Rental Assistance Programs

Residential Rental Assistance Program

The Montclair Township Residential Rental Assistance (RRA) program makes available an initial amount of $60,000 in funds to assist households that are unable to pay rent. Montclair Township will offer aid to income-eligible households located within the geographical boundaries of the Township who have been economically impacted through job loss, furlough or reduction in hours or pay. RRA is a grant program wherein rental payments are made on behalf of an income-eligible household to the landlord for a maximum period of 12 months to maintain housing and/or to reduce rental payments in arrears. Assistance will be available for monthly rent payments and rental arrearages.

Eligible Participants

Eligible participants are households that are obligated to pay rent on a dwelling unit in Montclair Township whose household income is below 80% of area median income and who have experienced economic hardship for the 90-day period preceding the application. Economic hardship includes households where family members qualify for unemployment benefits or who have experienced a reduction in household income, incurred significant costs or experienced other financial hardship.

Eligible Properties

Properties must be a rental property located in Montclair Township.

Administration

Applications will be evaluated by Family Promise of Essex County on a first-come, first-served basis. Once an application is certified, the Municipal Housing Liaison will request authorization to disburse the funds. A link to the online program intake form is provided below.

Residential Rental Assistance Program Intake Form (English)

Residential Rental Assistance Program Intake Form (Spanish)

Residential Rental Assistance Program Policy and Procedures Manual(PDF, 228KB)

Once the online intake form is completed and submitted, a representative from Family Promise of Essex County will contact each applicant to discuss the application process and the required documentation.  For more information, please contact:

Family Promise of Essex County
46 Park Street
Montclair, New Jersey 07042
Phone:  973-746-1400
Fax:  973-746-1488
Email: info@fpessexnj.org

First Months Rental Assistance Program

The Montclair Township First Months Rental Assistance Program is designed to help low-income and very low-income households to find a home in Montclair.  This program will provide a grant to renters of deed restricted affordable properties within Montclair Township to use the grant to pay for up to the first three month’s rent or $2,500, whichever is greater. The goal of the program is to provide financial assistance to low-income and very low-income tenants of affordable housing to alleviate financial hardship associated with moving to a new rental unit.  The program allows the tenant to pay the security deposit, with the assurance that upon vacating the unit, the tenant may be eligible to a refund of the security deposit if the apartment has not been damaged.  Funds are made available through the Affordable Housing Trust Fund of Montclair Township

Eligible Participants

Applicants for this grant program must be income-qualified as a low-income or very low-income household by the Administrative Agent for Montclair Township and must have a lease to rent a deed restricted apartment in Montclair.

 

Eligible Properties

Properties must be a rental property within Montclair Township with deed restrictions limiting ownership to eligible low- and moderate-income families. The rent of the apartment will be limited by the deed restriction to be affordable to a very low-income household.

 

Administration

The Administrative Agent will certify the qualifications of the unit and prospective tenant household.Once certified, the Municipal Housing Liaison will request authorization to disburse the funds.

 

NJDCA Homeless Prevention Program

The Office of Homelessness Prevention (OHP) coordinates efforts to prevent homelessness among State and local agencies and private organizations that provide services to persons who are homeless or at risk for homelessness. The office has both programmatic and research and evaluation capacities, which are operationalized to assess State and local homelessness prevention services and to develop and deploy innovative programs and resources that address and support the evolving needs of persons in the State who are homeless or at risk for homelessness.

Additional information please visit: https://nj.gov/dca/dhcr/offices/dhcrohp.shtml

NJDCA Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) & Eviction Prevention Program

The New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (NJDCA) received over $1B in Emergency Rental Assistance funds to provide rental assistance to eligible families who have been impacted during the COVID-19 pandemic. There are three programs in which impacted families may be eligible.

Additional information please visit: https://njdca.onlinepha.com/en-US/