Bill Text: NJ A1079 | 2024-2025 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Creates Statewide right to counsel program in certain eviction proceedings, and appropriates $20,000,000.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-09 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Housing Committee [A1079 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2024-A1079-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
221st LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2024 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman WILLIAM B. SAMPSON, IV
District 31 (Hudson)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblyman Conaway
SYNOPSIS
Creates Statewide right to counsel program in certain eviction proceedings, and appropriates $20,000,000.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act concerning access to legal services, supplementing Title 2A of the New Jersey Statutes, and making an appropriation.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Tenant Right to Counsel Act of 2022."
2. As used in this act:
"Covered individual" shall mean any income-eligible tenant, lessee or occupant, for residential purposes, of any land or building, any apartment in any building, any dwelling unit, any trailer or mobile manufactured home or any land upon which a trailer or mobile manufactured home is used or stands in this State.
"Covered proceeding" shall mean any judicial or administrative proceeding to evict or terminate the tenancy or housing subsidy of an income-eligible tenant, any proceeding deemed by a designated organization as the functional equivalent of such a proceeding, or any first appeal of such a proceeding, including any judicial or administrative proceeding to remedy any other relevant statutory violation.
"Department" shall mean the Department of Community Affairs.
"Designated organization" shall mean a not-for-profit or a for-profit organization, including law firms and solo practitioners, that has the capacity to provide legal services to New Jerseys income eligible tenants facing eviction in the Special Civil Part of the New Jersey Superior Court. A designated organization shall: (1) have substantial expertise in housing law and landlord tenant law and substantial experience furnishing free legal assistance to eligible individuals; (2) have demonstrated a history of serving the low-income community; (3) identify the geographic area in which the organization may provide legal representation; (4) have a plan to reach and provide legal representation to income-eligible persons with limited English proficiency; and (5) provide appropriate supervision and training.
"Dwelling unit" shall mean any room or rooms, or suite or apartment, whether furnished or unfurnished, which is occupied, or intended, arranged or designed to be occupied, for sleeping or dwelling purposes by one or more persons.
"Income-eligible tenant" shall mean a single tenant or household of a rental dwelling unit located in this State whose household income is 200 percent or less of the current federal poverty level, who is facing eviction or some action by a governmental assistance-providing agency that adversely affects a tenant's rights, duties, welfare, or status and could result in eviction, and whose case poses no conflict of interest to the State. "Income-eligible tenant" shall also mean a person who receives one of the following types of public assistance or benefits from one of the following programs: (1) Temporary Assistance for Needy Families; (2) Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits; (3) Medicaid; (4) Supplemental Security Income; (5) refugee resettlement benefits; (6) State Rental Assistance Program (SRAP); (7) the federal Housing Choice Voucher Program, pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 1437f(o); or (8) leases a dwelling unit reserved for occupancy by low- and moderate-income households with affordability controls established pursuant to the "Fair Housing Act," P.L.1985, c.222 (C.52:27D-301 et al.).
"Legal representation" shall mean ongoing legal services provided by a designated organization to an income-eligible individual and all legal advice, advocacy, and assistance associated with this representation.
"Office" shall mean the Administrative Office of the Courts.
3. a. There is hereby established a tenant right to counsel program for the purpose of providing any covered individual with legal representation at no cost in a covered proceeding. The Department of Community Affairs, in conjunction with the Administrative Office of the Courts, shall use the funds to administer the tenant right to counsel program. The department, within the funding available to it for the tenant right to counsel program appropriated pursuant to section 4 of P.L. , c. (C. )(pending before the Legislature as this bill), shall fund the provision of legal representation by designated organizations.
b. The program may receive additional funds or services from the federal government, corporations, associations, or individuals to fund:
(1) the provision of legal representation to covered individuals in covered proceedings;
(2) the administration of the right to counsel program; and
(3) tenant outreach and education on the program.
4. There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of Community Affairs the sum of $20,000,000 for administering and supporting the tenant right to counsel program established pursuant to section 3 of P.L. , c. (C. )(pending before the Legislature as this bill) for covered individuals in covered eviction proceedings.
5. a. The Department of Community Affairs, in conjunction with the office, shall establish a program to provide access to legal representation for income-eligible tenants of this State in any covered proceeding. The Commissioner of Community Affairs and the Administrative Director of the Courts shall designate a coordinator to administer the program.
The coordinator shall ensure that the program provides access to legal services for income-eligible tenants in covered proceedings in the Special Civil Part of the New Jersey Superior Court. The coordinator shall ensure that, no later than the effective date of P.L. , c. (pending before the Legislature as this bill), all income-eligible tenants receive access to legal services no later than their first scheduled appearance in a covered proceeding in the Special Civil Part, or as soon as is practicable.
b. The coordinator shall require each designated organization to identify the geographic areas within which the organization will provide legal services. For each geographic area, the coordinator shall maintain a list of the organizations that provide the legal services. The coordinator shall publish the list of the organizations that provide legal services to covered individuals on the official Internet website of the New Jersey Courts.
