TRENTON – The New Jersey Assembly Housing Committee today voted in favor of legislation which provides protections from foreclosure and eviction for homeowners and tenants during the coronavirus pandemic. Housing and Community Development Network of New Jersey (the Network) President and CEO Staci Berger issued the following statement on the bill’s passage:

“Homeownership is the biggest creator of generational wealth. In New Jersey and across the country, there are major disparities between rates of homeownership by race. Nearly 80 percent of NJ’s white population owns their home, which is twice as likely as Black and Latino residents. Helping to protect generational wealth by providing tools for homeowners of color, and protecting renters, who are much more likely to be Black and Latino, to protect against evictions and prevent negative credit scores, is an urgent matter of racial justice.

“We applaud the members of the Assembly committee for moving this extremely important piece of legislation that protects our lowest income and most vulnerable residents. Record levels of unemployment in a state where rents and rates of foreclosure are among the highest in the nation are creating tremendous housing instability that threatens the health and well-being of our residents. We urge the members of the Assembly and Senate to prevent the COVID crisis from creating an eviction tsunami by voting in favor of this bill.”

To view the Network’s testimony submitted today’s Assembly Housing Committee hearing, visit www.hcdnnj.org.

About the Housing and Community Development Network of NJ
The Housing and Community Development Network of NJ is the statewide association of more than 250 community development corporations, individuals and other organizations that support the creation of affordable homes, economic opportunities, and strong communities. For more information on the Network, visit www.hcdnnj.org.

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