NEW JERSEY – Acting Governor Sheila Y. Oliver Wednesday highlighted the historic investments in housing affordability in the Fiscal Year 2023 (FY2023) budget.
The overall FY2023 budget reaffirms the Murphy Administration’s commitment to making New Jersey a stronger, fairer, more affordable state for all.
New Jersey has outpaced other states in making affordable housing a reality for its residents during the Murphy Administration. Since Governor Murphy took office in 2018, the Administration has continually prioritized housing investments and property tax relief, making many New Jersey communities more affordable places to live and raise a family. The FY2023 budget also will lower the effective property tax rate for eligible New Jersey homeowners to 2012 levels through the new ANCHOR (Affordable New Jersey Communities for Homeowners and Renters) program.
“This Budget sets forth a truly historic investment for housing in our state. It is going to mean so much to the families who are seeking affordable places to live in the communities where they work, where they were raised, and where they may want to stay with their own families,” said Acting Governor Sheila Oliver, who serves as Commissioner of the Department of Community Affairs. “I want to thank my former colleagues in the State Legislature who have worked arm-in-arm with Governor Murphy and I to make these record investments become a reality.”
This historic budget makes significant investments toward several housing and affordability initiatives, including:
Affordable Housing Production Fund: The FY2023 Budget includes $335 ($335m incudes $30m from the Affordable Housing Trust Fund and $305m from the State Fiscal Recovery Fund) for the Affordable Housing Production Fund to address a backlog of thousands of affordable housing units across dozens of developments, which will effectively double the state’s multi-family project production in the next three years and bring more affordable homes to thriving communities across the state.
The Affordable New Jersey Communities for Homeowners and Renters (ANCHOR) Tax Relief Program is a $2 billion initiative, which will be phased in immediately in FY2023, and will help homeowners and renters and reduce property taxes to levels not seen since 2012 for over 1.15 million homeowners.
- Renters with a household income of up to $150,000 will receive $450.
- Homeowners with a household income under $150,000 will receive $1,500.
- Homeowners with a household income between $150,000 and $250,000 will receive $1,000.
The FY2023 budget provides a $5 million increase in funding, for a total of $25 million, to the State’s Down Payment Assistance program, which in recent years has been successful in helping low- and middle-income families attain homeownership and begin to build wealth through home value appreciation.
The FY2023 budget maintains Governor Murphy’s commitment to ending diversions from the Affordable Housing Trust Fund, ensuring that those funds will continue to be used for their intended purpose – investing in housing affordability in New Jersey.
Acting Governor Oliver has been a champion of affordable housing in her tenure as Commissioner of the Department of Community Affairs (DCA).
On Monday, July 11, DCA began accepting online pre-applications for the State Rental Assistance Program (SRAP) Waiting List. Pre-applications will be accepted until Friday, July 25, at 5:00 pm to enter a lottery for the statewide SRAP program in the Elderly, Family, Disabled, and Homeless categories.
For more information on SRAP, click here.
