Online COVID 19 Rental Counseling (New Jersey Only)

Financial Assistance for New Jersey Families

• $3,928,997,000 in Direct Payments for New Jersey Families. Over 92% of single tax filers and eight-in-ten joint-filers in New Jersey will receive payments up to $600 for individuals earning less than $75,000 and $1,200 for couples earning less than $150,000, plus $600 per child under the age of 17.
  • The bill ensures that U.S. citizens living in a mixed status household will receive direct payments and will receive retroactive payments from the CARES Act when they file their 2020 tax return. Under the provision, at least one of the two parents or heads of household must have a social security number for all eligible family members to receive a direct payment.
• Extended Unemployment Insurance (UI). The bill provides an extra $300 a week in addition to one’s base unemployment compensation benefit through March 14, 2021. It also extends the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program through March 14, 2021, which will ensure self-employed individuals and gig workers have access to UI benefits, and adds 11 more weeks of eligibility for the Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation program.
• $591,000,000 in rental assistance prioritized for those most in need. Funds can be used to pay for rent, utilities and home energy costs, and housing stability services.
• Extends the eviction moratorium until January 31, 2021.
• 15% increase in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits through June 30, 2021.

PRINCETON, NJ — The Housing Initiatives of Princeton (HIP) has secured a second round of funding to help township residents facing eviction during the pandemic.

Princeton Town Council passed a resolution on Dec. 14, agreeing to the assistance. The funding will come from the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) the town received from the federal government to promote housing stability.

"Too many Princeton residents have been hit hard by this pandemic and need some help to pay their rent. HIP has been providing Emergency Rental Assistance for years and is well situated to administer the $319,527 of the CDBG that will go directly to landlords on behalf of tenants in need, mayor Liz Lampert said in a statement.

As part of the rental assistance, the Princeton Landlord Tenant Mediation Program (PLTMP) was recently created. It will allow landlords and tenants to resolve the issue of outstanding rent and reach an agreement, giving HIP the ability to extend the financial assistance. Retired Judge Phil Carchman, Judge Debbie Poritz, and others helped in crafting the PLTMP.

The Union County Freeholder Board is pleased to announce a rent relief program for eligible residents adversely impacted by COVID-19. Residents can apply through one of three partner non-profit agencies for needed assistance beginning November 16. The Board approved funding for the program through the federal CARES Act on November 12.

A total of $1,350,000 will be available through federal funds for residents who have fallen behind in payments as a result of job loss or income reduction. The program will provide a minimum of three months of assistance. An additional three months of assistance will be provided to eligible County renters in need of further assistance.

Starting Monday November 16, 2020, interested residents can submit their application on one of the following non-profit websites:

Family Promise Union County (www.familypromise.org) 

Urban League of Union County (www.uloucnj.org) 

United Way of Greater Union County (www.uwguc.org)

Eligibility requirements for applicants are as follows:

· Renters living in Union County;

• Household Income is at or below 80% of Median Family Income (MFI);

• Household income loss must be due to Covid-19;

• Applicants must be able to provide documentation of income received as a result of any governmental response program due to Covid-19 (such as unemployment compensation) as well as a current lease agreement.

Residents requiring information or assistance with the application process can call any of the three non-profit partners involved and schedule an appointment. Staff will inform applicants of the required documentation to bring to the appointment. Once staff has a complete application with all required documentation, the application will be reviewed for eligibility. Applicants will be provided with documented proof of their filed rental assistance application for their landlord. Once the application is approved, funds will be disbursed by mailed check directly to the landlord.

The CDBG-CV Short Term Emergency Rental and Mortgage Assistance Grant Program will provide temporary rental and mortgage assistance, for up to six months, to low- and moderate-income households that have had a substantial reduction in income or became unemployed due the COVID-19 pandemic. Applicants may be eligible for a grant for a maximum of up to six months of emergency rental or mortgage assistance. The assistance, per month for rental assistance and mortgage assistance, will be capped at DCA’s fair market rent standard or the total of the rent or mortgage payment, whichever is lesser. The maximum amount of assistance available per rental household is $10,000 throughout a period of six months.   All participants will be reviewed at the three-month interval to see if they are still in need of assistance. Persons applying must meet all applicable program income and eligibility requirements.

The program will be administered by the Atlantic County Improvement Authority under the direction of the Executive Director, John Lamey.

Eligibility

Current annualized household income must be at or below 80% of the Area Median Income (AMI) for Atlantic County for the size of the applicant household.

# of Household Members  80% of Median Income

1 Person  $46,450.00

2 Persons  $53,100.00

3 Persons  $59,750.00

4 Persons  $66,350.00

5 Persons  $71,700.00

6 Persons  $77,000.00

7 Persons  $82,300.00

8 Persons  $87,600.00

Applicants must disclose other local, state and federal rental/mortgage assistance received. These benefits will be taken into consideration when determining the amount that will be provided to the applicant for rental or mortgage assistance.

