Establishes NJHousing pilot program for rental assistance.

S3678

SENATE, No. 3678

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

INTRODUCED FEBRUARY 24, 2026

Sponsored by:

Senator� JAMES BEACH

District 6 (Burlington and Camden)

SYNOPSIS

���� Establishes NJHousing pilot program for rental
assistance.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As introduced.

��

An Act
establishing the NJHousing Pilot Program to provide
cash assistance to certain rent burdened households, supplementing Title 52,
and making an appropriation.

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

���� 1.� a.� For the purposes of
this section:

���� �Cash transfer� means a
payment from the department to an enrolled household.

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

���� �Enrolled household� means a
qualified applicant who is selected for participation in the pilot program
through the lottery conducted pursuant to subsection e. of this section, and
enters into a cash transfer assistance agreement with the department.

���� �NJHousing cash transfer�
means a sum of money, the amount of which shall be calculated by the department
upon selection of a qualified applicant as an enrolled household in the pilot
program, that shall be paid by the department to an enrolled household each
month of the pilot program.� The NJHousing cash transfer shall be in the form
of cash payment and shall not be subject to any requirement or limitation on
how an enrolled household spends the NJHousing cash transfer.� The amount of a
household�s NJHousing cash transfer shall be determined by the department
pursuant to subsection f. of this section.

���� �Payment period� means the 24
month period during which the pilot program shall

���� �Pilot program� means the
NJHousing Pilot Program administered by the department pursuant to subsection
b. of this section.

���� �Qualified applicant� means a
household for which a complete application meets the criteria established by
the department pursuant to subsection d. of this section.

���� �Rent burden� means a
household�s rent cost as a percent of household income.

���� b.� There is established in
the Department of Community Affairs a NJHousing Pilot Program for the purpose
of providing assistance to support housing security among New Jersey renters at
risk of eviction.� The appropriation made to the department for the pilot
program pursuant to section 2 of P.L.��� , c.��� (pending before the
Legislature as this bill) shall be used for the following purposes:

���� (1)� up to $40,000 to the
department for administrative costs;

���� (2)� $20,000 for public
outreach to solicit applications from New Jersey residents pursuant to
subsection c. of this section;

���� (3)� $10,000 for survey
respondents pursuant to subsection g. of this section; and

���� (4)� all remaining funds for
cash transfers pursuant to subsection f. of this section.

���� c.� On or before the first day
of the fifth month next following the enactment of P.L.��� , c.��� (C.���������
) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), the department shall make
available on the department�s Internet website an application portal for
residents to apply for enrollment in the pilot program.� The department shall
additionally conduct a public outreach initiative to solicit applications.�
This outreach campaign shall include, but not be limited to: Internet
advertisements; proliferation of pilot program information to local housing and
human services agencies; and traditional advertisements.� The department shall
cease accepting applications on the first day of the sixth month next following
the enactment of P.L.��� , c.��� (C.��������� ) (pending before the Legislature
as this bill).

���� d.� (1)� The department shall
establish criteria for pilot program eligibility.� The department�s criteria
shall consider: household income; risk of eviction; and rent burden.� The
department�s criteria may consider: history of eviction; risk of homelessness;
number of dependent household members; and other criteria, as selected by the
department.

���� (2)� The department shall
evaluate each submitted application for eligibility.� The department shall
enroll qualified applicants who meet the criteria for eligibility established
by the department into the lottery pursuant to subsection e. of this section.

���� e.� The department shall
randomly select, by county and through lottery, a number of qualified
applicants from each county that is proportional to the number of qualified
applicants reside in each county.� The department shall randomly select 300
qualified applicants to be enrolled households upon entering a cash transfer
assistance agreement with the department.

���� f.� (1)� The department shall
establish a formula for the amount of a household�s NJHousing cash transfer,
which shall be calculated from the household�s rent burden and income.

���� (2)� On the first day of the
eighth month next following the enactment of P.L.��� , c.��� (C.��������� )
(pending before the Legislature as this bill), the pilot program shall
commence.� On the first day of each month of the pilot program, the department
shall provide each enrolled household with a NJHousing cash transfer.

���� (3)� The pilot program shall
conclude on the first day of the twenty-third month after the payment period
begins.

���� g.� At the conclusion of the
pilot program, the department shall conduct a survey of enrolled households and
qualified applicants who were not enrolled in the pilot program.� Each survey
respondent shall receive a cash payment for participation in the survey.� The
survey shall include information related to:

���� (1)� household size;

���� (2)� municipality and county
of residence;

���� (3)� household income;

���� (4)� eviction filing history;

���� (5)� housing quality;

���� (6)� instance and reason of
moving; and

���� (7)� other information, as
determined necessary by the department.

���� h.� On or before the first day
of the seventh month next following the conclusion of the pilot program, the
department shall report to the Governor, and to the Legislature pursuant to
section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1).� The report shall include: the
results of the pilot program; summary statistics describing the amount of
NJHousing cash transfers; the sufficiency or insufficiency of funding
appropriated for administrative costs and public outreach; and any other information
the department deems appropriate.� The department shall not make publicly
available any survey data that is not aggregated in order to protect the identities
and private information of survey respondents.

���� 2.� There is appropriated
$6,550,000 from the General Fund to the Department of Community Affairs for the
purpose of administering the NJHousing Pilot Program established pursuant to
section 1 of P.L.��� , c.��� (C.��������� ) (pending before the Legislature as
this bill).� This appropriation shall be expended pursuant to section 1 of
P.L.��� , c.��� (C.��������� ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).

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

STATEMENT

���� This bill establishes the
NJHousing pilot program (pilot program) to provide monthly cash transfers to
selected households.� The bill directs the Department of Community Affairs
(DCA) to publish an application portal on the DCA�s Internet website and conduct
a public outreach initiative to solicit applications.� The bill directs the DCA
to establish eligibility requirements and evaluate applications.� Of the
applicants who meet the eligibility requirements (qualified applicants) the
department is required to randomly select 300 households, by county, for
participation in the pilot program.

���� The pilot program would
provide an NJHousing cash transfer to each selected household each month for 24
months.� The amount of a household�s NJHousing cash transfer would be
determined by the department based on the financial needs of the household.�
The NJHousing cash transfers would be subject to no requirement or limitation
on how an enrolled household may spend it.� At the conclusion of the pilot
program, the DCA would be required to conduct a survey of recipient households
and non-recipient qualified applicants.� Survey respondents would receive a
small cash payment for survey participation.� The bill directs the DCA to
report certain information concerning the efficacy and administration of the
pilot program.

���� The bill would take effect
immediately and establishes timeline requirements for stages of the pilot
program.� The bill appropriates $6.55 million for the NJHousing pilot program.