NJ Lawmakers Advance Bill To End Eviction Moratorium, Protect Tenants Based On Income

New Jersey lawmakers pushed forward a bill that would end the state's eviction moratorium earlier than expected but keep in place protections for renters who can show they've been financially harmed by the pandemic. 

The measure comes after months of negotiations, bill mergers and last-minute amendments and was praised by both landlord and tenant advocates. 

"This is a comprehensive and pragmatic approach to ending the eviction moratorium," David Brogan, executive director of the New Jersey Apartment Association, said during the Senate budget and appropriations committee hearing. 

The compromise bill S3291/A5685 protects low- and moderate-income tenants from being kicked out of their homes through Dec. 31 and protects higher earners through Aug. 31 as long as residents certify they lost income during the pandemic and applied for rental assistance. The current blanket ban on evictions runs through January of next year. 

But while the debt accrued during the pandemic can't be used as a basis for eviction, landlords can still recoup those dollars by suing renters in civil court, a recourse some have already taken.

"The basic idea of the bill is to take the monetary debt for the moratorium period and make sure tenants don’t get evicted for not paying that money and can be sued just for the money," Matt Shapiro, president of the New Jersey Tenants Organization, said during the Senate committee hearing on Tuesday.

Shapiro, however, underscored a loophole in the bill that allows the $500 million set aside to assist low- and moderate-income renters to be used for owed rent. 

"The people who are having trouble are still going to be having trouble at the end of the moratorium," he said, arguing that those funds should be increased and restricted to future rent payments that won't be protected if tenants can pay the bill. "If we want to prevent this tsunami of evictions, we gotta save these people."

The measure still needs a full vote in the Senate and Assembly before making its way to Gov. Phil Murphy's desk.