Applicants will be required to document financial hardship due to COVID-19.

These funds are intended to be emergency assistance.

• Applicants without housing costs in arrears can apply for the cost of one month of housing only, starting with current month’s housing costs.
• Applicants with housing costs in arrears may apply (in one application) for assistance for multiple past months beginning March 1, 2020, as well as for the current month’s housing cost.
• If funds are available, applicants can submit a re-application for assistance in subsequent months for up to six months.

To apply go to: https://www.acianj.org/applications/application.asp?ty=R#start

On Friday, May 29, 2020 Governor Phil Murphy and Lt Governor Sheila Y. Oliver announced the COVID-19 Short-Term Rental Assistance Program. The program will provide rental assistance to low- and moderate-income households that have had a substantial reduction in income as a result of the pandemic, including those who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.

The COVID-19 Short Term Rental Assistance Program will provide temporary rental assistance to low- and moderate- income households that have had a substantial reduction in income or have become unemployed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The program will offer an initial three months of temporary rental assistance, with the ability for the household to renew for an additional three months if needed. Approximately 20 percent of the rental assistance funds will be reserved for homeless families impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

• The program will open for applications in July and begin paying rental assistance in September. Qualifying households will be expected to pay 30 percent of their income toward rent, and the program would pay the remainder of their rent up to DCA’s fair market rent payment standard. At the three-month mark, the household budget will be reviewed to determine if assistance is still needed. Assistance that is no longer required will be used to serve additional families.

DCA will select applicants for short-term rental assistance through a randomized lottery process. 

Further information on how to apply and Frequently Asked Questions, will be available on June 15th, and applications will be taken in July.

To submit an application, you must:

• Be a resident of New Jersey
• Have a current income that is at or below 80 percent of Area Median Income for your county 
• Have been current in your rent payments as of March 1, 2020
• Show that your income was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic beginning on March 9th when the public emergency was declared. You can show this by documenting:

1. A layoff
2. Reduced work hours
3. Unpaid leave to take care of children due to school and daycare closures
4. Need to self-quarantine for 14 days resulted in a loss of income

CVERAP Pre-applications will only be accepted ONLINE.  The open enrollment period is

Monday, July 6, 2020 at 9:00 a.m. to Friday, July 17, 2020 at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time. 

*************EXTENDED to July 17th*************

CVERAP pre-applications can be submitted ONLINE starting on July 6th at 9:00 a.m. with the use of a personal computer, laptop, smartphone, or tablet at https://www.waitlistcheck.com/NJ559-2809. This link will not be accessible before July 6th at 9:00 a.m.

Paper CVERAP pre-applications will not be distributed or accepted.  Submission of a CVERAP pre-application does not guarantee placement in the Program. Only one CVERAP pre-application per household per county will be accepted. Duplicate CVERAP pre-applications will be rejected. 

Names, birthdates, income and assets information for all individuals living in the household. An email address is also required. If you do not have an e-mail address, the application process will allow you to create one.  If you are not proficient in English, the CVERAP pre-application is available in 90 languages; this information can be found starting on July 6th at 9:00 a.m.at https://www.waitlistcheck.com/NJ559-2809, at the top right of the pre-application. This link will not be accessible before July 6th at 9:00 a.m. 

Governor Murphy signed Executive Order # 128 which allows renters to direct that their Landlords apply the security deposit the renters own to any past due and current rent obligations as a result of the “Stay at Home” order.  This communications has to be made in writing (including email).  We have recommended language below.  

Yes you CAN direct your landlord to use your Security Deposit to pay your rent

This is NOT free money.  The tenant will be required to replenish or reestablish (pay back) the security deposit if the lease is extended, or 6 months after the emergency order is lifted.   

Further, this order does not relieve the tenant from paying for any money that the landlord would recoup from the rental deposit at the end of the lease for damages beyond the normal “wear and tear”.  

However, it will stop the late fees that the landlord is charging you when you can’t work and are waiting for unemployment.  

Suggested wording of a request to use the security deposit to pay your rent:

Dear Landlord;

NJ governor Phil Murphy signed Executive Order # 128 on April 24, 2020 allowing for the following request. I hereby request that the security deposit you are holding on my behalf which is governed by the provisions of N.J.S.A. 46:8-19 et seq., as well as the interest portion of the interest and/or earnings accumulated thereon, be applied to or credited towards rent payments due or to become due from the tenant during the Public Health Emergency established in Executive Order No. 103 (2020) or up to 60 days after the Public Health Emergency terminates.

In other words, the security deposit you are holding for me should be used to pay my past due, current and any future rent until it is exhausted.

I understand that I will be required to pay back the security deposit in full in six months following the end of the Emergency or when I renew the lease.  

Please send me an accounting of the amount of funds in my rental deposit account including accrued interest, and how you are applying it to my rent.

Thank you,