HouseNJ Federal Priorities

The HouseNJ campaign is built on the National Low Income Housing Coalition’s effort, HoUSed, which calls on Congress to:

• 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 State Priorities

HouseNJ also seeks policy and program interventions on the state level urging Governor Murphy and legislative leaders to invest $975 million from federal and state funding sources into critical housing programs including:

• Protect and Expand the NJ Affordable Housing Trust Fund. Funding for this item must remain in place and grow. The AHTF should continue to serve NJ’s lower-wealth residents and not be diverted for any other purposes.
• Increase the Neighborhood Revitalization Tax Credit. The Neighborhood Revitalization Tax Credit (NRTC) is one of the most successful and responsible tax credit programs in NJ.
• Strengthen Rental Assistance and End Homelessness. This includes expanding project-based vouchers for the State Rental Assistance Program, addressing chronic homelessness and extending emergency rental assistance.
• Remove Barriers to Housing Access & Security. Policymakers can make it easier for NJ residents to find and keep stable, affordable homes by adopting innovative changes. These include: removing credit scores for voucher holders, allowing families and communities to purchase foreclosed properties to preserve wealth, adopting a first-generation homeownership program, and more.