This New Jersey bill establishes the "Homeless Bill of Rights," prohibiting discrimination against homeless individuals in public spaces, services, and employment. It guarantees specific rights including free movement in public areas (sidewalks, parks, transit), equal treatment by government agencies, protection from employment discrimination due to lacking a permanent address, access to emergency medical care and voting without housing status bias, and privacy for shelter records. The bill also ensures homeless individuals can use service dogs in shelters and allows legal action for violations, with remedies including damages and attorney fees. It directly affects all homeless residents interacting with public services or spaces across New Jersey. The bill is pending in the Senate Health Committee.
This bill increases the maximum percentage of a municipality's affordable housing obligation that can be met with age-restricted units (housing for older residents) from 25% to 50%. It directly affects New Jersey municipalities required to provide affordable housing under state law. The key provision reverses a previous regulation that reduced the allowable percentage to 25%, restoring the prior 50% cap. The change takes effect immediately upon enactment.
S 107 prevents municipalities and the Council on Affordable Housing from counting the relocation of commercial or industrial businesses within a municipality, same housing region, or a 50-mile radius as generating a requirement for affordable housing. It directly stops local governments from imposing affordable housing fees on developers moving businesses under these conditions. The bill amends the Fair Housing Act to block regulations that would treat business relocations as increasing a municipality's affordable housing obligation. This policy change affects businesses relocating within New Jersey communities and the fees municipalities could previously charge. The bill takes effect immediately upon enactment.
This bill (S 1823) clarifies and updates requirements for two key parts of New Jersey municipalities' master plans: the land use plan and housing plan. It mandates that land use plans adopted after specific dates must include climate change hazard vulnerability assessments (analyzing risks like flooding and sea-level rise) and address electric vehicle charging infrastructure. The housing plan element must now evaluate existing housing stock, project future needs for 10 years, and explicitly consider affordable housing availability. These changes directly affect all New Jersey municipalities required to maintain master plans, ensuring their planning processes address climate resilience and modern infrastructure needs.
SCR 67 is a New Jersey legislative resolution urging the U.S. President and Congress to adopt two specific federal bills addressing housing instability. It references the "Eviction Crisis Act of 2019," which would improve eviction data analysis and reduce preventable evictions, and the "Family Stability and Opportunity Vouchers Act of 2019," which would create 500,000 new housing vouchers over five years for low-income families with children. The resolution highlights that millions of U.S. households face housing insecurity, with over 8 million very low-income families spending more than half their income on housing. As a concurrent resolution, SCR 67 has no legal effect and serves only to express support for these federal proposals.
This bill allows New Jersey municipalities to earn extra credit toward their affordable housing requirements by designating units for teachers. Specifically, it grants one credit plus a half-credit (1.5 total) for each low- or moderate-income housing unit reserved for households where at least one member is a teacher employed in preschool through grade 12. The credit applies to units occupied or reserved for such households, with "teacher" defined as anyone working in public or private K-12 schools. This change takes effect immediately and directly affects municipalities meeting housing obligations and teachers seeking affordable housing.
This bill (S 414) expands the requirement for landlords to provide written receipts for cash rent payments. It broadens the definition of "landlord" to include anyone renting dwelling units for at least one month (except hotels, motels, or transient properties), removing previous exceptions for small owner-occupied properties. Landlords must now provide receipts detailing the payment amount, purpose, date, and names of both parties for every cash rent payment. Violations carry escalating penalties ($100 for first offense, increasing for repeat violations), and tenants can use a landlord's failure to provide receipts as a defense in eviction cases for nonpayment.
S 635 establishes a three-year "Sustainable Tiny Home Pilot Program" through New Jersey's Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency (HMFA), appropriating $5 million to fund construction of tiny homes (under 300 sq ft) in three regions of the state. The program awards annual grants totaling $1.65 million to builders who construct tiny home developments meeting green building standards, with requirements to report recycled construction waste and energy-efficient features. It directly affects builders, selected municipalities (chosen based on zoning flexibility and community interest), and future residents seeking affordable, low-emission housing. The bill aims to reduce carbon emissions (tiny homes emit ~2,000 lbs CO2 annually vs. 28,000 lbs for standard homes) and construction waste, aligning with climate goals.
This bill establishes New Jersey's "Safe and Sanitary Rental Housing Act," requiring landlords to register with local authorities within 30 days of creating a new tenancy or building occupancy. Landlords must provide detailed information including owner contact details, emergency contacts, and maintenance staff locations. The law also mandates a 90-day registration period before landlords can pursue eviction proceedings and ties eligibility for state housing subsidies to this registration requirement. It directly affects landlords of rental properties, particularly multi-unit buildings, and aims to improve tenant safety through stronger accountability measures.
This bill establishes clear standards for rent-to-own agreements in New Jersey, directly protecting tenant-buyers who pay rent with the option to purchase a home later. It requires written agreements disclosing all key terms (total price, lease duration, option fees, rent credits), mandates property inspections before signing, and ensures landlords provide full financial disclosures. The bill prohibits unfair practices like non-refundable fees without cause, requires 30 days to cure defaults, and prevents landlords from waiving tenant rights. It also ensures tenant-buyers' interests remain protected if the property is sold to a third party or if insurance/eminent domain payments are involved.
