Issues 2021 Mortgage Servicing Covid-19 Rule

Garden State Leaders and 

Disability Rights NJ, the designated Protection and Advocacy agency for NJ, announces two open positions for our new Children’s Team:

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1:00–3:00PM via Zoom

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NJ DMHAS

Opioid Summit

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Congratulations and best wishes on his future endeavors to Wayne Meyer who steps down after serving 12 years as President of New Jersey Community Capital. Through his tenure, NJCC has expanded its outreach and collaborative opportunities to serve as a community development financial institution (CDFI) for New Jersey.

A special shout out for their new name and style as Bridgeway becomes Bridgeway Behavioral Health Services starting today, July 1st. Stop by their website to see their updates: https://www.bridgewayrehab.org/

A special shout out for their new name and style as Bridgeway becomes Bridgeway Behavioral Health Services starting today, July 1st. Stop by their website to see their updates: https://www.bridgewayrehab.org/

Become a SHA Member and get access to great meetings and many other great member benefits. Need more information? Email Joseph Christensen with your questions.

Join us on Monday, July 12th for a virtual meeting of our Developers Group.

To register, email Joseph Christensen at j.christensen@shanj.org.

This week the Supreme Court denied a request to allow a May 5th lower court ruling—which would have ended the CDC’s nationwide eviction moratorium for qualifying renters—to go into effect. The May 5th order, issued by a U.S. District Judge, ruled in favor of the plaintiffs and would have vacated the CDC order. However, the Biden-Harris Administration appealed the lower court’s ruling and the U.S. District Judge put the ruling on hold pending appeal. The plaintiffs in the case were appealing to the Supreme Court to allow that court's ruling to be enforced. The Supreme Court decision leaves the CDC’s eviction order, which is set to expire on July 31, 2021, in place while litigation in the dispute continues.

As the state’s fiscal year comes to an end, lawmakers are awaiting Gov. Phil Murphy’s signature on a number of key bills, one of which would give more support to renters facing a mass eviction crisis. Legislators last week agreed to end the state’s eviction moratorium early, requiring hundreds of millions of dollars in aid to help both tenants and landlords. Advocates for both landlords and tenants expressed broad support for the measure, although some were critical.

TRENTON – Governor Murphy signed legislation (S1255/ A1925) which creates a $20 million transfer to the Special Needs Housing Trust Fund in the Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency (HMFA). The Special Needs Housing Trust Fund provides capital financing to create supportive housing and community residences for individuals living with special needs.

The legislation provides a permanent revenue stream for up to $20 Million dollars annually from certain realty transfer fees to be directed into the SNHTF. With this new infusion of capital, more projects can be dedicated to helping create housing for New Jersey residents in need.

TRENTON, NJ — More low-income New Jersey residents will be eligible to receive the state's Earned Income Tax Credit under a bill Gov. Phil Murphy signed Tuesday. The bill, S3428/A5345, expands the state's Earned Income Tax Credit to workers who are at least 18 years old whether or not they have children. It also allows those who are 65 or older to claim the credit again whether they have qualifying children or not. The Earned Income Tax Credit can reduce the amount of income taxes someone owes, or provide a refund even if the person doesn't owe any taxes. New Jersey expanded the eligibility to those 21 and older in September 2020. The bill Murphy signed Tuesday is a further expansion of the program.

The Earned Income Tax Credit is a refundable tax credit for low- and moderate-income working individuals and families. It was established by the federal government in 1975 and New Jersey added a state version of the credit in 2000. The credit is estimated to be worth about $600 and the expansion would benefit about 10,500 people for Fiscal Year 2022, the state Office of Legislative Services estimates.

To receive the NJ state EITC, you must file a federal tax form, be eligible for the federal EITC and file a state income tax return (if you are married but file separately, you may not claim the NJ EITC). Visit www.irs.gov/eitc for more information on filing for the federal EITC or call 1-800-829-1040. For more income and eligibility information on filing for the NJ EITC visit www.njeitc.org or call 609-292-6400.

Issues 2021 Mortgage Servicing Covid-19 Rule

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued the 2021 Mortgage Servicing Covid-19 rule (2021 rule), a final temporary rule that amends the agency’s mortgage servicing rules to offer additional assistance to borrowers experiencing a pandemic-related financial hardship. The 2021 rule, which will generally cover loans on principal residences starting August 31, 2021, will establish temporary special safeguards to help ensure that borrowers affected by the pandemic’s economic fallout have time before foreclosure to explore their options. The new temporary rule will also allow loan servicers to offer streamlined loan modifications to eligible borrowers without making borrowers submit all the paperwork for every possible option or increasing borrowers’ monthly payments.

Additionally, the rule will require servicers to increase their outreach to borrowers before initiating foreclosure and to provide borrowers exiting forbearance or struggling to make mortgage payments with key information about their options in any communications. The CFPB notes that qualifying borrowers will have a set of options to bring their mortgages current and avoid foreclosure, including missed payments deferral and loan modifications.

