Homeowner Assistance and Recovery Program (HARP)

The application period ended May 1, 2023. Applications are no longer being accepted.

 

The Homeowner Assistance and Recovery Program (HARP) provides awards to homeowners impacted by Hurricane Ida for activities necessary to restore their storm-damaged homes, including rehabilitation, reconstruction, elevation, and/or other eligible mitigation activities such as structural and utility retrofits to make damaged homes more resistant to floods.

The awards are made possible with federal Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funding that DCA’s Division of Disaster Recovery and Mitigation is administering on behalf of the State of New Jersey.

Who is eligible?

  • Homeowners who owned and occupied the home as their primary residence at the time of Hurricane Ida.
  • Homeowners of duplexes and triplexes must have occupied one of the housing units at the time of Hurricane Ida and own the property at the time of application.
  • Homeowners with a household income up to $250,000.
  • Priority will be given to homeowners 62 years of age or older and/or applicants with a household member who is living with a disability.
  • Priority will also be given to low- to moderate-income homeowners whose total household annual gross income at the time of application is less than 80% of Area Median Income (AMI) for the county where their primary residence is located.
  • See HARP Program Policy for additional detail.

What structures are eligible?

  • Single-family homes, duplexes, triplexes, townhomes, modular homes, manufactured homes, and condominiums with at least 1 foot of flooding in the first floor living space or $8,000 in damages from Hurricane Ida as determined by FEMA or a third-party damage assessment such as the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).
  • The Ida-impacted home must be located within one of the disaster-declared counties that were eligible for FEMA Individual Assistance. Those counties are Bergen, Essex, Gloucester, Hudson, Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Morris, Passaic, Somerset, Union, and Warren.
  • The Ida-impacted home must have had NFIP coverage at the time of the storm if the property is in a Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA) with a household income greater than 120% of AMI or previously received CDBG-DR funds.

When is the application period?

The application period has ended. The application period was February 27, 2023 to May 1, 2023.

What is the Uniform Relocation Act Move-In Notice?

The URA Move-In Notice is for those HARP applicants who rent out a part of their primary residence to tenants. HARP applicants must give a URA Move-In Notice to prospective tenants to advise them of the following before they enter into a lease agreement and/or move into the rental unit:

  • They may be permanently displaced by the project.
  • They may be subject to a rent increase.
  • They may not qualify for relocation assistance as a "displaced person" under the Uniform Relocation Act, and if they do have to move as a result of the project, they will not be reimbursed for any costs or expenses in connection with that move.

See the URA Move-In Notice Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) for more information.

URA Move-In Notice FAQs

Aviso de Ocupación bajo URA Preguntas frecuentes

To learn more about the Uniform Relocation Act and how it applies to DCA disaster recovery programs, please review:

Uniform Relocation and Real Property Acquisition Manual

Manual de Reubicación Uniforme y Adquisición de Bienes Inmuebles

Additional Information:

Only applicants with remaining repair or reconstruction, eligible elevation, or mitigation work may be eligible to receive assistance. Reimbursement of costs for work done prior to submitting an application is not allowed.

In cases where Ida-impacted homes have been substantially damaged and the cost to repair the home is unreasonable, homeowners may be eligible to have their home rebuilt.

Homeowners in the HARP program may be eligible for Housing Rental Assistance (HRA) during the period they are temporarily required to vacate their damaged property due to rehabilitation, reconstruction, or elevation construction activities.