Requires affordable housing obligations of municipalities to be based on Statewide need.

A4767

ASSEMBLY, No. 4767

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

INTRODUCED MARCH 19, 2026

Sponsored by:

Assemblyman� JOHN DIMAIO

District 23 (Hunterdon, Somerset and Warren)

Co-Sponsored by:

Assemblyman Scharfenberger

SYNOPSIS

���� Requires affordable housing obligations of
municipalities to be based on Statewide need.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As introduced.

��

An Act

requiring affordable housing obligations of
municipalities to be based on a Statewide need and amending P.L.1985, c.222 and
P.L.2024, c.2.

����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:

���� 1.� Section 4 of P.L.1985,
c.222 (C.52:27D-304) is amended to read as follows:

���� 4.� As used in P.L.1985, c.222
(C.52:27D-301 et al.):

���� a.���� "Council"
means the Council on Affordable Housing established in P.L.1985, c.222
(C.52:27D-301 et al.), abolished pursuant to section 3 of P.L.2024, c.2
(C.52:27D-304.1).�

���� b.��� "Housing
region" means
[
a
]

the

geographic area
of the State as a whole, as
established pursuant to
subsection b. of section 6 of P.L.2024, c.2 (C.52:27D-304.2).

���� c.���� "Low-income
housing" means housing affordable according to federal Department of
Housing and Urban Development or other recognized standards for home ownership
and rental costs and occupied or reserved for occupancy by households with a
gross household income equal to 50 percent or less of the median gross
household income for households of the same size within the housing region in
which the housing is located.

���� d.��� "Moderate-income
housing" means housing affordable according to federal Department of
Housing and Urban Development or other recognized standards for home ownership
and rental costs and occupied or reserved for occupancy by households with a gross
household income equal to more than 50 percent but less than 80 percent of the
median gross household income for households of the same size within the
housing region in which the housing is located.

���� e.���� (Deleted by amendment,
P.L.2024, c.2)

���� f.���� "Inclusionary
development" means a residential housing development in which a
substantial percentage of the housing units are provided for a reasonable
income range of low- and moderate-income households.

���� g.��� "Conversion"
means the conversion of existing commercial, industrial, or residential
structures for low- and moderate-income housing purposes where a substantial
percentage of the housing units are provided for a reasonable income range of
low- and moderate-income households.

���� h.��� "Development"
means any development for which permission may be required pursuant to the
"Municipal Land Use Law," P.L.1975, c.291 (C.40:55D-1 et seq.).

���� i.���� "Agency"
means the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency established by
P.L.1983, c.530 (C.55:14K-1 et seq.).

���� j.���� "Prospective
need" means a projection of housing needs based on development and growth
which is reasonably likely to occur in a region or a municipality, as the case
may be, as a result of actual determination of public and private entities.� Prospective
need shall be determined by the methodology set forth pursuant to sections 6
and 7 of P.L.2024, c.2 (C.52:27D-304.2 and C.52:27D-304.3) for the fourth round
and all future rounds of housing obligations.

���� k.��� "Person with a
disability" means a person with a physical disability, infirmity,
malformation, or disfigurement which is caused by bodily injury, birth defect,
aging, or illness including epilepsy and other seizure disorders, and which
shall include, but not be limited to, any degree of paralysis, amputation, lack
of physical coordination, blindness or visual impairment, deafness or hearing
impairment, the inability to speak or a speech impairment, or physical reliance
on a service animal, wheelchair, or other remedial appliance or device.

���� l.���� "Adaptable"
means constructed in compliance with the technical design standards of the
barrier free subcode adopted by the Commissioner of Community Affairs pursuant
to the "State Uniform Construction Code Act," P.L.1975, c.217 (C.52:27D-119
et seq.) and in accordance with the provisions of section 5 of P.L.2005, c.350
(C.52:27D-123.15).

���� m.�� "Very low-income
housing" means housing affordable according to federal Department of
Housing and Urban Development or other recognized standards for home ownership
and rental costs and occupied or reserved for occupancy by households with a gross
household income equal to 30 percent or less of the median gross household
income for households of the same size within the housing region in which the
housing is located.

���� n.��� "Accessory dwelling
unit" means a residential dwelling unit that provides complete independent
living facilities with a private entrance for one or more persons, consisting
of provisions for living, sleeping, eating, sanitation, and cooking, including
a stove and refrigerator, and is located within a proposed or existing primary
dwelling, within an existing or proposed structure that is accessory to a
dwelling on the same lot, constructed in whole or part as an extension to a
proposed or existing primary dwelling, or constructed as a separate detached
structure on the same lot as the existing or proposed primary dwelling.

