Jersey City on Sept. 9 released its first public rent-control property map, listing more than 1,700 buildings and over 20,000 units so renters can check online whether their building falls under the city’s Rent Control Ordinance.

The searchable map is at rentcontrol.jcnj.org. For decades that status lived in paper files, spreadsheets, and handwritten charts at City Hall. Tenants who wanted to know if a rent increase was legal often had no practical way to find out.

“Rent control only protects you if you know it applies to you,” Mayor James Solomon said in a city release. “For years, that information was locked away from the public. Now any renter in Jersey City can pull up their address on their phone and see whether their building is covered. This is the single most important step we’ve taken to make sure tenants aren’t being overcharged, giving them a powerful tool to fight illegal rent increases.”

The Division of Housing Preservation’s Office of Landlord/Tenant Relations built the map under Executive Order 2026-004, which directed a review of multi-unit buildings citywide. Staff cross-checked New Jersey tax assessment records, annual landlord registration filings, and older property files. Buildings with five or more units and no documented exemption from rent control appear on the preliminary inventory.

“Our team went building by building through records that were never designed to be searched this way,” said Keshav Poddar, deputy mayor for housing and economic development. “This map represents thousands of hours of work, and it gives tenants a tool they’ve never had before.”

The Waterfront Project, a legal aid group that represents tenants facing eviction, tested the map against clients known to live in rent-controlled units. “We tested it against clients we know to be in rent-controlled units, and it got every one right,” said Elizabeth R. Hurley, the group’s legal director.

Mayor Solomon also named Colleen Smith, a licensed clinical social worker and Jersey City resident, as director of Housing Preservation. Smith most recently served as a senior advisor at the Center for Justice Innovation and previously led Newark Community Solutions, including an eviction-prevention program.

“Rent protections only matter if tenants can actually use them,” Smith said. “This map is an accessible tool that will tangibly help residents.”

City officials call the list a working inventory, not a final one. Phase II of the audit, expected to be substantially complete by the end of 2026, reviews buildings with claimed or possible exemptions. Owners without adequate proof may be added to the map, and tenants in those buildings would be notified. Later phases plan direct notice to tenants in rent-controlled buildings and work to establish lawful base rents.

Renters who believe their building should be listed can file a Rent Control Status Request through SeeClickFix. Questions about illegal increases can go to the Office of Landlord/Tenant Relations at (201) 547-5127. Owners who believe their building qualifies for an exemption may file a Rent Control Exemption Request with the office.

Source: City of Jersey City