Rental Assistance Programs for NJ Tenants
Finding housing and paying rent can sometimes be a challenge. Luckily, NJ tenants can seek assistance if they need via the New Jersey State Rental Assistance Program (SRAP). This program provides rental assistance grants to tenants in need until the same tenant receives a federal subsidy award.
To be eligible for the SRAP, applicants must be a resident of New Jersey. According to the State of NJ, a resident is someone whose primary residence is in NJ and someone who has resided in NJ for at least 6 months prior to applying for rental assistance.
There are set-asides within the SRAP. A set-aside is a form of affirmative action that is used by governments in contracts in order to designate, or “set aside”, a percent of resources for certain minorities or other disadvantaged groups/classifications. These set-asides for the SRAP are:
· Elderly residents aged 62 or older
· Homeless families with children, households participating in a DCA-administered temporary housing assistance program
and are facing homelessness, and graduates of traditional housing programs
· Families and households on the SRAP waiting list
· Disabled head of households or their spouse
· Project-based set asides which are reserved for special initiatives by the State
· Income limits: 75% of the SRAP participants must be extremely low-income. The remaining applications are not to exceed
40% of low-income limits as defined with the US Department of Housing and Urban Development guidelines
· Voucher limits: The rental subsidy will be available for five years unless a Housing Choice Voucher becomes available
The State does note, however, that a rental subsidy via the SRAP will be unlimited for elderly and disabled persons.
For more information on the NJ State Rental Assistance Program, please visit the following website from the State of New Jersey’s Department of Community Affairs: https://www.nj.gov/dca/divisions/dhcr/offices/srap.html.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, another rental assistance program became available: the COVID-19 Emergency Rental Assistance Program (CVERAP). As of March 22, 2021, the CVERAP Phase II began to provide “temporary rental assistance to low- and moderate-income households that have had a substantial reduction in income, have qualified for unemployment benefits, incurred significant costs, or experienced a financial hardship due, directly, or indirectly, to the COVID-19 pandemic.” To apply, visit the following link: https://njdca.onlinepha.com.