���� o.��� "Builder's
remedy" means court-imposed, site-specific relief for a litigant who seeks
to build affordable housing for which the court requires a municipality to
utilize zoning techniques, such as mandatory set-asides or density bonuses,
including techniques which provide for the economic viability of a residential
development by including housing that is not for low- and moderate-income
households.

���� p.��� "Commissioner"
means the Commissioner of Community Affairs.

���� q.��� "Compliance
certification" means the certification obtained by a municipality pursuant
to section 3 of P.L.2024, c.2 (C.52:27D-304.1), that protects the municipality
from exclusionary zoning litigation during the current round of present and prospective
need and through July 1 of the year the next round begins, which is also known
as a "judgment of compliance" or "judgment of repose."� The
term "compliance certification" shall include a judgment of repose
granted in an action filed pursuant to section 13 of P.L.1985, c.222
(C.52:27D-313).

���� r.���� "County-level
housing judge" means a judge appointed pursuant to section 5 of P.L.2024,
c.2 (C.52:27D-313.2), to resolve disputes over the compliance of municipal fair
share affordable housing obligations and municipal fair share plans and housing
elements, with the "Fair Housing Act," P.L.1985, c.222 (C.52:27D-301
et al.).

���� s.���� "Deficient housing
unit" means housing that: (1) is over fifty years old and overcrowded; (2)
lacks complete plumbing; or (3) lacks complete kitchen facilities.

���� t.���� "Department"
means the Department of Community Affairs.

���� u.��� "Exclusionary
zoning litigation" means litigation to challenge the fair share plan,
housing element, or ordinances or resolutions implementing the fair share plan
or housing element of a municipality based on alleged noncompliance with the "Fair
Housing Act," P.L.1985, c.222 (C.52:27D-301 et al.) or the Mount Laurel
doctrine, which litigation shall include, but shall not be limited to,
litigation seeking a builder's remedy.

���� v.��� "Fair share
plan" means the plan or proposal that is in a form which may readily be
adopted, with accompanying ordinances and resolutions, pursuant to subsection
f. of section 3 of P.L.2024, c.2 (C.52:27D-304.1), by which a municipality
proposes to satisfy its obligation to create a realistic opportunity to meet
its fair share of low- and moderate-income housing needs of its region and
which details the affirmative measures the municipality proposes to undertake
to achieve its fair share of low- and moderate-income housing, as provided in
the municipal housing element, and addresses the development regulations
necessary to implement the housing element, including, but not limited to,
inclusionary requirements and development fees, and the elimination of unnecessary
housing cost-generating features from the municipal land use ordinances and
regulations.

���� w.�� "Highlands-conforming
municipality" means a municipality that has adopted a land development
ordinance implementing the municipality's plan conformance petition and which
land development ordinance has been certified by the Highlands Water Protection
and Planning Council as consistent with the "Highlands Water Protection
and Planning Act," P.L.2004, c.120 (C.13:20-1 et seq.), the Highlands
regional master plan, and the municipality's plan conformance approval.� The
term "land development ordinance" shall be inclusive of any amendment
to the municipality's land development ordinances that is adopted to further
the municipality's petition of plan conformance.�

���� x.��� "Housing
element" means that portion of a municipality's master plan consisting of
reports, statements, proposals, maps, diagrams, and text designed to meet the
municipality's fair share of its region's present and prospective housing
needs, particularly with regard to low- and moderate-income housing, and which
shall contain the municipal present and prospective obligation for affordable
housing, determined pursuant to subsection f. of section 3 of P.L.2024, c.2
(C.52:27D-304.1).

���� y.��� "Program"
means the Affordable Housing Dispute Resolution Program, established pursuant
to section 5 of P.L.2024, c.2 (C.52:27D-313.2).

���� z.���� "State Development
and Redevelopment Plan" or "State Plan" means the plan prepared
pursuant to sections 1 through 12 of the "State Planning Act,"
P.L.1985, c.398 (C.52:18A-196 et al.), designed to represent a balance of development
and conservation objectives best suited to meet the needs of the State, and for
the purpose of coordinating planning activities and establishing Statewide
planning objectives in the areas of land use, housing, economic development,
transportation, natural resource conservation, agriculture and farmland
retention, recreation, urban and suburban redevelopment, historic preservation,
public facilities and services, and intergovernmental coordination pursuant to
subsection f. of section 5 of P.L.1985, c.398 (C.52:18A-200).

