NJ State Rental Assistance Program, Wait List Opens July 11

The New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA) today announced that its Division of Housing and Community Resources (DHCR) will be accepting pre-applications online for the State Rental Assistance Program (SRAP) Waiting List.

Pre-applications will be accepted to enter a lottery for the statewide SRAP program in the Elderly, Family, Disabled, and Homeless categories.

Elderly applicants
must serve as head of household and be 62 years of age or older.

For those applying in the Family category, the head of household must be 18 years of age or an emancipated minor, with or without children.

To qualify in the Disabled category, the head of household or spouse must be permanently disabled.

Those applicants in the Homeless category must lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence.

For each of the four categories, Elderly, Family, Disabled, Homeless, the State of NJ will award 1,000 applicants State Rental Assistance – a total of 4,000 awards to be issued.

“At DCA, we have made and continue to make unprecedented investments to reduce the long-term financial impacts of this pandemic and are committed to increasing affordability, especially when it comes to one of the biggest expenses facing families – housing,” said Lt. Governor Sheila Y. Oliver, who serves as DCA Commissioner. “We will be selecting 4,000 applicants for the wait list through a lottery process out of the pool of all the applications received. As vouchers are awarded, they will provide the stability that families need. That is why this State Rental Assistance Program opening is so important.”

All pre-applications submitted online during the open enrollment period from Monday, July 11, 2022, at 9:00 a.m. until Friday, July 22, 2022, at 5:00 p.m., will be entered into a database and a lottery system will be used to select applicants for the waiting lists.

Pre-applications for SRAP assistance will be accepted from very low-income households. Applicants must be eighteen (18) years of age or older to apply or be an emancipated minor.

Pre-applications successfully submitted during the open enrollment period have the same chance of being selected during the lottery. Those selected in the lottery for the wait list will then be eligible to receive SRAP vouchers as they become available.

APPLICANTS MUST HAVE AN EMAIL ADDRESS TO APPLY. Web browsers like Google Chrome, Firefox, or Internet Explorer 10 or higher are recommended. If an applicant is disabled and needs assistance with submitting their pre-application during the open enrollment period, they can contact DCA at 609-292-4080 and select Option 9 from the menu to request a reasonable accommodation.

For more information visit http://www.nj.gov/dca/.

At the time of selection from the waiting lists, applicants must meet the maximum household income limits of the county where they want to live and provide proof of residency.

Also, Disabled and Homeless applicants must provide verification of their disability and homelessness at the time of selection from the waiting list.

Individuals selected by the lottery to be placed on the waiting list will be notified via email which may take several weeks.

The following chart indicates the income limits per person household to qualify for the state rental assistance lottery:

The Division of Housing and Community Resources strengthens and revitalizes communities through the delivery of affordable housing, supportive services, and the provision of financial and technical assistance to communities, local government, and community-based organizations. For more information, visit: http://www.nj.gov/dca/

DCA offers a wide range of programs and services, including energy assistance, housing vouchers, affordable housing production, fire and building safety, community planning and development, local government management and finance, and disaster recovery and mitigation.

For more information about DCA, visit https://nj.gov/dca/.

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