NJ releases affordable housing requirements for every town, details need for 150,000 new homes
Jersey City, NJ. Credit: Zoshua Colah on Unsplash
New Jersey towns now know how many affordable homes they need to develop over the next decade to fairly address the state’s housing shortage. The Department of Community Affairs last week published the calculations of present and prospective need for affordable housing in all 564 municipalities, required by a law signed by Gov. Phil Murphy in March. The calculations found a present need for 65,410 low- and moderate-income homes and a need for another 84,698 over the next 10 years.
“The calculations help address New Jersey’s housing shortage by equipping municipalities with clear numbers so they can better plan on how to provide affordable housing options in their communities,” DCA Commissioner Jacquelyn A. Suárez said in a press release.
“The new law provides a unique opportunity to develop ‘missing middle’ housing—options like townhouses, duplexes, and other types of multi-family units that bridge the gap between single-family homes and large apartment complexes, offering the diverse housing choices that New Jersey families desire and need.”
With the release of state numbers, towns must meet new deadlines in the coming months to submit plans detailing how they will achieve the mandated affordable housing goals.
Municipalities have until January 31, 2025 to adopt DCA’s guidance or provide their own calculation consistent with state law and until June 30, 2025, to adopt specific plans for how to address the number of affordable homes required.
At least 23 NJ towns are suing to rebut the state law, which detailed how the number of new homes was calculated. The towns allege that the law unjustly mandates them to develop more housing without accounting for how many new developments they can realistically support.
Established in 1987, the Mount Laurel Doctrine legally mandates that all New Jersey towns provide their “fair share” of affordable housing for their region. The system operates in rounds, with the state informing each municipality of the number of affordable homes they must create land for and providing a timeline for development, according to Gothamist.
The housing targets released on Friday mark the fourth round of the doctrine, which runs from June 2025 through 2035.
Any towns seeking to dispute their state-assigned numbers must file a suit by the end of February 2025. Afterward, NJ and the town must settle their grievances by April 1.
Montvale Mayor Mike Ghassali, who is leading the coalition of 23 towns against the law, told Gothamist that despite filing the lawsuit, his town will work to meet the deadlines issued in the law. However, he said that a consultant has been hired to generate an “appropriate number” for how many new homes the town can accommodate.
“Our numbers will have more science to it…we will put all that together and come up with a valid number rather than just a random number,” Ghassali said to Gothamist.
NJ housing advocates claim that even towns required to build 1,000 or more new homes have been provided flexibility within the law to meet these goals. Matthew Hersh, director of policy and advocacy for the Housing and Community Development Network of NJ, noted that towns have a variety of options, including redeveloping existing properties and converting single-family homes into two or three apartments, according to Gothamist.
“I am grateful to the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs for their timeliness in calculating this data and their partnership in advancing our shared goal of expanding access to affordable housing,” Murphy said in a statement. “We look forward to seeing this law implemented and benefiting families across the Garden State.”
Read the full report from the state and see each municipality’s affordable housing responsibility here.
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