���� aa.�� "Transitional
housing" means temporary housing that:

���� includes, but is not limited
to, single-room occupancy housing or shared living and supportive living
arrangements;

���� provides access to on-site or
off-site supportive services for very low-income households who have recently
been homeless or lack stable housing;

���� is licensed by the department;
and

���� allows households to remain
for a minimum of six months.

(cf: P.L.2024, c.2, s.2)

���� 2.� Section 6 of P.L.2024, c.2
(C.52:27D-304.2) is amended to read as follows:

���� 6.� a.� Municipal present need
for each 10-year round of affordable housing obligations shall be determined by
estimating the deficient housing units occupied by low- and moderate-income
households in the region, following a methodology similar to the methodology
used to determine third round municipal present need, through the use of most
recent datasets made available through the federal decennial census and the
American Community Survey, including the Comprehensive Housing Affordability
Strategy dataset thereof.

���� b.� For the purpose of
determining regional need for the 10-year round of low- and moderate-income
housing obligations, running from July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2035, and each
10-year round thereafter:

���� (1)� The
[
regions of the
]
State shall
[
be comprised
as follows:
]

consist of one single region.

���� (a)�
[
Region 1 shall
consist of the counties of Bergen, Hudson, Passaic, and Sussex;
]

(Deleted by amendment, P.L.��� , c.��� ) (pending
before the Legislature as this bill)

���� (b)�
[
Region 2 shall
consist of the counties of Essex, Morris, Union, and Warren;
]

(Deleted
by amendment, P.L.��� , c.��� ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill)

���� (c)�
[
Region 3 shall
consist of the counties of Hunterdon, Middlesex, and Somerset;
]

(Deleted
by amendment, P.L.��� , c.��� ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill)

���� (d)�
[
Region 4 shall
consist of the counties of Mercer, Monmouth, and Ocean;
]

(Deleted
by amendment, P.L.��� , c.��� ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill)

���� (e)
[
Region 5 shall consist of the
counties of Burlington, Camden, and Gloucester; and
]

(Deleted by amendment, P.L.��
, c.�� ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill)

���� (f)�
[
Region 6 shall
consist of the counties of Atlantic, Cape May, Cumberland, and Salem.
]

(Deleted
by amendment, P.L. , c. )
(pending before the Legislature as this bill)

���� (2)� Regional prospective need
for a 10-year round of low- and moderate-income housing obligations shall be
determined through the calculation provided in this subsection.� Projected
household change for a 10-year round in a region shall be estimated by establishing
the household change experienced in the region between the most recent federal
decennial census, and the second-most recent federal decennial census.� This
household change, if positive, shall be divided by 2.5 to estimate the number
of low- and moderate-income homes needed to address low- and moderate-income
household change in the region and to determine the regional prospective need
for a 10-year round of low- and moderate-income housing obligations.� If
household change is zero or negative, the number of low- and moderate-income
homes needed to address low- and moderate-income household change in the region
and the regional prospective need shall be zero.

(P.L.2024, c.2, s.6)

���� 3.� The Commissioner of
Community Affairs shall adopt rules and regulations necessary, pursuant to the
"Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.),
to effectuate the purposes of P.L.��� , c.��� (pending before the Legislature
as this bill), including, but not limited to, rules and regulations to adjust the
timeline established pursuant to subsection f. of section 3 of P.L.2024, c.2
(C.52:27D-304.1), to ensure that the provisions of P.L.��� , c.��� (pending
before the Legislature as this bill) are implemented as promptly as possible.

���� 4. �This act shall take effect
immediately.�

STATEMENT

���� This bill would require that
affordable housing need be calculated on a Statewide basis.�

���� Affordable housing is an issue
of Statewide concern and importance.� Currently, affordable housing need is
calculated at the regional level.� This bill redefines the "housing region"
as the State as a whole, thereby requiring DCA to calculate the affordable
housing need of the entire State, and municipal affordable housing obligations
to then be determined based on this Statewide need.

���� The bill directs the Commissioner
of Community Affairs to adopt the rules and regulations necessary to effectuate
the purposes of the bill, including rules and regulations to adjust the
existing deadlines required by the "Fair Housing Act," P.L.1985,
c.222 (C.52:27D-301 et al.), to ensure that the provisions of the bill are
implemented as promptly as possible.