S3955 2R

An Act establishing a program to facilitate the prevention of residential evictions ²[during the COVID period, and making an appropriation]².

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. As used in this act:

“Commissioner” means the Commissioner of Community Affairs.

²[“COVID period” means the period beginning on March 1, 2020, and ending on December 31, 2021.

“COVID period residential nonpayment or habitually late payment court record” means:

a. any information maintained by a court in any form in connection with a landlord-tenant case or proceeding, including but not limited to pleadings, evidentiary exhibits, indices, calendars, and dockets;

b. any order, judgment, or warrant related to a landlord-tenant action;

c. any official transcript or recording of a public landlord-tenant proceeding, in any form;

d. any information in a computerized case management system created or prepared by the court in connection with a landlord-tenant action; and

e. any record provided to, made, or maintained by a judicial officer or special civil part officer.]²

“DCA navigator” means a not-for-profit or other entity, qualified in accordance with department standards, that facilitates the prevention of residential evictions in one or more ²[regions] vicinages² of the State through fulfilling the responsibilities of the program delegated to the DCA navigator pursuant to a contract with the department.

“Department” means the Department of Community Affairs.

²“Eligible tenant” means a tenant facing or at risk of facing a nonpayment eviction action who has directly or indirectly incurred financial hardship because of the COVID-19 pandemic and whose household income is not more than 120 percent of the area median income for a household of the same size and composition.²

“Nonpayment eviction action” means a residential eviction action for nonpayment, for habitual late payment of rent, or for refusal to pay or agree to a rental increase ²[during the COVID period]².

“Program” means the Rental Assistance Navigation Program, established pursuant to section 2 of this act.

²“Resource navigator” means an employee or contractor of a DCA navigator.²

“Rental assistance” means cash payments to compensate for unpaid rent provided to the landlord by any federal, State, county, or local rental assistance program.

2. The “Rental Assistance Navigation Program” shall be established in the department, and ²[to]² be administered by the department as a program to facilitate the ²diversion from and² prevention of residential evictions due to nonpayment and habitual late payment of rent or for refusal to pay or agree to a rental increase ²[during the COVID period]². The department may contract the responsibilities of the program to one or more DCA navigators, as deemed appropriate by the commissioner. ²The purpose of the program is to provide support for tenants facing or at risk of eviction who have suffered financial hardship as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and provide resources to alleviate the burden placed on landlord-tenant courts that may be facing increased caseloads and additional resource constraints as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.²

a. The department shall publish information about the program on the department’s Internet website, and shall engage in ²[a campaign] efforts² to enhance public awareness of the program among the residential landlords and tenants in the State.

b. ²[If a tenant has missed one or more rent payment, owed during the COVID period, a residential tenant, or the tenant’s landlord, may apply for rental assistance through the program. Upon application for rental assistance through the program by a residential landlord or tenant, the applicant party shall provide notice of the application to the other party.] As part of the program, Resource Navigators shall be allocated to court vicinages in the State for one year beginning on the effective date of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill). Resource Navigators may be proportionally allocated to vicinages based on need, as determined by the number of nonpayment eviction filings in the vicinage or according to other criteria established by the department.²

c. ²[The department shall review rental assistance applications submitted through the program. In association with each application, the department shall:

(1) conduct outreach to each party to ensure the identity of each party and the accuracy of the information submitted through the application;

(2) determine eligibility for rental assistance available through the department and through other sources;

(3) assist with applications for rental assistance through sources other than the department; and

(4) maintain the confidentiality of information associated with each rental assistance application, though the department shall provide monthly reporting in the aggregate to the Legislature by municipality of the number of households assisted, race, ethnicity, and whether the households are very-low-income, low-income, or moderate-income households, the amounts of assistance provided, and the results of mediation through the program.] Each Resource Navigator shall attend eviction proceedings where possible in the Resource Navigator’s vicinage or vicinages and shall otherwise conduct outreach and work in conjunction with the department, the Administrative Office of the Courts, and local resource agencies of the county or counties that comprise the Resource Navigator’s assigned vicinage or vicinages to identify eligible tenants as defined by section 1 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).²

d. ²[After a rental assistance application submitted pursuant to subsection c. of this section has been submitted and either granted or denied:] A Resource Navigator shall provide services to eligible tenants in the Resource Navigator’s vicinage or vicinages in the form of information and connections to resources that may help the eligible tenant avoid eviction, which may include but need not be limited to:²

(1) ²[if rental assistance sufficient to compensate for the rent unpaid by the tenant has been received by the landlord, the landlord shall agree to refrain from initiating or continuing any nonpayment eviction action, or money judgment action for unpaid rent, against the tenant for rent due during the COVID period.] information about the availability of local, State, or federal rental assistance and other benefits, including benefits intended to provide relief due to hardships incurred because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and about how to apply for such assistance and other benefits;²

