Updated Sep 22, 2020; Posted Sep 20, 2020
A couple who had an eviction order filed against them enter the condo they rent in Edison. Gov. Murphy signed an executive order commonly referred to as the "eviction moratorium," which bans lockouts and utility shutoffs, but not eviction filings
In another step to slow the “eviction tsunami” that housing advocates warn will come, a $2.35 million grant will go to two prominent groups to provide legal help to thousands of New Jersey tenants facing eviction.
The Housing Stability Grant, which will come from the New Jersey Pandemic Relief Fund, a non-profit organization created to help residents feeling the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic, will be allocated for the Housing & Community Development Network of New Jersey (HCDNNJ) and the Volunteer Lawyers for Justice.
“The coronavirus pandemic has hit the most vulnerable the hardest, leaving many families worried about keeping a roof over their heads,” said First Lady Tammy Murphy, founding chair of NJRPF. “We hope this grant will help stave off a pending eviction crisis by helping at-risk tenants and landlords understand their rights and navigate a complex system during these incredibly trying times.”
The grant is meant to help thousands of struggling renters who haven’t been able to make their monthly rent payments after the coronavirus pandemic left more than 1.5 million New Jerseyans seeking unemployment benefits, and even more jobless.
Gov. Phil Murphy enacted some steps to help tenants and homeowners, including deferring some mortgage payments, allowing security deposits to be used to pay rent, creating relief funds for landlords and tenants, and a moratorium on lockouts and utility shutoffs for nonpayment of rent (known as the eviction moratorium) that runs 60 days after the expiration of the governor’s declared health emergency.
“We know New Jersey will be facing an eviction and foreclosure crisis as a result of the pandemic. This is one important piece of the puzzle to keeping people safely housed now and after the pandemic,” Staci Berger, president of HCDNNJ, told NJ Advance Media.
Nearly $1.9 million of the grant will go to the HCDNNJ to increase outreach and counseling services for tenants facing evictions, while Volunteer Lawyers for Justice will receive $465,000 to widen its reach to find private lawyers to give pro-bono legal help to at-risk renters.
HCDNNJ will be targeting low- and moderate-income areas that are seeing high rates of illegal evictions or landlord intimidation, like Essex County, which accounts for nearly a quarter of all evictions filed since the pandemic began. The organization will also translate educational resources so tenants know their rights.
Berger expects the funds to help reach 250,000 New Jersey residents and provide counseling to 10,000 renters.
The Volunteer Lawyers for Justice will be able to hire four additional full-time attorneys dedicated to landlord-tenant cases, and train more than 200 pro-bono lawyers to step in during a time when tenants are seeking legal help, said executive director Cathy Keenan.
“With a crisis that’s this large and of this scope that’s coming toward us, we need all the help we can get. Pro-bono can make a dent in this so tenants do not become homeless during a global pandemic,” she said.
Lawyers will tackle virtual settlement conferences, a remediation hearing between the landlord and tenant ahead of an eviction trial, which have come under fire for confusing renters by requiring them to appear, Keenan said.
“Tenants are getting strong-armed by a landlord’s lawyer, and we want the playing field to be a little more level. We aren’t going to cure it, but we don’t want tenants making bad deals,” she told NJ Advance Media.
Berger said the grant is similar to a fund created to help residents in need in the wake of Superstorm Sandy, when homeowners were taken advantage of by shady contractors and confusing insurance negotiations, and sometimes told to return government aid for rebuilding their homes.
But this one is better and will have a greater impact, Berger maintained, because it was enacted much quicker.
Still, the help is just a drop in the bucket, according to housing advocates who continue to call for more protection and aid for vulnerable tenants during a global pandemic that pushed more than 1.5 million New Jerseyans to seek unemployment benefits.
Pointing to the dire need of help in this state, out of the 60,000 residents who applied to the $100 million COVID-19 Emergency Rental Fund, only 8,000 renters received money.
Studies estimate New Jersey would need about $3 billion to help all struggling renters. The state, currently trying to figure out a revised budget to account for billions in lost revenue, can’t afford that.
They’re still pushing for the passage of the “People’s Bill,” A4226, which Murphy said he will sign. The bill, which passed the Assembly last month but has stalled in the Senate, would offer repayment plans for renters and bans additional late fees.
“This is an unprecedented disaster movie in the making that we could have only imagined. Nobody thought we would be in this situation six months after the first case, so it’s time to make sure the folks who have suffered the most should get help immediately," Berger said.
SOURCE ARTICLE: https://www.nj.com/coronavirus/2020/09/23m-going-to-nj-tenants-facing-eviction-but-advocates-fear-it-wont-stop-housing-crisis.html