Bill Text: NJ S4502 | 2026-2027 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Authorizes State acquisition of certain real property to expand affordable, rapid, and transitional housing options; makes appropriation.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2)
Status: (Introduced) 2026-06-22 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Community and Urban Affairs Committee [S4502 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2026-S4502-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Senator BRITNEE N. TIMBERLAKE
District 34 (Essex)
Senator RAJ MUKHERJI
District 32 (Hudson)
SYNOPSIS
Authorizes State acquisition of certain real property to expand affordable, rapid, and transitional housing options; makes appropriation.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning acquisition of certain real property and supplementing chapter 27D of Title 52 of the Revised Statutes and making an appropriation.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. The Legislature finds and declares that:
a. There exists in the State a housing crisis as residents face a severe shortage of affordable housing options in addition to the cost of housing rising faster than household incomes;
b. The persistence of a Statewide housing crisis contributes to an increase in overall housing insecurity and further stalls economic development, leading to municipalities facing an influx of housing needs for displaced individuals and families;
c. Housing displacement is often seen among formerly incarcerated individuals who struggle to transition back into society, amplifying the housing crisis;
d. As the State continues to support re-entry services through budgetary assistance within the annual appropriations act, it becomes necessary to aide these supportive services in providing sufficient housing for formerly incarcerated individuals;
e. Housing crises are further amplified in the face of unpredictable natural disasters, such as hurricanes, fires, floods, storms, public-health emergencies, and other crises, which lead to individuals and families being displaced with little or no advance notice and nowhere to live;
f. As climate change continues to worsen, it is expected that the housing needs for individuals and families displaced by natural disasters will increase;
g. New Jersey faces a growing and urgent need for transitional housing, driven by rising homelessness, a severe shortage of affordable rentals, and the increasing number of residents leaving institutional settings without stable places to go;
h. Across the State, shelters are consistently full; current rapid‑rehousing programs are unable to meet the needs of people with deeper barriers; and permanent and affordable housing is scarce and slow to build;
i. Transitional housing fills this critical housing gap by providing stable, service‑rich, community‑based housing that helps individuals and families rebuild their lives, secure employment, address health needs, and move toward long‑term stability;
j. As a result of the ongoing housing crisis, there exists a need for the creation of housing and supportive services designed to help individuals and families facing housing insecurity, requiring coordinated facilities for temporary support, referral, case management, and rapid rehousing for those facing homelessness, including individuals and families displaced by natural disasters and individuals re-entering society;
k. The most populous cities within the State with superior air travel connectivity are particularly suitable for the creation of new, publicly owned housing and providing the facilitation of supportive services to provide emergency displacement response, rapid rehousing support, public-benefit programming, education, workforce-development services, language access, and community services in the face of the ongoing housing crisis as these municipalities provide emergent access for resources, and enhance options for individuals and families residing in and making use of such facilities;
l. The residents of the State have a substantial public interest in the availability of sufficient housing and supportive services spaces that can provide supportive services, emergency displacement response, rapid rehousing support, transitional housing, and community services;
m. Eminent domain is the inherent right of the government to take private property for public use so long as just compensation is paid and is considered here by the Legislature in light of the State's critical housing shortage and the urgent need to rapidly expand access to safe, affordable homes;
n. The acquisition of real property through the use of eminent domain within the top five most populous cities within the State provides an opportunity to aid New Jersey residents and promote the efficient use of housing for homeless or displaced individuals and families; and
o. In permitting the acquisition of sufficient property that is useable for high-quality residential housing and supportive services purposes in the most populous city in the State, it is necessary, and a legitimate public purpose, for the State to acquire real property with sufficient size, scale, infrastructure, and existing facilities to provide housing access, supportive services, and travel connectivity to a large number of individuals and promote the efficient use of and maximize housing availability for housing insecure individuals and families in the State and provide rapid rehousing support.
2. As used in P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill):
"Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Community Affairs.
"Department" means the Department of Community Affairs.
"Director" means the Director of the Division of Purchase and Property in the Department of Treasury.
"Emergency housing" means temporary housing designed to assist individuals and families who have been displaced due to a natural disaster.
"Natural disaster" means a natural phenomenon, either weather or health-related, such as hurricanes, fires, floods, storms, public-health emergencies, including, but not limited to, code red emergencies when heat advisories are in effect or there are reports of an Air Quality Index of 151 or higher, and code blue emergencies when a code blue alert is declared pursuant to section 3 of P.L.2017, c.68 (App.A:9-43.20), and other crises that have caused serious damage to real property.
