Permits new manufactured homes to count towards municipality's affordable housing obligation.

S4484

SENATE, No. 4484

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

INTRODUCED JUNE 22, 2026

Sponsored by:

Senator� MICHAEL L. TESTA, JR.

District 1 (Atlantic, Cape May and Cumberland)

SYNOPSIS

���� Permits new manufactured homes to count towards
municipality's affordable housing obligation.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As introduced.

��

An Act
concerning
affordable housing obligations regarding new manufactured homes and amending
and supplementing P.L.1985, c.222.

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

���� 1.��� Section 2 of P.L.1985,
c.222 (C.52:27D-302) is amended to read as follows:

���� 2.��� The Legislature finds
that:

���� a.���� The New Jersey Supreme
Court, through its rulings in Southern Burlington County NAACP v. Mount Laurel,
67 N.J. 151 (1975) and Southern Burlington County NAACP v. Mount Laurel, 92
N.J. 158 (1983), has determined that every municipality in a growth area has a
constitutional obligation to provide through its land use regulations a
realistic opportunity for a fair share of its region's present and prospective
needs for housing for low- and moderate-income families.

���� b.��� In the second Mount
Laurel ruling, the Supreme Court stated that the determination of the methods
for satisfying this constitutional obligation "is better left to the
Legislature," that the court has "always preferred legislative to
judicial action in their field," and that the judicial role in upholding
the Mount Laurel doctrine "could decrease as a result of legislative and
executive action."

���� c.���� The interest of all
citizens, including low- and moderate-income families in need of affordable
housing, and the needs of the workforce, would be best served by a
comprehensive planning and implementation response to this constitutional
obligation.

���� d.��� There are a number of
essential ingredients to a comprehensive planning and implementation response,
including the establishment of reasonable fair share housing guidelines and
standards, the initial determination of fair share by officials at the municipal
level and the preparation of a municipal housing element, State review of the
local fair share study and housing element, and continuous State funding for
low- and moderate-income housing to replace the federal housing subsidy
programs which have been almost completely eliminated.

���� e.���� The State can maximize
the number of low- and moderate-income units provided in New Jersey by allowing
its municipalities to adopt appropriate phasing schedules for meeting their
fair share, so long as the municipalities permit a timely achievement of an
appropriate fair share of the regional need for low- and moderate-income
housing as required by the Mount Laurel I and II opinions and other relevant
court decisions.

���� f.���� The State can also
maximize the number of low- and moderate-income units by creating new
affordable housing and by rehabilitating existing, but substandard, housing in
the State.� Because the Legislature has determined, pursuant to P.L.2008, c.46
(C.52:27D-329.1 et al.), that it is no longer appropriate or in harmony with
the Mount Laurel doctrine to permit the transfer of the fair share obligations
among municipalities within a housing region, it is necessary and appropriate
to create a new program to create new affordable housing and to foster the
rehabilitation of existing, but substandard, housing.

���� g.��� Since the urban areas
are vitally important to the State, construction, conversion, and
rehabilitation of housing in our urban centers should be encouraged.� However,
the provision of housing in urban areas must be balanced with the need to
provide housing throughout the State for the free mobility of citizens.�

���� h.��� The Supreme Court of New
Jersey in its Mount Laurel decisions demands that municipal land use
regulations affirmatively afford a� realistic opportunity for a variety and
choice of housing including low- and moderate-cost housing, to meet the needs
of people desiring to live there.� While provision for the actual construction
of that housing by municipalities is not required, they are encouraged but not
mandated to expend their own resources to help provide low- and moderate-income
housing.

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

���� j.���� The Legislature finds
that the use of regional contribution agreements, which permits municipalities
to transfer a certain portion of their fair share housing obligation outside of
the municipal borders, should no longer be utilized as a mechanism for the
creation of affordable housing.

���� k.��� The Legislature finds
that the role of the Council on Affordable Housing, as intended in the original
enactment of the "Fair Housing Act," has not developed in practice as
was intended in the legislation.

���� l.���� The council's inability
to function ultimately led the Supreme Court in 2015 to order the temporary
dissolution of the requirement that administrative remedies be exhausted prior
to resolving affordable housing disputes before the court and allowed the courts
to resume their role as the forum of first resort for evaluating municipal
compliance with Mount Laurel obligations pursuant to guidelines laid out by the
Supreme Court's order.

���� m.�� The Legislature finds
that the council's inability to function led to a "gap period" that
frustrated the intent of the Legislature and compliance with constitutional and
statutory obligations and that it is necessary to establish definitive deadlines
for municipal action and any challenges to those actions to avoid such a
"gap period" from being repeated in the future.

���� n.��� The Legislature finds
that although the court-led system that has developed since 2015 has resulted
in a significant number of settlement agreements and increased production of
affordable housing, the system could operate more expeditiously to produce affordable
housing, and at a lower cost to all parties, if appropriate standards are
established by the Legislature to be applied throughout the State, including
more clarity on calculation on fair share affordable housing obligations using
transparent and established data sources to eliminate the lengthy and costly
processes of determining those obligations that have characterized both the
Council on Affordable Housing and court-led system.

