Newark’s Landlord Accountability List Raises Enforcement Questions

Newark’s live Non-Compliant Landlord List now names four landlord entities tied to 12 listed properties and connects that public record to a broader city enforcement system. The list tracks service activity, violations, court cases and unresolved conditions, while a February executive order authorizes Newark to use the information in inspections, registration and reviews of city benefits.

The current list names The Colonnade Group, Boomers Investment Group LLC, Hudson Valley Property Group and FHTDD, LP. The city says the list reflects a rolling 12-month snapshot of service and enforcement activity and may include current, unresolved or pending matters.

What Newark’s list shows

The Colonnade Group is listed with Colonnade Apartments at 23-59 Clifton Ave. The city reports 401 service responses, 70 active conditions, 72 violations, six court cases, 44 heat or hot-water complaints, one open heat or hot-water issue, a severity score of 779 and a status of active litigation.

Boomers Investment Group LLC is tied to five listed addresses on Chancellor Avenue, Roseville Avenue and Park Avenue: 87-101 Chancellor Ave., 103-123 Chancellor Ave., 196-204 Roseville Ave., 214-220 Roseville Ave. and 330-332 Park Ave. Newark reports 238 service responses, 17 active conditions, 77 violations, 81 court cases, 72 heat or hot-water complaints, no open heat or hot-water issues, a severity score of 767 and a status of active litigation.

Hudson Valley Property Group is associated with Villa Victoria, Lincoln Towers and Pilgrim Village at 2-54 Cutler St., 151-161 Court St. and 291-319 18th Ave. The list shows 238 service responses, one active condition, 118 violations, no court cases, 19 heat or hot-water complaints, no open heat or hot-water issues, a severity score of 477 and a status of active non-compliance.

FHTDD, LP is listed at 509-519 Mt. Prospect Ave. and 543-563 Mt. Prospect Ave. Newark reports 210 service responses, 12 active conditions, 55 violations, seven court cases, 34 heat or hot-water complaints, no open heat or hot-water issues, a severity score of 384 and a status of active litigation.

The city defines service activity as responses that can include service calls, inspections and enforcement-related actions. Active conditions are open issues across the listed categories. The severity score is a weighted measure based on the frequency, seriousness and persistence of conditions, with greater weight given to unresolved and hazardous conditions.

How owners qualify for inclusion

Executive Order MEO-26-0001 establishes a repeated-pattern standard. Newark says inclusion is not triggered by an isolated or minor violation. The city’s public criteria include multiple violations, repeated failure to correct violations after notice, failed re-inspections, unresolved conditions, repeated city responses to the same property, refusal to allow lawful inspections and serious health or safety risks.

The order provides more specific threshold examples. They include three or more violations at one property within 12 months, five or more violations across multiple properties under the same ownership or control, two or more failed re-inspections, two or more violations remaining outstanding beyond correction deadlines, or three or more city responses to the same property within 12 months for owner-responsibility conditions. A single incident may qualify when it creates an immediate and substantial risk to life, health or safety or requires emergency city intervention.

The order also allows Newark to evaluate patterns across multiple properties when the same controlling owner or individual is involved. It defines a controlling owner or individual to include someone with at least a 10% direct or indirect ownership or controlling interest.

More than a public list

The executive order gives the list practical administrative consequences. Newark departments are directed to use it to guide inspections, enforcement actions, reviews and discretionary decisions. The city may review existing tax exemptions, abatements, credits, grants and other discretionary financial benefits connected to listed owners.

That authorization does not mean Newark has automatically revoked or suspended every listed owner’s benefits. The order says incentives may be reassessed, modified, suspended or revoked where permitted by law and based on the findings reflected in the list.

Listed owners must also complete rental-property registrations in person for the duration of their inclusion. The requirement applies to new registrations, renewals and required updates, and the order says it may not be delegated to a property manager, attorney or other designee.

Inclusion lasts 365 days from the date the list is published under the executive order. The order says removal before that period is not permitted, while the city’s webpage warns that the underlying data may be updated or corrected and that the methodology or inclusion criteria may be revised.

A separate lawsuit illustrates the enforcement approach

On July 20, Newark announced a five-count complaint against NJ Best Management LLC and 380 South 6th Street LLC involving the property at 380 South 6th Street. In a statement published by Insider NJ, Mayor Ras Baraka said the complaint alleges housing, health, safety, rent-control and illegal-rent-increase violations.

The mayor’s statement also alleges that the owners repeatedly failed to accept the city’s proposed coordinated inspections and corrective-action plan and imposed illegal rent increases, in some cases exceeding 5%. Those claims remain allegations in litigation, not established court findings.

The available materials do not establish that NJ Best Management LLC or 380 South 6th Street LLC appears among the four entities on Newark’s currently published list. The lawsuit therefore illustrates a separate legal enforcement path rather than proving that the defendants are listed.

What tenants should do

Newark renters with housing, heat or hot-water concerns can contact the Division of Code Enforcement at 973-733-3813 or the city’s non-emergency call center at 973-733-4311. Tenants should keep copies of maintenance requests, photographs, inspection notices, dates of missed repairs and complaint numbers.

The landlord list can help residents see the ownership entities and properties that Newark currently identifies as showing documented patterns of non-compliance. But the city says the list is an administrative tool, may include unresolved or pending matters and does not create a private right of action. It does not decide every tenant’s legal claim or replace court, agency or legal-aid processes.

The next developments to watch are updates to the list, any city action on incentive reviews, additional inspections or lawsuits and court rulings in pending cases. For Newark residents, the list is most useful as an accountability and reporting tool—one that shows where the city says problems have persisted without treating every listed matter as a final legal determination.

Sources

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