Elaine Helms created the RAIN Foundation in 2013 and opened a shelter in East Orange that houses up to 12 LGBT youth. The RAIN Foundation’s work is now expanding to permanent, affordable supportive housing in Newark for people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender and may have a disability. It was a project Helms started talking to city officials about five years ago, she said.

Helms and city officials on Tuesday broke ground on a vacant plot of land at the corner of Roseville and Sussex avenues for 11 units of permanent, supportive housing. Each resident will receive services from the RAIN Foundation and other partners to help with their health and financial needs.

The city is providing the land — valued at $400,000 — for a nominal amount, and has committed $1.3 million to the project, officials said. Additional funding is expected to come from the federal Continuum of Care program, the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York*, BCB Bank and the Essex County HOME program. Monarch Housing Associates* is providing extensive financial and project consulting for the new housing and  Kitchen & Associates*, a New Jersey-based architect will provide the design. The RAIN Foundation will serve as the developer on the project.

*Denotes SHA Members working on this project.

Photos above from the groundbreaking ceremony including architect rendering from Kitchen and Associates (left) and representatives from project partners (right) including Taiisa Kelly, CEO and Asish Patel, COO from Monarch Housing Associates with shovels and hard hats.

LIVINGSTON, NJ — Mayors from across Essex County recently deliberated the challenges of satisfying state-mandated affordable housing obligations and contemplated future shared-service opportunities during the Inter-Chamber Coordinating Council (ICCC) of Essex County’s 11th annual Meet the Mayors event.

The topic came to the fore after West Caldwell Mayor Joe Tempesta suggested taking a regional or county approach to hiring construction officials, zoning officials, sub-code officials, plumbing inspectors, building inspectors, electrical inspectors and other positions that the municipalities have struggled to fill on a part-time basis. Mayor Jack McEvoy of Verona chimed in to suggest that elected officials work together to encourage state representatives to pass legislation that will help townships in anticipation of the next round of obligations in 2025. Tempesta agreed that lobbying state legislators to help with funding to build the necessary infrastructure would benefit the entire Essex County community. South Orange Mayor Sheena Collum also highlighted the benefits of planning supportive housing units in housing development as they count twice toward housing requirements.

Click here to read the discussion between the mayors.

The Mental Health Association in New Jersey (MHANJ) is pleased to launch United by Wellness (UBW), a virtual wellness center designed to provide emotional and mental health support, education and advocacy in a safe, diverse community. This is a free, three-month pilot program that will bring the hope of recovery to New Jerseyans in the comfort and privacy of their own homes, with specialized tracks based on individual needs. It will open on Wednesday, July 7.

To join UBW click https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/8VXP2K8.

For more information visit our website, or email unitedbywellness@mhanj.org.

MOUNT HOLLY – The Burlington County Commissioners announced a new program to assist county homeowners impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Burlington County CARES Act program funded by U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development will launch this month. The program is designed to provide income-eligible residents with documented financial hardships up to six months of mortgage and/or utility assistance. Mortgage relief has been identified as a pressing need in our community, and Burlington County’s program can provide eligible homeowners with up to six months of assistance for outstanding or upcoming mortgage payments (including property taxes). Utility support is also available from the new Burlington County CARES Act program, as is a combination of both mortgage and utility help. The new assistance is funded with $1.2 million in grant funding awarded to Burlington County from last year’s federal CARES Act.

Applications are being considered on a first-come, first-served basis. Interested homeowners must submit a preliminary application online. It can be found at www.tfaforms.com/4913684.

Burlington County residents with questions about the mortgage and utility assistance program or application can call a program representative at 609-642-9213, ext. 58 or email jbreslin@cgph.net.

The Garden State Leaders Program ( A partnership of New Jersey Coalition to End Homelessness and New Jersey Citizen Action) is a free leadership and advocacy training program for NJ residents with lived experience of poverty. Throughout the program participants learn to effectively tell their stories, build leadership skills and further their advocacy goals. Each session focuses on a different topic such as crafting and delivering your message, working with the media, understanding local policy issues and more. The program will be offered in a virtual format over the course of eight, three-hour sessions from the last week of July through the end of November. Please click the link below to apply and join our over 70 graduates of the program working to make a difference throughout the state: https://www.njceh.org/gsl-application

For more information, visit the GSL website: https://www.njceh.org/gsl

New Jersey Partners in Policymaking is a leadership development and advocacy education program for adults with developmental disabilities (over age 21) and family members of young children and transition age youth available through collaboration between The New Jersey Council on Developmental Disabilities, The Boggs Center on Developmental Disabilities, and Disability Rights New Jersey. The goal of this program is to prepare the next generation of disability advocates to work toward meaningful change in our state.

Over the past year the Supportive Housing Community watched people Renewing and Rising, showing us the very best we can be as we strive to build supportive, affordable, and inclusive communities. Help us honor those whose examples inspire our progress.

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