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Priced Out provides a wealth of data that presents rent and income. To view data illustrating the housing affordability problems confronting people with disabilities receiving SSI in the federally defined housing market areas of the State of New Jersey click here.

In 2006, New Jersey had SSI benefits equal to $634.25 per month. Statewide, this income was equal to only 13.4 percent of the median income. To rent an efficiency unit, a person with a disability would have to pay 132.8 percent of their SSI benefits and 149.3 percent of the monthly benefits for a one-bedroom unit. The figure also illustrates the relationship between SSI and Housing Wage data for a one bedroom apartment. In New Jersey that equals a salary equal to $18.21 an hour.

Within New Jersey’s federally defined housing market areas the cost of a one-bedroom rental unit ranged from a low of 104.5 percent of SSI benefits in the Ocean City/Cape May Metropolitan Statistical Area to a high of 168.4 percent in the Middlesex/Somerset/Hunterdon market area.

To view the full report click here.

The following information is from our friends at the Housing and Community Development Network of NJ. To review the fact sheet on the Very Low Income Housing bill click here.

The Network would like to thank you for your participation in the May 10th Lobby Day experience.

For those of you who missed it, it was a great day and we missed you, but don’t worry, there will be others. For those of you who attended, you were exposed to a day of learning about issues, meeting with your respective legislators and attending hearings, with special emphasis on the hearing on the very low income housing bill; which our efforts were very successful, as you will remember the bill was voted out of the committee and will now head over to the Assembly floor for a full vote.

To view data from Priced Out click here.

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Despite unique challenges, a growing number of community-based housing organizations in rural areas are building environmentally sensitive, affordable homes, concludes a new report by the Housing Assistance Council. The report describes successful rural green developments around the country. According to the report, the most common green techniques and tools being used by rural housing organizations include energy and water efficient practices; environmentally preferable products such as environmentally certified materials and locally sourced materials; effective management of materials and resources on site and waste management; lessening site disturbance and erosion through the use of permeable paving materials and bioswales; homeowner awareness education practices; and use of intense design sessions known as charettes. “Affordable Green Building in Rural Communities” is free on HAC’s Web site. Printed copies are available for $5.00 each from Luz Rosas [Email address: luz #AT# ruralhome.org - replace #AT# with @ ] at (202) 842-8600 ext. 137.

Bills expanding Section 8 vouchers and facilitating mobile home purchases passed a House panel and are expected to be win full House approval, reported Congressional Quarterly Weekly. The voucher bill (HR 1851) would authorize 100,000 new vouchers over five years and require HUD to allocate voucher funds based on housing data from the previous 12 months. The older data currently used to distribute funds has resulted in the loss of roughly 150,000 vouchers since 2004, housing advocates say. The bill would also expand the number of public housing authorities eligible to participate in the Moving to Work program from 40 to 60. The program provides authorities with increased flexibility to design tenant self-sufficiency initiatives.

Housing Overhaul Would Expand Voucher Program for the Poor
05/26/2007 | Congressional Quarterly Weekly

This is KnowledgePlex Expert Chat that may be of interest. It will be held on Tuesday, May 29 at 1:00 p.m. EDT.

Throughout U.S. history, the federal government has provided incentive programs to help citizens accumulate savings and build individual financial assets such as home and business ownership. Historically, these programs include some of the largest and most successful government ventures of our history, such as the G.I. Bill and the Homestead Act. But today, most asset-building incentives are rarely examined or explored, even though they involve hundreds of billions of dollars yearly, and directly touch the pocketbooks of millions of Americans.

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This piece appeared in Politics NJ. Is this common sense?

By Robert Torricelli - May 29, 2007 - 2:38pm

I’m as supportive of progressive causes as any good Democrat. I feel as though I’ve led some lonely fights but sometimes you’ve got to recognize when things are just crazy.

The fight for affordable housing is a just cause. People should have the ability to live in communities where they work. Zoning powers shouldn’t be used to exclude citizens because of economic status. The question is how far this is going to go.

Two things have recently happened that prove that even a good a cause like affordable housing can be taken too far. First, some otherwise sensible Democratic leaders want to end the practice whereby communities can sell their housing obligations to other communities. This has traditionally led many rural areas to send funds to developed areas to subsidize housing and it has been very successful. If the practice is ended by the legislature, the affordable housing quotient of every community will have to be constructed within municipal borders.

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This update is from the National Alliance to End Homelessness.

Latest news: On May 24, Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and Wayne Allard (R-CO) introduced S. 1518, the Community Partnership to End Homelessness Act of 2007 (CPEHA), legislation to reauthorize the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Grants program.

The Alliance’s analysis of this legislation is very positive. This legislation will make the McKinney program a more effective tool (one of many tools) to prevent and end homelessness. As the bill moves through Congress, we will be working with our local, state and national partners on any changes needed to improve the legislation further and ensure that it suits the needs of as many as possible.

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