Not Enough Apartments For Poorest New Jersey Renters: Report

NEW JERSEY — There aren't enough affordable and available homes for almost 70 percent of New Jersey renters at or below extremely low income thresholds, a report found.

The report, released by the National Low Income Housing Coalition and the Housing and Community Development Network of New Jersey, shows the Garden State has one of the highest housing costs in the nation.

The report found that there are only 31 available and affordable homes for every 100 households that make 0-30 percent of the area median income. The maximum income for a four-person household in the extremely low income category is $31,370.

Someone making minimum wage would have to work 88 hours a week to afford a "modest 1-bedroom rental home" at fair market rent, the Coalition study found. Either that, or they would have to get paid a lot more.

For every 100 households making 31 to 50 percent of the AMI, 45 houses are available and affordable. For those closer to the area median income, there are plenty of options: Only one out of every 100 people making the AMI will have trouble finding an affordable, available place to rent.

More than 73 percent of New Jersey's poorest renters spend more than half their income on housing, the study found, and do not have much left for basic necessities.

"Severely cost burdened poor households are more likely than other renters to sacrifice other necessities like healthy food and healthcare to pay the rent, and to experience unstable housing situations like evictions," the Coalition said.

Governor Phil Murphy said in April that his proposed Affordable Housing Production Fund will invest $305 million of federal American Rescue Plan funds into housing developments statewide.

The Housing and Community Development Network of New Jersey is urging Murphy and other leaders in state and federal government to invest $975 million from that money into housing programs through the HouseNJ campaign.

“Household budgets are more strained than ever before; rising costs are crushing our most vulnerable and the fear of homelessness is becoming a devastating reality,” said Sharon Barker, vice president and chief operating officer of the Network, in a news release.

HouseNJ is calling on leaders to protect and expand the NJ Affordable Housing Trust Fund, increase the Neighborhood Revitalization Tax Credit, strengthen rental assistance and end homelessness, and remove barriers to housing access and security.

“Housing has long been woefully underfunded and it’s a problem made worse by the pandemic," Barker continued. "If we want our economy to thrive, doing nothing is not an option. Our state and federal leaders must commit to the steps needed to HouseNJ, by supporting transformative housing resources and investing in our communities.”

As quoted in NJ Spotlight News, Senator Paul Sarlo (D-Bergen) said he wants a change to how the state determines affordable housing requirements.

“Sometimes we say, ‘Hey, this community must build affordable housing,’ and then they put this affordable housing location in the middle of nowhere,” Sarlo said during a Department of Community Affairs meeting, as quoted by NJ Spotlight News.

The state Department of Community Affairs oversees housing programs in place of the defunct Council on Affordable Housing.

“There’s no public transportation," Sarlo continued. "There’s no supermarket in that area. We’re defeating the purpose. We need to do a better job of finding the right locations for these affordable housings and I know it’s going to upset some people on both sides, but we need to do it better.”