New Jersey
What you need to know to apply for affordable housing in New Jersey
3-minute read
NJ affordable housing history: Video
Take a look at North Jersey’s history with affordable housing over the last 50 years.
More than 4,000 people recently applied for a Cherry Hill development with 28 affordable units.
In East Hanover in Morris County last year, there were about 9,500 applicants for 45 units.
A building that opened last year in Teaneck with 40 affordable units for people age 62 and older had more than 700 applicants.
“It is very competitive,” said Joshua Bauers, the director of exclusionary zoning litigation for the nonprofit Fair Share Housing Center. “It is just emblematic of the housing shortage we are all existing in.”
The search for affordable housing can be complicated and arduous, and the odds of getting awarded an apartment are long. But advocates say reforms to the system in recent years have made the process more accessible, and they hope other planned changes will make it easier for applicants.
To qualify for affordable housing in New Jersey, applicants must earn at or below 80% of the median family income for the county where the housing is, under the state’s Uniform Housing Affordability Controls.
Units are available to people at various income levels, for those earning 30%, 50% or 80% of the median income.
In Bergen, Hudson, Passaic and Sussex counties, a family of four would earn up to $96,329 to qualify for moderate-income housing, $60,206 to qualify for low-income housing and $36,124 to qualify for very low-income housing.
Story continues below photo gallery.
In December, because of the state’s new affordable housing law, the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency, or HMFA, adopted interim amendments to the Uniform Housing Affordability Controls.
Under the law, all units are required to be “affirmatively marketed.”
But under the old rules, which hadn’t been updated in 20 years, the specified marketing still included television and radio with no mention of the internet or social media.
“That’s one of the big updates you’ll see,” Bauers said. “That was probably one of the most outdated aspects of the old rules.”
Other recent changes have also eased the process for potential applicants.
Soon after the start of the pandemic, the state changed the law to require a central location for all affordable housing to be advertised. Now all units are listed on the New Jersey Housing Resource Center’s website at nj.gov/njhrc, which previously was used to advertise only affordable housing units financed by the HMFA.
“Everything funnels to there — the idea is it should be really easy to figure out what housing is available,” Bauers said. “Before, you could go on five different websites operated by administrative agents to do the applications and figure out what’s available. Now it’s all in one place.”
That new requirement is included in the updated rules, he said.
Under the Fair Chance in Housing Act, which went into effect in 2022, a landlord cannot consider an applicant’s criminal history on an initial housing application, in an interview or in other ways before making an offer.
In the years since Mount Laurel, a cottage industry of businesses that act as administrative agents for affordable housing has sprung up. Those companies, including Piazza & Associates in Princeton, Community Grants, Planning and Housing and the nonprofit Housing Partnership of Morris County, all have slightly different procedures for applying.
People in need of affordable housing will fill out an application or pre-application, and then the administrative agent runs a lottery to establish the order of who gets the housing.
After the lottery, people start to get matched up with units. Sometimes landlords or property owners have their own application process tenants must go through.
The Fair Share Housing Center is hoping to make the application as uniform as possible, so people won’t have to fill out so many forms. It is also pushing for a window of eligibility in which people won’t have to repeatedly supply documents proving they are eligible for affordable housing or government benefits, like food stamps.
Currently, applicants must fill out separate applications for each unit, and repeatedly provide documentation that they meet the income requirements. Because each application carries a fee, the process of applying can become unaffordable for those seeking housing, Bauers said.
“The housing shortage is a tremendous part of the problem — one we are trying to solve through building more affordable housing,” he said. “But we are hopeful these updates will alleviate some of these access problems.”
Another change affordable housing advocates are pushing for is clear requirements for unit sizes, access to amenities and other features. They are seeking regulations requiring developers to build one-, two- and three-bedroom affordable units, with specific minimum unit and bedroom sizes, so housing is available and suitable for families.
“People looking for affordable units sometimes end up on yearslong wait lists before they finally get access to housing,” Bauers said. “We are really happy with what the HMFA is doing with the new rules. This will make it easier for people who need housing to access it.”
For Nora Corthren, the work goes far beyond organizing events or telling stories. It’s about helping people see themselves in hockey.
As the NHL’s Manager of Content, Audience Development, and Social Impact, Corthren works at the crossroads of storytelling and community engagement, helping shine a spotlight on initiatives that make our game of hockey more welcoming and inclusive. From Pride programming to the Willie O’Ree Community Hero Award and Hockey Fights Cancer, her role focuses on highlighting the people and organizations making a difference throughout the hockey world.
Over the past four years, Corthren has witnessed meaningful growth across the sport.
“It really has been wonderful to just see the hockey world continue to grow and develop and become more welcoming and more diverse and more inclusive,” she said.
Much of that progress comes from grassroots organizations working to create safe and welcoming spaces for players and fans from all backgrounds. Corthren’s job often involves identifying those stories and using the NHL’s platform to amplify them.
“I think it’s something that a lot of people who do the grassroots work of trying to make the game a more inclusive and welcoming space, they don’t do it for the attention,” she said. “They very much do it for the impact.”
