Highland Park rent control board to finalize memo of recommendations for borough council after debate on CPI, exemptions and vacancy decontrol

Highland Park Rent Control Board members on April 24 discussed a draft memo of recommendations to the Borough Council’s finance committee covering exemptions from rent rules, how annual rent increases should be calculated, vacancy decontrol and capital improvement surcharges, and agreed to finalize and circulate an updated memo. The board also amended and then approved the minutes from its March 27 meeting.

The memo, prepared by board staffer Jacob and circulated to members in advance, compiles a range of opinions the board and members of the public offered at prior meetings. Jacob described the document as a summary of “the feedback from the meetings and the public” and said it is intended to inform the finance committee and the council, which will decide whether to change the ordinance and, if so, will do so through the council’s committee and public hearing process.

Why it matters: the memo addresses the core mechanisms of Highland Park’s rent-control program — who is exempt, how much landlords may raise rents annually, how vacancy decontrol should work, and how capital improvements are treated. Those choices affect tenants’ housing costs, landlords’ revenue and incentives to maintain or renovate rental housing.

Board debate focused on three linked issues: exemptions, the rent‑increase formula, and vacancy decontrol.…