TRENTON , N.J. – The New Jersey Department of Community Affairs’ Council on Affordable Housing (COAH) today adopted new income limits for New Jersey’s six housing regions.  The income limits are used to determine the eligibility of low- and moderate-income households, to price new sales and rental units, and to index the maximum resale price of existing sales units.

The limits are based on the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Section 8 income limits for the state’s six housing regions, which are defined by COAH.

While income limits vary across housing regions, they are also adjusted for family size.  Low-income households are defined as earning 50 percent or less of the median gross household income for households of the same size within the same housing region.  Moderate-income households are defined as earning between 50 and 80 percent of the median gross household income for households of the same size within the same housing region. 

 

COAH also calculates the income limits for very low-income households earning 30 percent or less of median gross household income, as affordable housing available to this segment of the population is now eligible for rental bonuses and subject to development fee regulations in COAH’s third round rules.

Affordable rents and sales prices can be raised a maximum of 4 percent, according to the U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the northeast region. However, as with market housing, developers, landlords and owners may ask for less than the maximum permitted prices in order to sell or rent units.

For the 2006 income limits, the greatest increase from 2005 was in Region 2 – Essex, Morris, Union, and Warren Counties – at 4.98 percent, where the median income for a household of four is $84,297.  The smallest increase was 4.05 percent in Region 4, comprised of Mercer, Monmouth, and Ocean Counties, where the median income for a household of four is $82,700.

COAH was established under the Fair Housing Act of 1985 to facilitate the effective creation of quality affordable housing for low- and moderate-income households throughout New Jersey.

The 2006 income limits are posted online at www.nj.gov/dca/coah/incomelimits.pdf.