That ability to elevate organizations and individuals making a difference has become one of the most rewarding parts of her work.
Among the initiatives closest to Corthren’s heart is the NHL’s continued involvement in Pride celebrations, including the annual New York City Pride March. For years, the league has marched alongside local hockey organizations and teams from across the New York metropolitan area, including the New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders, New York Sirens, and New York Rangers.
For Corthren, the importance of that presence cannot be overstated. Seeing the NHL shield, the NHL teams’ logos, and even, yes, NJ Devil, are important parts of representation to a marginalized community.
A notorious mob hitman who once testified against John “Junior” Gotti before cleaning up his life and becoming a councilman in New Jersey has been arrested on extortion and loansharking charges that, if proven, reflect a return to the lifestyle of his youth.
John Alite, 63, was arrested on Friday in New Jersey, where he was sworn in early last year as a councilman in the borough of Englishtown. Released after a court appearance Saturday, Alite is scheduled to return to court for a detention hearing Wednesday.
His attorney, Douglas Anton, responding to an email seeking comment, said he did not want to speak about the case before the next court appearance.
Alite faces multiple counts of extortion, corporate misconduct, loansharking and terroristic threats.
Alite provided loans at exorbitant rates before threatening violence to collect on them, authorities said, citing the discovery in his home of metal knuckles, an expandable baton, six baseball bats and about two dozen knives, including switchblades.
The baseball bats, authorities said, included one stored near his home’s front door and five more in a kitchen storage bench.
An officer of the New Jersey State Police, an investigative arm of the attorney general’s office, said in court papers that it appeared that the weapons found in Alite’s residence were intended for use in collecting debts.
According to court papers, Alite had threatened one person he had lent money to, saying he would strike him across the head with a baseball bat if he didn’t meet his demands.
Alite also had bragged that he had in the past endeavored to “gut” people like “fish,” the court papers said.
In a release, prosecutors said Alite carried out crimes in part through his corporation, Straightened-Out Entertainment Inc.
They said he illegally obtained property and money from his victims by threats of violence in ways that reflected his 2009 testimony at a Gotti trial that ended with a deadlocked jury.
Alite told a Manhattan federal court jury that he killed a childhood friend to earn respect from fellow mobsters.
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The Garden State set a record for monthly iGaming revenue in May. Read how much for the biggest month ever in New Jersey iGaming.
New Jersey online casinos have been going strong all year, but May 2026 was especially notable. The Garden State’s iGaming market earned a record-breaking $276.3 million last month. This amount eclipsed the previous record of $273.2 million set in December 2025.
NJ online casino revenue for May 2026: $276.3 million
The $276.3 million earned in May 2026 represents an 11.9% year-over-year (YoY) increase from May 2025, when NJ online casinos earned $246.8 million.
This was yet another strong month and double-digit increase for New Jersey iGaming. The state had an identical 11.9% YoY uptick last month, when iCasinos made $263.1 million.
Year-to-date earnings for New Jersey gaming sites are $1.32 billion through May 2026. That’s up 14.4% compared to the same time period last year, when New Jersey had $1.16 billion through May 2025.
Golden Nugget enjoyed the strongest month
According to the May 2026 New Jersey iGaming revenue report, the Golden Nugget brand led all NJ iCasinos with $86.45 million. Of the three online casinos operating under Golden Nugget’s license, FanDuel made the most with $63.24 million from casino games online. BetRivers and Golden Nugget Online earned $12.43 million and $10.79 million, respectively.
Resorts Casino Hotel had the second-best month with $53.89 million. It doesn’t break down revenue by each online casino. But DraftKings is the biggest operator on this license on account of its progressive jackpot slots.
Retail casinos stay flat
Last month, brick-and-mortar casinos joined in the party with an 11.7% YoY increase. This month was a different story. New Jersey land-based casinos made $265.6 million in May 2026, just a 0.1% increase over the $256.3 million made the previous May.
The Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa had the best month among NJ retail casinos, earning $72.9 million. Hard Rock Atlantic City also had a solid month with $49.9 million, while Ocean Resorts rounded out the top three with $46.8 million.
Sports betting sees a big revenue decrease
In April 2026, sports betting had the largest growth out of New Jersey gambling verticals with a 12.8% YoY increase. However, May 2026 was a different story since NJ bookmakers earned $85.2 million—a 16.9% decrease from the $102.5 million made in the previous May.
The Garden State isn’t an outlier here since other states, like New York and Pennsylvania, also struggled with sports gambling revenue last month. US sportsbooks largely saw a smaller hold in May 2026 and are also dealing with increased competition from prediction markets.
iGaming continues to lead the way
Total gaming revenue for the state was $627.1 million in May 2026, representing a 2.0% YoY increase from the $614.7 million made in the previous May.
iGaming definitely looks to carry the torch moving forward. Many gambling operators are banking on real-money online slots to boost their revenue, while retail casinos and sports betting are currently struggling.
Responsible gambling
Legal US online casinos promote responsible play by allowing players to limit losses, sessions, wagers, and logins. They also offer timeout options for account breaks lasting days to weeks. Self-exclusion is a long-term option that shuts off access to an account for months or years.
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