HouseNJ 2025: Our Blueprint for Housing Justice

Legislative Policy Priorities

Click here for a downloadable version of the Network's 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

• Updating the Community Wealth Preservation Program
• 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."

Updated June 2025
If you have any questions, please contact Director of Policy and Advocacy Matt Hersh at [email protected]