Jersey City Tenants Accuse Landlord Of Planting Dead Fish To Vacate The Premises

Tenants accuse building management of attempting to force them out to bring in new tenants at higher rent prices

In an alleged effort to get people to move out of a Jersey City building, tenants have accused their landlord of sending employees to a vacant apartment to place dead fish in the unit.

According to Gothamist, the alleged act was done to get tenants out of the building so he could bring in new tenants at a higher rent. The tenants summoned the Jersey City Fire Department to the building to figure out what the odor was. One of the tenants filmed the moment firefighters entered the vacant apartment to discover the dead fish strategically placed throughout the unit.

As the video is being filmed, several tenants react in disbelief as a walk through the apartment reveals dead fish on the floor, on top of several pieces of furniture left in the unit, as well as discovering fish in a refrigerator that was left wide open. You can hear the firefighters assuring the tenants that, if need be, they will give testimony to what they found in the tenants’ complaints about what the landlords were alleged to have done.

This incident took place in March.

Another resident of the building also stated that fish was found in another vacant unit in the building. He also said that only the landlord and his employees have access to that apartment.

People have claimed that the building was purchased in 2023 by a Brooklyn-based real estate company, Jersey Mountains 6, LLC. Ever since they bought the building, they have been alleging that the company has used several illegal tactics to try to drive out the tenants who mostly pay rent taht is below market rate, so they can obtain new residents it can charge higher rent prices. They have also complained that the landlord has allowed trash to pile up in the basement and fired the building’s super. On top of that, tenants have accused the company of not cashing their rent checks to try to evict them for non-payment of rent.

The building has six units and there are three remaining tenants who reportedly only pay $540 monthly. The landlord’s attorney, Matthew Sebera, told the board that his client wants to increase the monthly rent to around $1,850.

The Jersey City Times recently reported that the real estate company has filed an application with the city’s Rent Leveling Board to raise the rent of the occupants of the building. They told the board that when they purchased the building, they were told the units were vacant.

The tenants have also filed complaints with the city under the anti-harassment ordinance for renters and the tenant who filmed the “fish” discovery video has also filed a criminal complaint in municipal court.