RESTORING PROBLEM PROPERTIES: A GUIDE TO NEW JERSEY’S ABANDONED PROPERTY TOOLS

Prepared by Alan Mallach

for the Housing & Community Development Network of NJ

2005

Abandoned properties are found throughout New Jersey, one of the wealthiest states in the nation. While most prevalent in urban areas, abandoned properties are also found in many suburban and rural areas. They include apartment buildings in Jersey City and East Orange, row houses in Trenton or Camden, farmhouses in Cumberland and Salem County, and old industrial and commercial buildings in nearly every corner of the state.

Vacant and abandoned properties are both a problem and an opportunity for New Jersey’s citizens, community organizations and local governments. While in their present state they represent a serious problem, they offer valuable opportunities for reuse and redevelopment. The enactment of the Abandoned Properties Rehabilitation Act early in 2004 has significantly enhanced those opportunities by providing new legal tools to address abandoned properties. We hope that this Guidebook will give local governments, community organizations and citizens a better understanding of these and other tools available under New Jersey law, helping them turn problem properties into opportunities, and return abandoned properties to productive use.

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