time, after a 3 percent hike over the summer for the residents of Maher Manor, Route 18.
“If we can stop it, we will,” Mayor Jim Phillips said. “We’re on the same side with the people from Maher Manor. I think 8 percent is unreasonable, and the people of Maher Manor think it’s unreasonable.”
At the March 12 Township Council meeting, members of Maher Manor’s tenants association presented their grievances concerning the possible increase, and asked the council to help do something about it. Councilman Richard Greene, who represents Ward 5, where the building is located, and Councilman Reggie Butler, chairman of the township Housing Authority, will schedule a meeting with state Assemblyman Sam Thompson to attempt to resolve the situation.
“We think it’s atrocious to get this second raise,” Butler said. “We’re doing everything in our power to get this rent increase reduced.”
The council passed a resolution March 19 requesting that the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency (NJHMFA) decrease the requested rent increase. Copies were sent to the NJHMFA, the Department of Community Affairs (DCA) and the three state representatives. Butler said they are still awaiting a response.
Most of the building’s 110 tenants began their occupancy in 2005, according to George Kahwaty, president of the tenants association. The 3 percent rent increase became effective last August, which Kahwaty said did not make sense, since it should have been instituted at the close of each tenant’s yearly lease.
On March 2, Kahwaty said, residents received a notice hand-delivered by a representative of Pennrose Properties, the developer of the building. The date on the notice, however, was Feb. 15. It announced the 5 percent rent increase, saying copies of materials being submitted to the HMFA as part of the application process would be available for 30 days from the date of the notice in the building’s office. It also stated that residents would have 30 days to submit comments to the site manager or to the HMFA, according to Kahwaty.
The many residents who wrote to the HMFA with their concerns were befuddled by the response they received. In a letter dated March 7, a representative of the HMFA wrote that a decision regarding the increase had already been made.
“My biggest concern is, how they can say a decision has already been reached when they’ve just made the application on it,” Kahwaty said. “None of this makes sense.”
According to the letter from Pennrose, there are several reasons for the 5 percent increase:
+ to offset increased normal operating, maintenance and utility costs
+ to provide reserve funds for repair and replacement needs
+ to provide safe and sanitary housing for residents
+ to provide a high level of quality affordable housing
+ to provide strong supportive services.
Pennrose also commissioned a report from the Reznick Group, a national accounting firm, to justify the reasons for the increase, according to Prosper De George, who organized the residents’ group. At the end of the report, however, the firm made a statement saying they based everything on information they were given by Pennrose.
Kahwaty argued that residents already pay for their own utilities, and while Pennrose does pay utility costs in common areas, it hardly constitutes such a substantial increase. In terms of repairs and maintenance, it has been very difficult for residents to bring the developer’s attention to major problems within the building, including issues with sanitation and safety, he said.
“This place was a disaster for the first couple of years,” Kahwaty said.
De George agreed, saying the building was not even equipped for individuals with disabilities when tenants first moved in.
Kahwaty also said the entertainment and activities residents were promised from the beginning are inconsistent at best.
De George pointed out that the company cannot meet its budget by $600,000 to $700,000, and the increase is a result of that. He also said they are receiving $5.6 million in mortgage loans from the state.
Before residents moved into the building, Kahwaty said, they were told the rent for a one-bedroom unit would be $500 a month. When they were filling out rental applications, the amount increased to $513. After the 3 percent increase, residents are paying $528 for a one-bedroom unit, and if the 5 percent increase is approved, the number will climb to $554.
“I think it’s excessive, certainly when you compare that to the tenants in the rent-stabilized buildings,” Greene said.
Since Maher Manor is state-subsidized, the town’s rent stabilization rules do not apply for its residents, and the increase is out of the township’s control.
This week, representatives of Pennrose posted a letter in one of the building’s common areas stating that they have not yet determined what the increase will be, De George said.
“As soon as the largest dog starts barking, which is us … all of a sudden, things are changing,” De George said.