Federal Policy Priorities for Creating Affordable Homes and
Ending Homelessness in NJ

Preserving and increasing resources for federal affordable housing programs in the Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) FY 23 Budget especially for those serving extremely low-income families:

  • Today, just one in four families eligible for federal housing assistance get the help they need. We need to fully fund existing vouchers and increase funding to include the140,000 vouchers that were in the House appropriations bill.
  • For decades, Congress has failed to provide adequate funding for public housing rehabilitation, repair, or simply maintain in good condition. Public housing funding for capital and operating costs should be increased $5 billion for the Public Housing Capital Fund to preserve public housing, and $5.04 billion for the Public Housing Operating Fund;
  • With COVID, homelessness is increasing. We need to increase resources for the homeless by supporting $3.6 billion for HUD’s McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Grants program.
  • New affordable homes are critically needed. To do this, we will advocate to increase the HOME Investment Partnerships to at least $1.85 billion.
  • We are calling for an increased funding for housing counseling to at least the $100 million in the House bill and $100 million for legal assistance to prevent evictions;

Congress must include in any tax extenders package:

  • A 50% basis boost for housing developments where at least 20% of units set aside for households with extremely low incomes or those experiencing homelessness.
  • An 8% set-aside of tax credits to help offset the costs to build these homes

Support the campaign for long-term affordable housing solutions: “HoUSed: Universal. Stable. Affordable.”

  • Universal Rental Assistance. Bridge the gap between incomes and housing costs by expanding rental assistance to every eligible household.
  • Expand and preserve the supply of rental homes affordable and accessible to people with the lowest incomes. There is no state or congressional district in America with enough affordable homes for families with the lowest incomes. In NJ, over 70% of very low income families pay over half their income for a roof over head.
  • Permanent emergency rental assistance. Provide emergency rental assistance to households in crisis by creating a national housing stabilization fund. Millions of households are one financial shock away from economic hardship that could quickly spiral out of control.
  • Strengthen and enforce renter protections. The power imbalance between renters and landlords put renters at risk of housing instability and homelessness. Establish and fund a national right to counsel to help more renters stay in their homes and mitigate harm when eviction is unavoidable is one example of what needs to be done here.

To learn about the “HoUSed: Universal. Stable. Affordable” Campaign:
https://nlihc.org/sites/default/files/Campaign_1_pager.pdf

For more information, please contact Arnold Cohen, Senior Policy Director at [email protected] or Matt Hersh, Director of Public Policy and Advocacy at [email protected]. Updated October 2022