Establishes the "New Jersey Residential Foreclosure Transformation Act."
Impact
The bill mandates that HMFA purchase eligible residential properties, including those from institutional lenders and properties resulting from tax foreclosures, and manage these properties for affordable housing purposes. Municipalities will benefit from financial credits against their affordable housing obligations for units produced under this program. Furthermore, municipalities that adopt resolutions to commit their housing trust funds for affordable housing can retain control over these funds, insulating them from state-level transfer requirements, thereby ensuring local funding is directed towards community needs.
Summary
Senate Bill S2763, known as the 'New Jersey Residential Foreclosure Transformation Act', aims to address the significant issue of abandoned residential properties resulting from foreclosure. The legislation establishes the New Jersey Residential Foreclosure Transformation Program within the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency (HMFA). This program is designed to facilitate the purchase and rehabilitation of foreclosed properties, dedicating them as affordable housing units for low-income and moderate-income families. It also seeks to improve neighborhood conditions and stabilize property values by actively using these foreclosed homes in the housing market.
Contention
While the bill presents an opportunity to increase affordable housing availability within New Jersey, it has garnered mixed reactions. Supporters argue it provides a necessary solution to the foreclosure crisis by reinvesting in neighborhoods and providing housing to those in need. However, some critics express concerns over the system's dependence on government acquisition of properties and the potential loss of local control over housing developments. Moreover, the restrictions on granting double credits for affordable housing units could create tension between municipalities attempting to meet their housing obligations and the state's central oversight of these initiatives.
The "Vacant Property Revitalization and Affordable Housing Act"; establishes fund to revitalize certain real property and revises process for tax lien holder to foreclose the right of redemption; appropriates $50 million.