���� o.��� The Legislature
determines that, considering the unique history of the "Fair Housing
Act," the Council on Affordable Housing shall be abolished and that,
pursuant to the formulas and process established pursuant to sections 6 and 7
of P.L.2024, c.2 (C.52:27D-304.2 and C.52:27D-304.3), a municipality shall be
authorized to seek approval of its fair share affordable housing obligation,
adopted pursuant to binding resolution and then filed with the court, with the
guidance of calculations published by the Department of Community Affairs, but
that advocates for the low- and moderate-income households of the State shall
be provided with an opportunity to contest the municipal determination.

���� p.��� The Legislature declares
that the "Fair Housing Act," P.L.1985, c.222 (C.52:27D-301 et al.),
as amended and supplemented by P.L.2024, c.2 (C.52:27D-304.1 et al.), is
intended to implement the Mount Laurel doctrine, and that municipalities in compliance
with the "Fair Housing Act," P.L.1985, c.222 (C.52:27D-301 et al.)
are also in compliance with the Mount Laurel doctrine.

���� q.��� The Legislature finds
that the population of persons aged 65 years and older in the State has grown
from approximately 13 percent in 1990, to 17 percent in 2021, and that such
growth, in conjunction with expected future growth, makes it appropriate for the
Legislature to allow up to 30 percent of the units towards a municipality's
prospective affordable housing obligation to be satisfied through the creation
of age-restricted housing.

���� r.� The "Fair Housing
Act," P.L.1985, c.222 (C.52:27D-301 et al.) and the "State Planning
Act," P.L.1985, c.398 (C.52:18A-196 et al.) were enacted concurrently to
address the ruling of the New Jersey Supreme Court in Southern Burlington
County NAACP v. Mount Laurel, 92 N.J. 158 (1983) and associated land use
planning concerns.

���� s.���� The Legislature, in
amending and supplementing the "Fair Housing Act," P.L.1985, c.222
(C.52:27D-301 et al.), intends to facilitate comprehensive planning in
alignment with smart growth principles and the State Development and
Redevelopment Plan.

���� t.���� The Legislature
declares that the changes made to affordable housing methodologies,
obligations, and fair share plans, as determined to be a necessity by the
Legislature, through the enactment of P.L.2024, c.2 (C.52:27D-304.1 et al.),
are made with the intention of furthering consistency with the State
Development and Redevelopment Plan.

����
u.��� The Legislature finds
manufactured homes have lower building costs, are able to be constructed
year-round, and that the design and durability of manufactured homes provide an
affordable alternative to conventional homes, making it appropriate for the
Legislature to allow municipalities to count the number of new manufactured
homes located, or planned for location, in a municipality towards the
municipality�s affordable housing obligation regardless of whether or not a
manufactured home includes a deed restriction or other control on affordability.

(cf: P.L.2024, c.2, s.1)

���� 2.��� 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 geographic area 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.

����
bb.� "Manufactured
home" means a unit of housing that:

����
(1) Consists of one or more
transportable sections which are substantially constructed off site and, if
more than one section, are joined together on site;

����
(2)�� Is built on a
permanent chassis;

����
(3)�� Is designed to be
used, when connected to utilities, as a dwelling on a permanent or nonpermanent
foundation;� and

����
(4)�� Is manufactured in
accordance with the standards promulgated for a manufactured home by the
secretary pursuant to the "National Manufactured Housing Construction and
Safety Standards Act of 1974,"� Pub.L. 93-383 (42 U.S.C. s. 5401 et seq.)
and the standards promulgated for a manufactured or mobile home by the
commissioner pursuant to the� "State Uniform Construction Code Act,"�
P.L.1975, c. 217 (C. 52:27D-119 et seq.)."Manufactured home" also
means and includes any unit of housing manufactured before the effective date
of the standards promulgated by the Secretary of the United States Department
of� Housing and Urban Development or by the commissioner, but which otherwise
meets the criteria set forth in this subsection.

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

���� 3.��� (New section) In the
fourth round, and in subsequent rounds of affordable housing obligations, a
municipality may provide for its affordable housing obligation by counting the number
of new manufactured homes located, or planned for location, within the
municipality.� A municipality shall be provided with one unit of credit against
its affordable housing obligation for each new manufactured homes located, or
planned for location, within the municipality regardless of whether or not the
manufactured home includes a deed restriction or other control on affordability.�

���� 4.��� This act shall take
effect immediately and shall apply to new manufactured homes in the process of
building or planned for location as of this effective date.

STATEMENT

����

���� This bill permits a
municipality to count the number of new manufactured homes located, or planned
for location, within the municipality towards its fourth round, or subsequent
round, of affordable housing obligations.

���� The bill provides that a
municipality is to receive one unit of credit against its affordable housing obligation
for each new manufactured home, as defined in the bill, regardless of whether
or not the manufactured home includes a deed restriction or other control on
affordability.

���� Manufactured homes oftentimes
have lower building costs and can be constructed year-round. �Further, the
design and durability of manufactured homes provide an affordable alternative
to conventional homes, making these homes occupied disproportionately by low-
and moderate-income households, regardless of official deed restrictions to
control their affordability.� For these reasons, the bill declares it
appropriate for the Legislature to allow municipalities to count new
manufactured homes towards affordable housing obligations, regardless of
applicable affordability controls.

���� The bill is to take effect
immediately and apply to new manufactured homes that are in the process of
building or planned for location as of the effective date of the bill.