NEW JERSEY APARTMENT ASSOCIATION STATEMENT ON STATE RENTAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM
NEW JERSEY APARTMENT ASSOCIATION STATEMENT ON STATE RENTAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR UNDERSCORES THE IMPORTANCE OF EFFICIENTLY DISBURSING FUNDS AND ASKS STATE TO ADDRESS THE NEED FOR MIDDLE-INCOME RENTAL ASSISTANCE
(MONROE TOWNSHIP, NJ) – In response to Lt. Governor Sheila Oliver’s announcement regarding the opening of the state’s rental assistance program, New Jersey Apartment Association (NJAA) Executive Director David Brogan released the following statement:
“The New Jersey Apartment Association and its members are encouraged by the news that the state rental assistance program will be opening shortly, as many landlords have gone a year without rent revenue. Since April 2020, NJAA has been calling on the state and federal government to provide meaningful, broad-based rental assistance. Now that we have the resources that both landlords and tenants so desperately need, it is imperative that we get this money disbursed as efficiently and effectively as possible.”
Brogan went on to say, “New Jersey received over a billion dollars that is slated for rental assistance to help those making less than eighty percent of the Area Median Income (AMI), but there is a large swath of middle-income tenants who suffered job losses that will be left out. In addition to the program just announced, we urge the Governor to create a middle-class rental assistance program as soon as possible to help those impacted individuals as well.”
He concluded by saying, “Decision makers need to recognize that failing to provide necessary rental assistance to those in need will have a domino effect on tenants, landlords, homeowners, municipalities and the state. The multifamily industry pays over a billion dollars a year in property taxes. Without rent revenue from either tenants or the government, there will be a massive property tax shift onto homeowners, which no one wants. However, given that the state has significant resources at their disposal, even beyond the billion dollars in federal rental assistance, it is incumbent upon the Governor to allocate those resources appropriately.”
The New Jersey Apartment Association (NJAA) is the premier trade association representing all facets of the multifamily housing industry, including market rate and affordable housing owners, managers and developers, as well as suppliers. NJAA’s membership owns and manages over 220,000 apartments, providing quality housing to over one million New Jerseyans.
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