Until recently, Riverside was a small quiet town located in Southern New Jersey just minutes from Philadelphia. For several months the Riverside Illegal Immigration Relief Act has been in the works which has faced debates, protests and even lawsuits. Now today, the new law is now in effect. What is all the controversy about? Basically, it is now illegal for landlords to rent to illegal immigrants and for businesses to hire them. Violators will face fines between $1,000 and $2,000, and the loss of business licenses and termination of township contracts or grants. This is very similar to the law recently passed in Hazleton, PA.
The question is, can a law like this be enforced? Keep in mind, this is a small town with limited funds. I own a rental property in Riverside and am very curious. Will my tenants now have to prove that they are citizens when their lease comes up for renewal? That'll be a new one when it comes to tenant screening! Will the township come knocking on their door asking for proof? Sounds a bit intrusive and I can imagine my tenants (who are citizens by the way) will not be too happy.
Anyway, curious if anyone has faced similar circumstances. I'm very curious how this will play out in the months to come.
Ravi,
For many reasons no one really has wanted to touch this topic you raised in 2006, but as you can see now - one year latter - hopefully your investment is safe from the prying eyes of your neighbors and township leaders.
I don't know if you want to know what really happen in Riverside or if you want to enter into a deep discussion of illegal immigration.
For now I'll stick to the small town of Riverside and its political realities. You see Ravi, this whole mess in Riverside had little to do with immigrants and a lot to do with a little minded individual that want to become mayor at any expense.
Unfortunately, he didn't realize that even his political allies (republicans) were not going to come to his rescue. He took a gamble and lost. But stired up a lot of hate for his political position that ultimately cost the township more then money.
As a matter of fact, Riverside not only lost the legal battle but it cost tax payers over $100,000 in legal fees. And it would have cost them a minimum of $1 million if they would have continued their political ambition to no end.
As you well know, housing regulations are not determined by the state and local government. They are basically dictated by federal guidelines. So an attempt by a local government to act as a federal entity was a losing proposition.
So if anything you should be concern about is not the fines that may have been levied against you as a landlord but the increase in taxes for the foolishness of the simple minded politicians in small town America.