Passaic council moves proposed 3% rent cap to second reading after hours of testimony

The Passaic City Council voted Aug. 5 to set a revised rent‑stabilization ordinance for second and final reading on Sept. 2, 2025, a measure that would lower the maximum annual rent increase to 3% if ultimately adopted.

The measure was moved to a second reading after a lengthy public hearing in which more than two dozen residents, tenant organizers and advocacy groups urged council members to adopt a 3% cap and vacancy control. The hearing opened when Council President Schaer called the item, listed on the agenda as “chapter 231, rent stabilization.”

Supporters said current rent increases are driving displacement and harming vulnerable households. “A 3% cap gives people a fighting chance,” said Carla, a representative of Lasos America, Unida, and Fuerza Migrate, describing families she said pay high rents for substandard housing. Mitchell Khan, vice president and director of organizing for the New Jersey Tenants Organization, who said he has worked on rent-control laws in the state for decades, told the council the…