22A:2-51a Findings, declarations relative to experiential housing advocacy programs.
1. The Legislature finds and declares that:
a. The lack of affordable housing in New Jersey forces low- and moderate-income households to spend a disproportionate share of their income toward rental payments, which dynamic has resulted in an eviction crisis throughout the State.
b. The COVID-19 pandemic has heightened existing economic disparities and exacerbated the economic insecurity of many low- and moderate-income households, thereby worsening the State's eviction crisis to a critical level.
c. During the COVID-19 pandemic, a Statewide moratorium on evictions was put in place pursuant to Executive Order No. 106 and P.L.2020, c.1 (C.2A:18-59.3); however, this moratorium will soon expire, placing many low- and moderate-income households at risk of eviction.
d. It is estimated that as many as 300,000 rental households in New Jersey will become subject to an eviction proceeding after the eviction moratorium ends, which would be double the average annual number of proceedings filed before the pandemic.
e. These evictions are expected to disproportionately impact Black and Latino residents of New Jersey, as these communities account for a large percentage of the State's rental population.
f. Additionally, many landlords have increasingly filed legal actions against tenants to seek monetary relief rather than eviction, thereby putting low- and moderate-income tenants at risk of damaged credit ratings and further economic hardship.
g. The State and federal governments have established rental assistance programs to assist low- and moderate-income tenants who have been adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, which programs include the COVID-19 Emergency Rental Assistance Program administered by the Department of Community Affairs.
h. However, these novel State and federal programs may be complex, making it difficult for some tenants to apply for and receive all of the benefits to which they are entitled under these programs.
i. Although these rental assistance programs may provide tenants with the means to pay some or all of their rental obligations, many tenants may still lack the ability needed to effectively negotiate with their landlords toward solutions that avert further legal proceedings.
j. Furthermore, when governmental assistance cannot prevent the filing of an eviction proceeding, the vast majority of tenants cannot afford to hire an attorney; in contrast, most landlords are represented by an attorney during these proceedings, given that many landlords are corporations, which are required to have counsel.
k. Consequently, the provision of free legal services to low- and moderate-income tenants who are in need of housing assistance, including those who are at risk of eviction and those who are entitled to governmental rental assistance, is one of the most effective ways to address the ongoing eviction crisis.
l. It is therefore in the public interest and a valid public purpose for the Legislature to appropriate monies to the Seton Hall Law School, the Rutgers Law School, Camden location, and the Rutgers Law School, Newark location, to establish experiential housing advocacy programs that provide free legal services to low- and moderate-income tenants who are in need of housing assistance.
L.2021, c.181, s.1.