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:

• A4873 (Lopez) - Addressing Unconscionable Rent Increases
• 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.
• A3288 (Wimberly) - Removes initial mortgage period on new construction from exemptions to municipal rent control and rent leveling ordinances.
• A3290 (Wimberly) - 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.
• A2936 (Schaer/Park) - Adds legal protections for tenants against landlords who might otherwise try to use immigration status as a way of intimidating tenants who have exercised, or who are about to exercise, their housing rights.

Affordable Home Production Resources:

• S3170/A4445 (Singleton/Atkins) – Raises the Neighborhood Revitalization Tax Credit cap to $65 million
• Create new revenue streams to better equip the state to meet NJ’s Mount Laurel obligations and to provide new funding sources for pre-development 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 Janaury 2025
If you have any questions, please contact Director of Policy and Advocacy Matt Hersh at [email protected]