New Jersey Administrative Code
Title 5 - COMMUNITY AFFAIRS
Chapter 41 - HOMELESSNESS PREVENTION PROGRAM
Subchapter 2 - PROGRAM ELIGIBILITY
Section 5:41-2.1 - Eligibility

Universal Citation: NJ Admin Code 5:41-2.1

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 18, September 16, 2024

(a) To be eligible for assistance under the Homelessness Prevention Program, an applicant must be a New Jersey resident and be either homeless or in imminent danger of losing their home as a result of eviction for non-payment of rent, or mortgage foreclosure, or some other cause which the Department of Community Affairs determines to be comparable.

1. An applicant shall be deemed homeless if the applicant involuntarily is without a place of residence for reasons beyond the applicant's control.

2. An applicant shall be deemed to be in imminent danger of homelessness if :
i. The applicant is unable to make rental payments for reasons beyond the applicant's control, the applicant has been served with a summons and complaint for eviction for non-payment of rent that are not more than six months old and bear a docket number and court date and the applicant will lose their residence within 30 days of the date of application for homelessness prevention assistance; or

ii. The applicant is unable to make mortgage payments for reasons beyond the applicant's control, the applicant has been served with a Notice of Sheriff Sale, and the applicant will lose their residence within 30 days of the date of application for homelessness prevention assistance.

3. "Mortgage foreclosure" shall include, without limitation, foreclosure for taxes or other municipal liens. In the case of a tax or other municipal lien foreclosure, a person shall be deemed to be in imminent danger of losing his home if he has been served in any legal manner with notice of foreclosure, including a notice of intent to foreclose in accordance with the Fair Foreclosure Act (2A:50-53) , the Tax Sale Law (54:5-97.1) , or any other notice that the Department determines to be comparable.

(b) No applicant shall be eligible for assistance if their annualized current income (that is, 52 times current weekly income) exceeds the upper limit of "moderate income" as defined in guidelines published annually by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development.

(c) No applicant shall be eligible for assistance unless all other available financial resources have first been exhausted. Concealment or transfer of assets to become eligible for assistance shall result in immediate and permanent disqualification.

(d) No applicant having a delinquent loan with the Program or which has caused the Program to forfeit a security deposit shall be eligible for additional assistance unless the Department of Community Affairs finds that the delinquency or forfeiture was due to a cause that was either beyond the control of the applicant receiving assistance, or constituted a violation of the rights of that applicant by another person, and that the cause of the delinquency or forfeiture is not likely to recur.

(e) No applicant found in any administrative or legal proceeding, in which notice and an opportunity to be heard have been given, to have committed fraud or abuse in another governmental assistance program, including, without limitation, other programs providing rental subsidies, or to have made a false or misleading statement or a material omission in any submission to the Program, shall be eligible for assistance.

(f) No applicant already receiving an equivalent housing subsidy under any other program shall be eligible for assistance.

1. A housing subsidy shall be deemed to be "equivalent" for purposes of this subsection if it provides a level of compensation sufficient to ensure that the recipient is required to spend no more than 30 percent of gross household income on shelter costs.

(g) No applicant determined by the Program to be unlikely to pay shelter costs after the period of assistance has ended shall be eligible for assistance.

1. Program staff will work with each applicant in the preparation of a budget that will be of use in determining the applicant's ability to carry shelter costs.

2. No applicant shall be eligible for assistance with back rent unless they have resided in the housing unit for at least three months prior to falling into arrears.

(h) To be eligible for assistance, an applicant must have experienced an uncompensated loss of income or increase in expenses, for a limited period of time, that are necessarily incurred for the preservation of human life. Applicants must submit documentation verifying that one or more of the following caused the inability to pay housing costs:

1. Loss of employment;

2. Medical disability or emergency;

3. Loss or delay in receipt of other benefits;

4. Natural or man-made disaster;

5. Substantial and permanent change in household composition; or

6. Any other condition which, in the judgment of the Department of Community Affairs, constitutes a severe hardship comparable in its effect to the causes listed in (h)1 through (h)5 above.

(i) Assistance to any applicant facing foreclosure as a result of mortgage or property tax arrearages shall be in the form of a loan, which shall be secured by a recorded mortgage.

1. No applicant shall be eligible for a mortgage loan unless the home is an owner-occupied single family dwelling (which may be an attached or detached house or a condominium unit) that shall have been owned and occupied by the applicant for at least one year prior to falling into arrears on the mortgage loan or property taxes.

2. No applicant shall be eligible for a mortgage loan in the event of initiated or ongoing bankruptcy proceedings or in the event that the property is encumbered by more than one mortgage.

3. The total amount of any mortgage loan shall not exceed an amount equal to 600 percent (six times 100 percent) of the monthly applicable "Payment Standard" for the family size as defined for the Housing Choice Voucher Program for the region in which the property is located as determined in accordance with guidelines published annually by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development.

(j) Unless an applicant is permanently disabled, no applicant shall be eligible for assistance if the applicant is renting from a family member including: a spouse, parent (including a stepparent), child (including a stepchild), grandparent (including a step-grandparent), grandchild (including a step-grandchild), sister (including a stepsister), brother (including a stepbrother), aunt, uncle, cousin, niece, nephew, mother-in-law, father-in-law, sister- in- law, and brother-in-law.

(k) No applicant shall be eligible for assistance if the applicant has resolved the landlord-tenant action by entering into an agreement with the landlord that allows the applicant to remain in their residence. Similarly, no applicant shall be eligible for assistance if the applicant has agreed with their lender to a workout, modification, or refinancing of their mortgage loan that allows them to remain in their residence.

(l) No applicant shall be eligible for assistance if the applicant resides in any type of subsidized housing.

Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. New Jersey may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.