Opinion ID: 2347469
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Rent increase formula

Text: Plaintiffs contend that the ordinance's rent increase formula, both as originally enacted and as recently amended, is unconstitutional because it does not permit landlords to obtain a just and reasonable return on their investments. To withstand a constitutional challenge, not only must a rent control ordinance be facially nonconfiscatory, Point III supra, but it must also be nonconfiscatory as applied. Hutton Park, supra, 68 N.J. at 565. The question whether a given ordinance fails to permit a just and reasonable return is both a factual and legal question. Hutton Park, supra, 68 N.J. at 570. In the companion case of Troy Hills Village, supra, we set forth guidelines for determining whether a given rent regulation complies with the constitutional requirement. In the case at bar, plaintiffs were precluded from offering proofs with respect to this issue. Consequently, on appeal we leave this contention unanswered. We do hold that if plaintiffs should again seek judicial relief, after exhausting their administrative remedies, the ensuing adjudication is to be governed generally by the guidelines set forth in Troy Hills Village, supra, 68 N.J. at 620-630.