Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
"You Don't Want To Create Homelessness": NJ Extends Lockout Protections To People Living In Hotels
By
Karen Yi
Published May 4, 2020
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Karen Yi
Published May 4, 2020
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Tilmeena Hart, 38, said she sometimes takes phone calls in the bathroom to keep her four kids from overhearing her in the single hotel room they’ve lived in since January. She doesn’t want them to worry—she’s out of money to pay the Ramada Inn in East Orange, New Jersey.
"I’ve been praying for a miracle," Hart said. "I’m praying that something comes through for me so me and my kids could be OK."
Hart lost her job as an aide helping transport students a few weeks ago when the state’s schools shut down. Still needing to pay the $115 day rate and $130 weekend rate to afford her room, she burned through the money she was saving to get her own apartment one day.
But that ran out, too.
The hotel threatened to kick her out and shut off the water.
Listen to Karen Yi's report on WNYC:
Housing advocates contend families like Hart’s who can prove long-term residence at hotels have the same rights as any other tenant: A hotel must get court approval to remove a resident permanently residing in a room.
Those rules just aren’t always followed but are even more paramount as the COVID-19 pandemic sweeps through the state. And now New Jersey has added even more protections to keep people safe inside.
“You don’t want to create homelessness,” explained Jose Ortiz, the deputy director for Essex Newark Legal Services that helped fight Hart’s eviction. “Where are these families gonna go and make a situation worse? We have a critical housing shortage in New Jersey, you don’t want to add to that. For a lot of families, affordable housing is a room in a hotel.”
Governor Phil Murphy in March banned landlords from kicking out tenants during the public health emergency. But the order carved out an exception for “transient guests” at hotels and motels, leaving ambiguity over who was protected—and who wasn’t.
“There was confusion as to whether it applied to hotels and motels,” Ortiz said. “All of a sudden people were being kicked out of hotel and motel rooms without any process.”
Late last month, state officials clarified that people living in hotels and motels on a “continual basis” were not considered transient and protected by the moratorium.
Connie Pascale, a retired housing lawyer for Legal Services of New Jersey, says that still leaves some wiggle room for who qualifies as a transient guest. But he argued that anyone without a place to go should be protected.
“That's their home. And given the public emergency, the definition of transient … has to be greatly truncated down to someone who has no other place to go because that's how we protect the public,” he said.
Hart added she’s not the only long-term resident living at her hotel.
“When you walk past, people have bags and bags and bags, they don’t look like they just got there,” she said. “When I used to go to work, I used to leave for work at 7 a.m. You see the same faces.”
The hotel did not respond to a request for comment. But Ortiz says the hotel agreed to let Hart stay, though they will stop providing linens.
Ortiz emphasized it’s important for these rules to be enforced and for tenants to know their rights.
“A lot of the families who are living in the hotels and motels are essential workers, people restaurants, maintenance, they are trying to survive, they are trying to continue, some may be undocumented,” Ortiz said. He doesn’t believe all the hotel owners are following the rules—and it’s not always easy for residents to find help.
“Before they could walk into our office and say can you help me -- now they gotta call in or email,” he said. “It's much more difficult for these individuals to access legal services.”
The New Jersey Hotel & Lodging Association did not return a request for comment. According to Pascale, state and county governments need to find ways to relieve hotel and motel owners who are losing money. He says there also needs to be a plan for what happens after the moratorium is lifted – to catch everyone who could suddenly find themselves without a place to live.
“At the end of it we’re going to have to find a way to deal with it, try to put in place a set of rules and funding sources and protections that will enable things to move forward,” Pascale said. “What we don’t need is a million people displaced.”
Tagged
COVID-19
coronavirus
homeless
Karen Yi
Karen Yi covers homelessness and poverty. She joined the WNYC and Gothamist newsroom in 2020. Before that, Karen covered Newark for the Star-Ledger and spent almost a decade working for newspapers in New Jersey and Florida. She grew up in Miami and has a dog named Cashew. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or Signal 917-589-1460.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Why New Yorkers should care about bats beyond spooky season
As Bat Week begins, state wildlife officials urge New Yorkers to protect bats, which play an important role in the environment.
By
Catalina Gonella
Published Oct 25, 2026 at 6:44 p.m. ET
Serbians forced to wait hours to vote at NYC consulate as Balkan nation holds election
Early voting may have kicked off in New York this weekend, but Serbian immigrants seeking to vote had a much tighter window on Sunday.
By
Jill Webb
and
Michael Sol Warren
News
Serbians forced to wait hours to vote at NYC consulate as Balkan nation holds election
Early voting may have kicked off in New York this weekend, but Serbian immigrants seeking to vote had a much tighter window on Sunday.
By
Jill Webb
and
Michael Sol Warren
Retired NYPD detective charged in George Washington Bridge killing out on $1M bail
By
Michael Sol Warren
Suicides decline in NYC, but inequities persist across groups
By
Jill Webb
Cuts to rural healthcare become key issue for upstate votes in race for NY governor
By
Samuel King
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .