FREEHOLD TOWNSHIP– With a rental vacancy rate of less than 1 percent in many Hurricane Sandy-struck communities in the Garden State, New Jersey officials are trying to boost options for renters through grants that will help landlords pay to repair damage from the storm.
The state Department of Community Affairs today launched the $70 million Landlord Rental Repair Program, which offers rental property owners up to $50,000 per unit for repairs or disaster prevention work, department commissioner Richard Constable III announced during a press conference at one of the state’s Sandy Housing Recovery Center in Freehold Township.
The money will be drawn from $1.83 billion provided through Community Development Block Grants from the U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development, part of New Jersey's share of a $60 billion Sandy relief package that federal lawmakers approved in January.
The funds are available through the state's reNew Jersey Stronger initiative. Landlords can apply by phone at 1-855-SANDYHM (1-855-726-3846), online at www.renewjerseystronger.org or in person at one of the state's housing recovery centers.
Only landlords who have 25 or fewer rental units are eligible, and priority will be placed on those in the nine counties hardest hit by Sandy: Atlantic, Bergen, Cape May, Essex, Hudson, Middlesex, Monmouth, Ocean, and Union.
HOUSING RECOVERY CENTERS
Atlantic County
500 Scarborough Drive, Suite 101
Egg Harbor Township
Bergen County
140 E. Ridgewood Ave., First Floor, South Tower
Paramus
Cape May County
3860 Bayshore Road, Suite 5
North Cape May
Essex County
153 Halsey St., Second Floor
Newark
Hudson County
438 Summit Ave., Sixth floor
Jersey City
Middlesex County
1 Metroplex Drive
Edison
Monmouth County
4 Paragon Way, Suite 150
Freehold
Ocean County
750 Vassar Ave., Suite 1
Lakewood
Union County
150 Morris Ave., Suite 101
Springfield
State officials hope the grants bring back many of the roughly 15,000 rental units that sustained significant damage during the hurricane. Constable said the money cannot be used on summer rentals, and leases must be for at least a year.
In return, landlords must agree to keep rents affordable to accommodate low- and moderate-income families, Constable said.
“We want people to have a place to stay year-round,” Constable said. “Right now there’s a dearth of rental housing in the state, and we want to increase that.”
The money only pays for repair expenses not covered by insurance or other disaster relief funds, so the full $50,000 might not be awarded in some cases, Constable said.
This is the second rental-focused program offered through reNew Jersey Stronger. The other program, the $40 million Landlord Incentive Program encourages landlords to keep rents affordable by charging just 30 percent of a low- or moderate-income household’s income. The state pays for the rest of the rent.
Rental property owners can get money from both programs, since they "complement each other and ultimately result in more affordable housing opportunities," said Lisa Ryan, spokeswoman for the state community affairs department.
Ted Gooding, president of O.C.E.A.N., Inc., a Toms River-based community advocacy nonprofit, called the Landlord Rental Repair Program a key tool in bringing back displaced renters still living as far away as Miami. In Ocean County alone, he said, 30 percent of the destroyed residential units were rentals.
The $50,000-maximum grant should help reduce Ocean County rents that are now overpriced because of a “hot” market caused by a lack of rental properties, he said.
“It’s probably not enough,” Gooding said, “but it certainly will make a difference in getting these families back where they need to be.”
RELATED COVERAGE
• $40 million in Sandy aid going for affordable housing units
• Christie announces N.J. getting $1.83B in federal aid for post-Sandy repairs