(2) ²[if rental assistance sufficient to compensate for the rent unpaid by the tenant has not been received by the landlord, the department shall facilitate a conference among the landlord, tenant, and a mediator to pursue a resolution.] information about how to obtain protections against evictions, including those protections established in subsection d. of section 3 of P.L.2021, c.188 (C.52:27D-287.9) for households that were unable to pay rent due to circumstances arising from the COVID-19 pandemic;²

²[(a) Through mediation, if the landlord agrees to refrain from pursuing or continuing any landlord-tenant or money judgment action, the landlord shall notify the court that any pending case should be dismissed and if a money judgment was issued it should be satisfied.] (3) connections to counseling, legal services, and other resources related to helping eligible tenants prevent evictions;²

²[(b) Through mediation, if the tenant agrees to voluntarily vacate the property, then the tenant shall be permitted no less than 30 days to vacate, and shall be referred to a housing counselor certified by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development.] (4) connections to other intervention supports for households facing financial hardships; and

(5) any other services or supports the department or the DCA navigator deems necessary to assist an eligible tenant in avoiding eviction.²

e. ²[The department shall complete the processes established pursuant to subsections c. and d. of this section within 45 days of the submission of a rental assistance application though the program.] A DCA navigator and a Resource Navigator shall have experience in fulfilling one or more responsibilities of the program and shall be qualified in accordance with criteria established by the department.²

3. ²[a. A landlord shall not file a nonpayment eviction action, or money judgment action for unpaid rent, against a residential tenant while a rental assistance application, submitted through the program, is pending.

b. Effective immediately and in any action for unpaid rent during the COVID period, a landlord shall certify upon the filing of a nonpayment eviction action whether the landlord or tenant has applied for rental assistance, either through the program or otherwise. A landlord who has a pending nonpayment eviction action on the effective date of this act shall certify that the landlord or tenant has applied for rental assistance or participated in the program prior to continuing to advance the eviction action.

c. A COVID period residential nonpayment or habitually late payment court record shall be confidential and unavailable to the public.] The department may collaborate with counties and municipalities that received an allocation of federal Emergency Rental Assistance from the United States Department of the Treasury to facilitate the collection of applications for and distribution of such assistance.²

4. On or before ²[August 31, 2022] June 1, 2023², the commissioner, in consultation with the Administrative Director of the Courts, shall submit a report to the Governor, and to the Legislature pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), to detail the outcomes of the program, providing information that shall include, but shall not be limited to:

a. the number of ²[landlords and] eligible² tenants who have ²[used] been served by² the program; and

b. ²[the number of program participants who were and were not able to reach an agreement that allowed the tenant to remain in the home.] non-personally identifiable information on the race, ethnicity, gender, primary language spoken, household size, and vicinage of tenants assisted by the program.²

5. ²[a. The Commissioner of Community Affairs, in accordance with the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), and in consultation with the Administrative Director of the Courts, shall adopt rules and regulations to effectuate the provisions of this act. The form indicating certification of program completion pursuant to subsection b. of section 3 of this act shall be developed and made available by the Administrative Director of the Courts.

b.]² Notwithstanding the limitations established in section 1 of P.L.2011, c.215 (C.52:14B-3a) on the use of regulatory guidance documents, the commissioner ²[shall] may² prepare and disseminate regulatory guidance documents as defined in subsection d. of section 1 of P.L.2011, c.215 (C.52:14B-3a), in advance of the adoption of regulations as necessary for the administration of this act.

6. ²[There is appropriated from funds provided to the State by the United States government under the “Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act,” Pub.L.116-136, to the Department of Community Affairs the sums necessary to administer the program and assist in the training of mediators. If sufficient funding for this purpose is not available through the “Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act,” Pub.L.116-136, then the remainder of this amount shall be appropriated from other federal funding authorized for coronavirus relief as it is, or becomes, available.] The Commissioner of Community Affairs shall consult with the Division of Disaster Recovery and Mitigation to effectuate the purposes of this act, to establish appropriate administrative costs, and to ensure that any expenditure of federal funds in connection to this act are expended in compliance with federal rules and guidance, including with respect to the American Rescue Plan Act, Pub.L.117-2.²

7. This act shall take effect ²[on] immediately.² ¹[the first day of the fourth month following enactment, except that the Commissioner of Community Affairs and the Administrative Director of the Courts may take any anticipatory action as may be necessary and that section 3 of this act shall take effect immediately] ²[August 31, 2021¹.]²