PUBLIC HOUSING PROGRAM

In accordance with the U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) regulations, effective May 1, 2007, the Jersey City Housing Authority (JCHA) established Revised Local Preferences for the Selection of Applicants from the Public Housing Site-Based Waiting lists for available apartments.

The Revised Preferences are as follows (selection will be made by earliest date of application), and will be addressed in the Order Listed:

1. Jersey City Resident/Working Family/Income Mix
2. Jersey City Resident/Victim Witness or Victim of Domestic Violence/Working Family
3. Jersey City Resident/Victim Witness or Victim of Domestic Violence
4. Jersey City Resident/Working Family/Veterans
5. Jersey City Resident/Working Family
6. Jersey City Resident/Veterans
7. Jersey City Resident
8. Other

Definitions:

Working Family:  employment is principal source of income, or the Head or Spouse is 62 or Head or Spouse receives Social  Security Disability, Supplemental Security Income, temporary unemployment or other benefits based on an inability to work, or;  Head or Spouse has Completed Self-Sufficiency or job training program or meets the equivalent standards of economic self-sufficiency.

Income Mix: in accordance with HUD deconcentration requirements and to further site-based asset management goals, the JCHA  will target 40% of applicants with family incomes of 0%-30% area median income; 30% of applicants with family incomes of  31%-50% area median income; and 30% of applicants with family incomes of 51%-80 area median income.

Victim Witness:  is a person who witnessed and provides information or testimony on criminal activity to a law enforcement Agency and the law enforcement agency recommends re-housing the family to avoid reprisals.  Must submit approved certification or other official documentation.

Victim of Domestic Violence:  is defined as a person confronting actual or threatened physical violence by a spouse or other family member who lives in the unit.  Must submit a HUD approved certification or other official documentation.

Veteran:  an applicant who has completed at least 90 days of active duty (except veterans discharged earlier for a service-related  disability) in the U.S Armed Forces and has a discharge other than dishonorable.  Veteran status extends to spouses, widows, widowers and parents of the military killed during a time of war and certain merchant seaman who served in active, Ocean-going service from 12/7/41-8/15/45 (definition provided by the N.J Department of Military and Veterans Affairs).

Jersey City Resident:  defined as an applicant who either lives, works or has been hired to work in Jersey City.    

WITHIN THE REVISED PREFERENCES, PRIORITY WILL BE GIVEN TO THE FOLLOWING:

Special Needs Placement:  individuals/families who require a wheelchair accessible unit are offered a vacant wheelchair accessible unit by the appropriate bedroom size before individuals/families who do not require a wheelchair accessible unit.

Single Applicants: a one or two person elderly, disabled family will be offered a unit before a single non-elderly or a non-disabled person.

In accordance with HUD regulations, and requirement of the Quality Housing and Work Responsibility Act (QHWRA), the JCHA is required to fill 40% of annual vacancies with applicants whose family yearly gross income is less than 30% of the area median income.  Therefore, the JCHA will continue to assist very low-income families, elderly and disabled individuals.

The revised local preferences for Working Family and Income Mixing will allow applicants on the waiting list with higher household incomes to be addressed sooner than is currently the case.  This will assist the JCHA in demonstrating compliance with furthering de-concentration and site-based asset management as higher incomes will translate into higher rents and result in reduced dependency on federal funding.