New Jersey residents who missed rent payments due to the pandemic are running out of time to apply for state assistance as the eviction moratorium comes to an end. 

Tenants have until December 15th to apply to the state’s rental aid program and will be entered into a lottery to fairly distribute the remaining federal dollars. But individual counties, along with municipalities like Jersey City and Newark, are also distributing funds, though some of those programs are no longer taking applications. Newark’s remains open through January 7th; Jersey City closed its application last month. 

“Apply for every place that you can possibly apply for it. But don't leave any stone unturned,” said Matt Shapiro, president of the New Jersey Tenants Organization. “There are going to be plenty of tenants left out in the cold and our focus is to try to minimize the number of tenants that actually end up being put out of their homes.”

The federal government issued more than $800 million in rental assistance to state jurisdictions to cover accumulated rent payments. The U.S. Treasury said any funds that aren’t distributed will be reallocated to entities that are able to more effectively give out the money. Governor Phil Murphy has also set aside an additional $500 million in federal aid to help prevent evictions. 

“This problem is not solved simply because a lot of money was put into it. Because while it's a lot, it's not enough,” Shapiro said.