From the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs' press release:
The New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA) today highlighted that it has reached the milestone of disbursing more than $200 million in federal Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) funds throughout the state. More than $232 million in rental relief has been distributed to nearly 26,000 households to date as DCA’s Division of Housing and Community Resources continually works to increase the pace of distribution.
Additionally, DCA is announcing the start of the Eviction Prevention Program, which will pay rent arrears and future rent up to a total of 24 months, as well as utility assistance, for low-income, moderate-income, and middle-income households that have experienced an economic impact due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The program is made possible with $500 million in federal funding for rental assistance and $250 million in federal funding for utility assistance that was included in legislation (S-3691) Governor Murphy signed into law on August 4, 2021.
U.S. Treasury published a report on the Emergency Rental Assistance Program in June in which it described DCA as a high performer in disbursing rental assistance. The report can be found at: Emergency Rental Assistance Program | U.S. Department of the Treasury. That high rating continued in the July report with DCA’s performance near the top among states in terms of overall disbursement and funds disbursed in the month of July. All states must expend 65 percent of the first tranche of ERAP funds by September 30, 2021. U.S. Treasury tracks the amount expended on a monthly basis and, in terms of percentage of funds spent, New Jersey is currently third in the nation among state programs.
“We are proud to be in the top tier of states to get federal emergency rental assistance out, but we know even more needs to be done to help families who have struggled to pay their rent throughout this pandemic,” said Lt. Governor Sheila Oliver, who serves as DCA Commissioner. “This is why DCA continues to focus on picking up the pace of distributing funds so that as many people as possible can avoid eviction. It is also why we are launching the Eviction Prevention Program, which will help us expand income eligibility to reach even more households in need.”