HouseNJ 2025: Our Blueprint for Housing Justice

HouseNJ Legislative Policy Priorities

Click here for a downloadable version of the Network's State Policy Priorities.

STATE POLICY PRIORITIES

Rent Stabilization:

S4280/A5453 (Burzichelli/Lopez) - Determining Unconscionable Rent Increases; limits public access to landlord-tenant records
S1430/A586 (Singleton/Stanley) - Provides for expanded use of affordable housing voucher program funding
A4872/S3699 (Lopez/Gopal) – Creates guardrails to prevent landlords from using software that can distort market rents.
S4167/A3288 (Wimberly/Abdelaziz) - Removes initial mortgage period on new construction from exemptions to municipal rent control and rent leveling ordinances.
S4188A3290 (Wimberly/Rodriguez) - Allows certain senior citizens to apply for rent increase limit.
S2953/A3361 (Moriarty/Hutchison) - Establishes limit on rent increase for certain dwelling sites for modular or manufactured homes

Preventing and Ending Homelessness:

A1678/S1083 (Atkins/Timberlake) - Creates a Homeless "Bill of Rights"
A4964/NA (Rodriguez) – Raises eviction filing fee, appropriating funds to eviction prevention efforts
A2270/S1978 (Lopez) - Establishes Interagency Council on Homelessness - passed, but pushing governor to populate the agency
A3360 (Carter) - Authorizes establishment of municipal homelessness trust funds and adoption of homeless housing plans by municipalities
S2346/A2258 (Lopez/Turner/McKnight) - Creates Code Red requirements for counties based on the state’s existing Code Blue requirements.
S2345/A876 (Singleton/Reynolds-Jackson/Wimberly) - Streamlining Affordable Housing and Assistance Applications
S1501/A2838 (Verrelli/Turner) - De-prioritizing Credit Scores for Affordable Housing Applicants and Recipients of State/Federal Supports
A4899/S3659 (Carter/Stack) - Limits amount of residential rental property application fee; establishes penalty.

Affordable Home Production Resources:

S3170/A4445 (Singleton/Atkins) – Raises the Neighborhood Revitalization Tax Credit cap to $65 million
A2792/4370/2489/S2347/1106 (Greenwald/Lopez/Timberlake) – Enables development of accessory dwelling units and addresses related municipal land use regulations.
S4470/A5702 (Timberlake/Speight) -- Revises oversight of "Community Wealth Preservation Program" and requirements for nonprofit community development corporations.
S1277/A3363 (Beach/Miller) -- Establishes centralized directory for affordable housing, and housing for senior citizens and veterans.
Create new revenue streams for the Affordable Housing Trust Fund to better equip the state to meet NJ’s Mount Laurel obligations and to provide new funding sources for predevelopment and acquisition costs, as well as gap financing and rehabilitation funds. New revenue can also be earmarked to prevent homelessness.

Abandoned Properties

S2164/A892 (Ruiz/Turner/Reynolds-Jackson/Wimberly) - Expanding Property Owner LLC Liability and Transparency
Updating the Abandoned Properties Rehabilitation Act (P.L.2003, c.210) to include the following:

Making APRA Automatic
Incentivizing and Streamlining Ways for Towns to Acquire Properties from noncompliant owners
Ensuring Nonprofits Have Right of First Refusal
Providing Mixed-Income Requirements
Improving the State’s Land Banking Opportunities

Increasing safeguards to promote established CDCs participate in the program
Ensure compliance mechanisms when county sheriffs are unwilling or unable to implement the program

Housing Adjacent/Social Stability:

S3672/A4987 (Johnson/Park): Establishes protections for immigrants interacting with government agencies; designates "New Jersey Immigrant Trust Act."

FEDERAL POLICY PRIORITIES

Expand rental assistance to additional extremely low-income households, including those experiencing and at risk of homelessness.
Increase the National Housing Trust Fund to build affordable, safe homes for households with the greatest needs.
Repair and preserve public housing, which is home to 2.5 million residents across the country. Public housing is critical to ensuring people with the greatest needs have a safe, decent, affordable, and accessible place to call home, and the preservation of this community asset must be included in any strategy to ensure housing is a human right.

#HouseNJ WINS!

The Network, its members, and its coalition, solidified NJ's Fourth Round Affordable Housing Obligations under the state's landmark Mount Laurel decision by successful advocacy of A4/S50. This legislation, which formally abolishes the state's outdated Council on Affordable Housing, outlines many ways towns can achieve their fair share obligations through preservation, upzoning, rehabilitation, inclusionary zoning, and more. The Network will work closely with our CDC and nonprofit builder members seeking to be part of approved municipal fair share plans.
Eligibility window for emergency assistance doubled from 60 months to 120 months
Community Wealth Preservation Program, which allows individuals and CDCs to access properties at sheriff's sale to generate wealth and promote affordable homes, was signed into law
Interagency Council on Homelessness was established under the Office of the Governor
Continued funding to the Affordable Housing Trust Fund with no diversions to address the state's 250,000 shortage of affordable homes
$80 million allocated to NJHMFA’s Affordable Housing Rehabilitation and Renovation Program
$30 million allocated to first generation homebuyers and the Resilient Home Construction Pilot Program
$115 million allocated to the Affordable Housing Production Fund established last year through NJHMFA to help fulfill municipal housing obligations.

HouseNJ 2025: Our Blueprint for Housing JusticeHouseNJ Legislative Policy Priorities