Housing directly impacts our physical and mental health.

A community’s health is often determined by place-based conditions, and poor quality, security, and affordability of homes and lack of access to resources can lead to long-lasting issues for tenants. If mold goes untreated, children could develop respiratory issues. Tenants could be unknowingly poisoned if there is lead in the home, either in flaking and peeling paint or in the water. Disease could spread if issues with pests and vermin are not addressed.

The rising cost of housing creates even greater insecurity for low-income households. Cost burdens and fears of eviction or displacement due to development pressure contribute to physical and mental health challenges and put many households in a position of constant stress.

In 2019, County Health Rankings found that nationwide, a 10% increase in the share of households that are severely cost-burdened is associated with almost 29,000 more children in poverty, 86,000 more food insecure people, and 84,000 more people in fair or poor health. These issues have been exacerbated by the pandemic and resulting stress on housing supply throughout our region. While there was some relief due to the eviction moratorium and the Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP), there is not enough funding to help all of NJ’s eligible tenants nor has it reached all vulnerable groups dealing with housing insecurity. Further, the existing Housing Choice program, which provides renters with federal housing assistance, is not guaranteed. Only one out of four families eligible for a Section 8 voucher actually get one. With a housing crisis and inflation increasing the cost of living, we must take action to provide relief to vulnerable renters.

The housing challenges for New Jerseyans are serious. The National Low Income Housing Coalition estimates that New Jersey has a shortage of over 200,000 homes affordable and available to extremely low-income renters (defined as households in the 0-30% of AMI income band), with over 70% of those renters severely cost burdened. For renters at this level, there are only 31 homes available and affordable for every 100 households compared to nearly 1:1 availability for those at the 100% AMI level. Extremely low-income renter households are also a very diverse group of people, with over a third being seniors, over a third working, and 15% disabled. This speaks to the need for not just affordable homes, but also different types of housing to accommodate different needs for the most vulnerable New Jerseyans. You can learn more in the statewide housing profile below:

National Low Income Housing Coalition

There is some good news. New Jersey’s Lead-Safe Certification Law went into effect in July 2022 and will help ensure landlords undertake necessary maintenance to keep tenants in older units safe. The FY2023 State Budget establishes the Affordable Housing Production Fund, which includes $30 million from the Affordable Housing Trust Fund and $305 million from the State Fiscal Recovery Fund. This will be a good start to addressing New Jersey’s housing needs. The Fund will help create 3,300 already-planned affordable housing units across a number of municipalities throughout the state, so they can meet their Fair Share Housing obligations.

But much more needs to be done to address the numerous challenges that impact housing quality, affordability, integration and access to opportunity for low-income renters.

A Call to Action

We must take action now by:

Investing $975 million in housing to provide security and stability for vulnerable households
Creating a more streamlined application process for getting families into affordable homes, coupled with robust housing assistance programs
Promoting community-based wealth and reducing NJ’s worst in the nation racial wealth gap, which is estimated at more than $300,000
Expanding transparency and accountability for institutional investor (e.g. LLCs) ownership by mandating the listing of the actual name, address, and contact information, so tenants and public entities have a person to go to and get issues abated
Eliminating credit score standards for tenants, especially for those eligible for rental assistance, and ending racial discrimination in home appraisals
Developing a state-wide habitability and code enforcement hotline with the NJ Department of Community Affairs and the Attorney General’s office for tenants

To help inform these efforts to support the well-being of lower income renters throughout New Jersey, the Housing and Community Development Network of NJ (HCDNNJ), the Ironbound Community Corporation (ICC), and directly impacted renters themselves, with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, are collaborating with Regional Plan Association to highlight inequality and affordability challenges for renters within the anchor communities of Atlantic City, Camden, New Brunswick, Newark, Paterson, Perth Amboy, and Trenton.

The following housing profiles highlight key indicators and comparisons among these anchor communities to provide insights, especially on housing characteristics and what residents can afford to pay. This information is meant to serve as a resource for community advocates and local, county, and state government officials to help understand housing inequality around the state and support policy decisions to ensure healthy homes and well-being for vulnerable low-income renters across New Jersey.