Under the program, a designated organization shall ensure that a covered individual receives access to legal representation by an attorney in a covered proceeding as soon as possible after a landlord provides notice to terminate a tenancy or the initiation of an eviction proceeding.
c. The department and the office shall approve a one-page plain-language notice to inform a tenant of the rights under the tenant right to counsel program. The notice shall include a phone number for accessing information and applying for assistance. Not later than the effective date of P.L. , c. (pending before the Legislature as this bill), the notice shall be made available on the Internet website of the New Jersey Courts.
Any court notice scheduling a mediator or hearing that is sent to a self-represented party in a covered proceeding shall include plain language information about the availability of legal representation through the tenant right to counsel program and a phone number for accessing information and applying for assistance.
d. The department, office, and coordinator shall determine how to phase in the right to counsel program based on all relevant factors including, but not limited to:
(1) the prioritization of certain groups of individuals by income, zip codes, census tracts, or other priority criteria developed in consultation with the designated organizations;
(2) the availability of program funding;
(3) the number of trained legal services attorneys available to provide legal representation; and
(4) the scope of the need for legal representation.
e. Nothing in this act or
the administration of the program shall be construed to create a private right
of action on the part of any person or entity against the State or any agency,
official, or employee thereof.
6. a. The department and the office shall submit an annual report to the Governor, and Legislature pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), evaluating the effectiveness of the tenant right to counsel program.
b. Information in the report shall include, but not be limited to:
(1) the estimated number of covered individuals and income-eligible tenants in the State;
(2) the number of individuals receiving legal services, disaggregated by the following characteristics of these individuals:
(a) borough and postal code of residence;
(b) age of the head of household;
(c) household size;
(d) estimated length of tenancy;
(e) approximate household income;
(f) receipt of ongoing public assistance at the time the legal services were initiated; and
(g) tenancy in rent-regulated housing.
(3) outcomes immediately following the provision of legal representation, as applicable and available including, but not limited to, the number of:
(a) case dispositions allowing individuals to remain in their residence;
(b) case dispositions requiring individuals to be displaced from their residence; and
(c) instances in which the attorney was discharged or withdrew.
(4) non-payment and holdover petitions filed in the Special Civil part, warrants of eviction issued in the Special Civil Part, and residential evictions conducted by State officials, disaggregated by borough.
c. This act shall not prohibit the department or the Special Civil Part from retaining or distributing demographic information for the purpose of administering the program, provided the personally-identifiable information on covered individuals who utilize the program remains confidential.
7. This act shall take effect the first day of the seventh month next following the date of enactment and shall apply to any covered proceeding initiated after the effective date; except the Department of Community Affairs and the Administrative Office of the Courts may take any anticipatory administrative action in advance as shall be necessary for the implementation of this act.
STATEMENT
This bill creates a tenant right to counsel in eviction proceedings for certain individuals.
The Department of Community Affairs (DCA) and the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) will oversee the tenant right to counsel program and appoint a coordinator to administer the program. The bill appropriates $20 million to DCA for the program. The program is also permitted to receive funds from the federal government, corporations, or associations or individuals.
Any income-eligible tenant, lessee or occupant, for residential purposes, of any land or building, any apartment in any building, any dwelling unit, or any trailer or mobile manufacturer home will be covered by the program. An income-eligible tenant is an individual or household of a rental dwelling unit whose household income is 200 percent or less of the current federal poverty level, who is facing eviction or some action that adversely affects a tenant's rights, duties, welfare or status and could result in eviction. An income eligible tenant is also an individual who receives certain public assistance.
The DCA, AOC, and the appointed coordinator are required to ensure that the program provides access to legal services for income-eligible tenants in covered proceedings in the Special Civil Part of the New Jersey Superior Court. A covered proceeding is defined as any judicial or administrative proceeding to evict or terminate the tenancy or housing subsidy of an income-eligible tenant, any proceeding deemed by a designated organization as the functional equivalent of such a proceeding, or any first appeal of such a proceeding, including any judicial or administrative proceeding to remedy any other relevant statutory violations.
The coordinator is required to work in conjunction with designated organizations to identify geographic areas within which an organization will provide legal services to eligible tenants. A designated organization is required to ensure that a covered individual receives access to legal representation by an attorney in a covered proceeding as soon as practicable after a landlord provides notice to terminate a tenancy or the initiation of an eviction proceeding. A designated organization is a not-for-profit or a for-profit organization that has the capacity to provide legal services to New Jerseys tenants of low income facing eviction in the Special Civil Part of the New Jersey Superior Court.
Under the bill, the DCA and the AOC are required to prepare a one-page plain-language notice to inform tenants of the rights under the right to counsel program. Further, the DCA and AOC are required to prepare an annual report to the Governor and the Legislature evaluating the effectiveness of the tenant right to counsel program.
