Daily Record
By Michael Daigle
Dec. 7, 2005
Good reviews for new rental aid program
Official says assistance plan creates more stable opportunity for funding
A program to offer long-term rental assistance that stays with the housing unit-and not with the renter-was hailed Wednesday as a way to boost the supply of affordable housing in Morris County.
The state Department of Community Affairs is seeking proposals for 100 rental assistance vouchers under the program, similar to the federal Section 8 rental voucher program, said Arnold Cohen, program coordinator for the Trenton-based Housing and Community Development Network of New Jersey.
"This creates a more stable opportunity to get funding and could be a catalyst for towns and nonprofit groups to form partnerships to help towns meet their affordable housing requirements," he said.
It is also a "better opportunity to reach the very low income residents," he said, because it will help close the gap between market rate rents and those supported by vouchers.
For example, he said, if a market rate rent was $1,000 a month, this program could offer $600 a month, a figure that would stay with the apartment. A renter would then be only required to pay $400 a month, which might open up the apartment to a lower-income person.
The state department said the project based program will offer 10 years of rental assistance to existing housing, new construction and substantial rehabilitation projects. With the exception of existing housing all projects must target households making at or below 40 percent of area median income. For the Morris County region that includes Warren, Essex and Union counties, very low income for one person is set at $16,863 and low income for a single person is set at $28,105.
The state program is targeting families under the auspices of the state Division of Youth and Family Services, working poor, age 65 and older and special needs populations.
Robert Parker, executive director of NewBridge Services Inc. of Pequannock, said his agency has taken advantage of project-based funding to support rental units for many clients. The program works with funding from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development to provide 40 years of rental assistance for each unit, he said.
"This is a substantial change in state policy," he said.
Local enthusiasm
Parker and Cohen said this state project-based program is a real opportunity for nonprofit agencies to more actively develop affordable housing projects.
Dan Maguire, director of the Headquarters Development division of Homeless Solutions, which offers a variety of housing options for low-income and homeless residents, said he has an application on his desk and is considering the options.
"This is a good thing, but the numbers are very small," he said. With one-third of the funds for existing units and one-third for new construction-areas that Homeless Solutions works in-that is only 66 units out of 100, he said. "Rental assistance is a vital component," he said.
Still, Magure said, the funding would "be a good fit" at Jean Street, a 15-unit rental facility that houses residents moving out of shelters and victims of domestic abuse, or could help Homeless Solutions renovate units on Abbett Avenue in Morristown.
Maguire said he hopes DCA gets 10,000 requests for funding so the deparment can see the real need for affordable housing in the state.
Michael Daigle can be reached at (973) 267-7947 or at mdaigle@gannett.com.
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