Tenants at five apartment buildings in Jersey City, New Jersey, are withholding rent, saying they have been dealing with numerous issues including rats, leaks, neglected repairs, and the absence of an on-site superintendent. The coordinated action highlights a broader problem for many renters: When landlords fail to maintain buildings, residents can end up paying for unsafe living conditions while having little control over what happens next.
Here's what to know
According to Hudson County View, the rent strike covers 429 Bergen Ave., 150 and 154 Belmont Ave., and 19 and 25 Kensington Ave. The 429 Bergen building and two Belmont buildings are reportedly owned by landlord Amir Ben-Yohanon, while Optimum Properties owns the Kensington properties.
Speaking at a rally, Charlie — whom Hudson County View identified as a tenant at 154 Belmont Ave. who did not provide his surname — described what residents say they have been living with.
"They just don't care to fix anything. The kitchen floor is in awful shape," he said. "They put some screws in the kitchen floor tile so that they don't move around too much. It's an awful thing. We just gotta go on strike to get what we want."
Another tenant, Luneste Alexender, said: "I've been living in this building 40 years. Nothing gets done, they want me to get out. Rats, mice, holes in the bottom, holes on top, and they still have the nerve to make me pay for water."
Hudson County View also reported that tenants at 429 Bergen Ave. have been on rent strike and that the Belmont buildings went without heat during winter 2024.
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More background
Housing issues such as pest infestations, water intrusion, structural damage, and heat outages can lead to severe health and safety concerns. They can also strain tenants financially through damaged belongings, higher utility bills, missed work, and the stress of managing conditions property owners are expected to address.
Bergen Grand Tenants Association President Liv Malone said the problems came into sharper focus as tenants shared their experiences.
Malone pointed to some of the conditions residents have described. "I'm talking rats biting peoples' toes, what looks like cracks in drooping walls," she said. A tenant in the crowd added that 429 Bergen Ave. has "water coming in everywhere."
Hudson County View said Ben-Yohanon owns some of the buildings through separate LLCs, which the outlet described as a common arrangement among Jersey City landlords that can make broader property holdings harder for tenants to trace.
What's being done?
Malone praised the tenants for organizing together, saying, "Because I can promise you that the landlord that we share, Amir Ben-Yohanon, does not live like this and the only way that that will change is by the people living here deciding it's done and that's what you guys are doing here."
Hudson County View also summarized remarks from Eli King, an organizer with Jersey City Tenants Union, who argued that landlords allow conditions in their buildings to deteriorate to increase profits and that tenants are using collective action in response.
If you're trying to work with a landlord, board, or association to update outdated restrictions, check out resources on changing HOA bylaws.
As King put it: "Both of these owners own massive portfolios in the city and we're not going to stop with these buildings or with these landlords. Anyone who is ready to get organized and fight back against their landlord, come talk to us."
Where can I learn more?
These stories look at how renters in other places are dealing with unsafe housing and poor property management. They cover proposed heat protections in Arizona, a disputed rent increase after a safety complaint, local tenant measures in California, flood-risk disclosure in Texas, and neglect at a Phoenix apartment complex.
• In Arizona, lawmakers proposed indoor temperature protections for renters facing dangerous heat at home.
• A tenant said a huge rent hike followed a safety complaint to the landlord.
• Redwood City voters will weigh rent caps and protections on November's ballot.
• Texas now requires landlords to provide flood risk notice before renters sign leases.
• In Phoenix, residents blasted property management after wasteful irrigation soaked their courtyard.
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