New law unifies housing listings
Applying for affordable units to be made easier
By: Matt Fagan
and David M. Zimmer
NorthJersey.com
USA Today Network - New Jersey
..... For years, New Jersey's affordable housing system has been more of a scavenger hunt, where application windows open and close in a vacuum with applicants trying to track dozens of separate waiting lists run by private firms.
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A new state law aims to change the fragmented system to a more centralized application process under state oversight.
..... The changes, however, won't come until February 2027.
..... Bill S277 was signed into law by Govern Phil Murphy on December 23, 2025, and establishes a centralized directory for senior citizens and veterans. it will force municipalities to report every available affordable housing unit to a single public directory every three months.
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The bill received bipartisan support, with only one member of both houses opposing it during the official votes, said its sponsor, Democratic Assemblyman Cody Miller of Camden County.
..... "Through this bill, we're giving families in our communities clear, up-to-date information about the available affordable housing options in their communities, including affordable senior and veteran housing units, ensuring they can find a place to call home without unnecessary obstacles,"Miller said.
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Under the law, each municipality must submit the quarterly report to the state Department of community Affairs. The reports must indicate whether applications are currently being accepted for rental or purchase, whether there is a waiting list and whether the unit is designated for senior or veterans and how applicants can apply for occupancy.
..... In the fall, Murphy conditionally vetoed the bill for some language and insisted the bill's cost must not fall on municipalities. The state Department of Community Affairs is to reimburse towns for their expenses to report the information.
..... Miller said the goal is to provide a central database where qualified individuals can go and find out which towns have affordable housing available. Miller said he has seen, while trying to find housing for his mother, the difficulties of navigating the system. He said he was frustrated about trying to navigate a labyrinthine system just to find places to apply.
..... "There's no reason not to move into the 21st century," he said.
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Each municipality will be required to participate and link directly to the database on the websites of the Department of community Affairs and the New Jersey Housing Resource Center on their own websites, according to the law. Towns are expected to comply by February 2027.
..... New Jersey faces a deep shortage of housing for its poorest renters, according to the 2025 New Jersey Housing Profile from the National Low Income Housing Coalition.
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The report estimates a statewide deficit of 205,063 affordable and available rental homes for extremely low-income households. That gap leaves just 31 affordable units for every 100 extremely low-income renter households in the state, the coalition study found.
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The shortage translates into severe financial strain for most residents at the bottom of the income scale. Roughly 75% of extremely low-income households in New Jersey are classified as severely cost-burdened, meaning more than half of their income goes toward housing.
..... The report says many households cut back on food, health care and other basic needs to keep up with rent, leaving little margin for unexpected expenses.
..... Just applying for affordable housing incurs an expense.
..... Currently, applicants must fill out a separate application for each unit, and repeatedly provide documentations that they meet the income requirements. Because each application carries a credit check fee, the process of applying can become unfordable for those seeking housing, said Joshua Bauers, the director of exclusionary zoning litigation for the nonprofit Fair Share Housing Center.
..... The report also notes the widening gap between wages and housing costs. To afford a modest two-bedroom apartment at fair market rent without exceeding the standard threshold of 30% of income, a New Jersey household must earn $83,173 annually, or $39.99 per hour. That figure places New Jersey seventh nationally for the highest "housing wage."
..... By comparison, the average state renter is paid $23.97 per hour. A worker earning the state's minimum wage would need to work 103 hours per week, or 2.6 full-time jobs, to afford a two-bedroom apartment.
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Even a one-bedroom unit would require 86 hours per week, or more than two full-time jobs.
..... To address this, municipal affordable housing requirements for decades were set by the Council of Affordable Housing or COAH. The agency was nonetheless widely criticized for delays and internal dysfunction before being formally abolished in 2024.
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Responsibility for calculating municipal housing obligations now rests with the Department of Community Affairs in a process that has triggered a surge of planning activity and lawsuits as municipalities attempt to maintain control over where and how housing is built.
..... At the same time, the state is working to streamline how residents apply for affordable units. Beginning in 2026, many projects financed through the Affordable Housing Trust Fund are required to use the state's Housing Affordable Service as their administrative agent.
..... "for too many pole, the hardest part of finding affordable housing is simply figuring out where to start,: said Assemblywoman Verlina Reynolds-Jackson D-Mercer, a co-sponsor of the bill that creates the centralized list. "By compiling these resources, we're cutting through confusion and putting meaningful information in the hands of families who are working hard to find stability."