NEW JERSEY APARTMENT ASSOCIATION STATEMENT 

ON GOVERNOR MURPHY’S STATE OF THE STATE COMMENTS 

REGARDING RENTAL HOUSING ISSUES

(MONROE TOWNSHIP, NJ) – In response to Governor Murphy’s State of the State address, the New Jersey Apartment Association’s Executive Director David Brogan issued the following statement regarding commentary surrounding rental housing:

“It is disappointing to see Governor Murphy repeatedly call for the Legislature to pass A-4226, a bill that would create unworkable repayment schedules for unpaid rent, despite the fact that New Jersey is on the cusp of receiving nearly $600 million in federal rental assistance. The Governor’s solution should focus on rental assistance rather than simply shifting the burden onto landlords and homeowners. Governor Murphy repeatedly states that we are in this together and that we are a family. However, pitting one group of impacted individuals against another group of impacted individuals without providing any assistance is a dysfunctional family, not a healthy one.

The policy choice is simple: either government provides meaningful rental assistance which helps impacted tenants and mitigates the rental housing crisis; or government unfairly attempts to force private sector property owners to shoulder that financial burden. Given that placing the burden on landlords will create the largest property tax shift onto homeowners in New Jersey’s history, the choice should be readily apparent.

The NJAA has been calling for meaningful, broad-based rental assistance since March 2020.  NJAA supported Senate President Stephen Sweeney and Senator Brian Stack’s bill that would have created a $100 million program to help low-, moderate- and middle-income renters – yet Governor Murphy vetoed it.

With the most recent federal relief package, the federal government has stepped up and New Jersey will receive rental assistance for primarily low-income communities.  However, it is incumbent upon the state to augment that assistance with additional state funding that can provide help to the middle class in New Jersey. Just as private sector businesses have had to reprioritize and reallocate resources, so too should state government.

Meaningful rental assistance for low-, moderate- and middle-income New Jerseyans is the only solution that will help tenants with past due rent, help landlords maintain their properties, and help homeowners avoid another unnecessary tax hike.  New Jersey already has the highest property taxes in the nation.  The Legislature should not pursue a policy like A-4226 that will not only exacerbate that problem but would also fail to address the housing crisis we are trying to solve. It is our hope that the Governor will reconsider this policy recommendation and instead, work with property owners, tenants and homeowners toward a more equitable solution.

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