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Who
Needs Affordable Housing?
More people than you might realize. The economic expansion of the
1990s obscured certain trends and statistics that point to an increased,
not decreased, need for affordable housing. The generally accepted
definition of affordability is for a household to pay no more than
30 percent of its annual income on housing. Families who pay more
than 30 percent of their income for housing are considered cost
burdened and may have difficulty affording necessities such as food,
clothing, transportation and medical care. An estimated 12 million
renter and homeowner households now pay more then 50 percent of
their annual incomes for housing, and a family with one full-time
worker earning the minimum wage cannot afford the local fair-market
rent for a two-bedroom apartment anywhere in the United States.
The lack of affordable housing is a significant hardship for low-income
households preventing them from meeting their other basic needs,
such as nutrition and healthcare, or saving for their future and
that of their families.
Numerous coalitions of non-profit organizations, business, religious
organizations, financial institutions and government are joining
hands around the country to create more affordable housing. A key
component to the success of these efforts is to develop public information
programs to increase the receptivity to affordable housing at local,
regional, and national levels.
The
Township of Livingston recognizes the need to continue to provide
affordable housing within the Township and has adopted a Housing
Element and Fair Share Plan. The goal of this plan is to:
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Provide housing opportunities for lower income families in order
to meet the existing and anticipated housing needs of such persons,
maintain a socio-economic mix in the community, provide a range
of housing types dispersed throughout the community in a suitable
living environment, and satisfy the community's obligation to provide
a fair share of the region's housing needs;
• Assure that the lower income units constructed under this
program continue to remain available to lower income households
through controls on rental and resale prices to be exercised by
the Township of Livingston, and
• Provide that developments which create additional affordable
housing demand within Livingston share in the provision of providing
such affordable housing, including commercial and institutional
developments.
The units shall be subject to the regulations of the State of New
Jersey and may include family or senior citizens' housing construction,
rentals of vacant rehabilitation units, and alternative living arrangements.
This program is intended to be consistent with the provisions of
N.J.A.C. 5:93 et seq., effective June 6, 1994 and the Fair Housing
Act of 1985.
This page will be updated with additional information and will establish
regulations applicable to those designated low and moderate income
housing units which will be created in the Township subsequent to
a grant of Substantive Certification by COAH.
For additional information regarding Affordable Housing, you may
contact the following agencies:
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The Council on Affordable Housing (COAH), www.state.nj.us/dca/coah.
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Housing Mortgage and Financing Agency (HMFA), www.njhousing.gov.
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U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), www.hud.gov/offices/cpd/affordablehousing
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Making Home Affordable, www.makinghomeaffordable.gov
•
New Jersey Housing Resource Center, www.njhousing.gov
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