This bill seeks to promote the construction and rehabilitation of affordable housing by utilizing "sweat equity," where future occupants contribute labor to the building process. It establishes a certification process for nonprofits that facilitate these projects, ensuring they have the necessary experience and maintain affordability controls. Notably, if a housing unit is produced with sweat equity and facilitated by a certified nonprofit, certain regulatory requirements, such as adaptability standards and affirmative marketing provisions under the Fair Housing Act, will not apply, as the nonprofit's affordability controls will take precedence. The bill also mandates expedited assistance from the Department of Community Affairs to support these nonprofits and municipalities in fulfilling their affordable housing obligations.

Additionally, the bill allows sweat equity certified nonprofits to apply for advance funding from the New Jersey Affordable Housing Trust Fund and clarifies definitions related to affordable housing, including "sweat equity" and "sweat equity certified nonprofit." It emphasizes the importance of ensuring that units produced through sweat equity count towards municipal affordable housing obligations and allows the use of municipal and state trust funds to support these initiatives. The bill also includes provisions for municipalities to extend tax exemptions for certain subsidized housing projects as long as they remain under affordability controls and requires annual reporting on the fund's activities to ensure transparency. The commissioner is tasked with adopting necessary regulations within four months of enactment to implement these provisions.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 52:27D-304, 52:27D-320, 52:27D-123.15