"Qualifying facility" means real property located in a qualifying municipality and that consists of one or more buildings, totaling not less than 115,000 square feet and not more than 120,000 square feet, located on a single site, and which has been approved for the housing of individuals and families in at least 1,000 beds and across two stories.
"Qualifying municipality" means a municipality that is one of the five most populous municipalities in the State, and in which is located an international airport that has historically experienced the highest annual passenger volumes of all airports in this State.
"Qualifying support facility" means real property located in a qualifying municipality and that consists of one or more buildings, totaling not less than 95,000 square feet and not more than 100,000 square feet, located on a single site, and is not located more than 10 miles away from the selected qualifying facility, and which in its current use has been used to process and house individuals and families for at least 25 years.
"Supportive services" means operational support to provide re-entry services, emergency displacement response, rapid rehousing support, public-benefit programming, education, workforce-development services, language access, and community services for individuals and families housed in transitional housing and emergency housing.
"Transitional housing" means temporary housing for individuals and families that includes, but is not limited to, single-room occupancy housing or shared living and supportive living arrangements; provides access to on-site or off-site supportive services for very low-income households who have recently been homeless or lack stable housing; and allows households to remain for a minimum of six months. "Transitional housing" shall also include temporary housing designed to assist individuals transitioning from incarceration back into the community.
3. a. The Department of Community Affairs, in consultation with the Department of Treasury and the Department of Law and Public Safety, shall be authorized to acquire by purchase, lease, or gift real property that is deemed to be a qualifying facility for the purpose of providing publicly owned transitional housing and emergency housing. The department, in consultation with the Department of Treasury and the Department of Law and Public Safety, shall also be authorized to acquire by purchase, lease, or gift real property that is deemed to be a qualifying support facility for the purpose of providing supportive services.
b. For the purpose of providing transitional housing and emergency housing, if real property cannot first be acquired, pursuant to subsection a. of this section, by purchase, lease, or gift, the department shall be authorized to acquire real property that is deemed to be a qualifying facility or a qualifying support facility, or both, by the exercise of the power of eminent domain pursuant to the provisions of the "Eminent Domain Act of 1971," P.L.1971, c.361 (C.20:3-1 et seq.). The department shall, in consultation with the Department of Treasury and the Department of Law and Public Safety, conduct an environmental review and a title search before final acquisition, or as otherwise provided under the provisions of the "Eminent Domain Act of 1971," P.L.1971, c. 361 (C. 20:3-1 et seq.) or by court order. The department shall additionally conduct a review of all leasehold and contractual interests associated with the qualifying facility or qualifying support facility before final acquisition.
c. Following acquisition of a qualifying facility pursuant to subsections a. or b. of this section, the department shall modify and renovate the property acquired into safe, sanitary, and high-quality residential dwelling units, with trauma informed designs, for a combination of transitional housing and emergency housing, and shall ensure that all rehabilitated spaces reflect local housing standards and utilize HEPA and carbon‑based air filtration systems to mitigate health concerns associated the transient environments within qualifying municipalities.
d. Following acquisition of a qualifying support facility pursuant to subsections a. or b. of this section, the department shall modify and renovate the property acquired into office and community spaces to provide supportive services to individuals and families housed in transitional housing and emergency housing in the qualifying facility.
e. The commissioner shall submit a report within 180 days after the effective date of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), detailing the status of negotiations to acquire real property by purchase, lease, or gift or otherwise by eminent domain; estimated acquisition, renovation and operating costs; community advisory input received; and any policy recommendations to the Legislature, pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), concerning the advancement of the objectives of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).
f. The Attorney General shall review any asserted leasehold or contractual interest relating to the real property before the filing of any eminent domain action pursuant to subsection b. of this section.
4. There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of Community Affairs such sums as may be necessary to acquire real properties pursuant to section 3 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).
5. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill permits the Department of Community Affairs (department), in consultation with Department of Treasury and the Department of Law and Public Safety, to acquire by purchase, lease, gift, or eminent domain a qualifying facility and a qualifying support facility for the purpose of providing publicly owned transitional housing for individuals and families empiercing displacement or homelessness; emergency housing for individuals and families displaced from a natural disaster; and supportive services, as defined in the bill, for these individuals and families.
The bill specifies that a qualifying facility means real property located in the most populous city in the State and that consists of one or more buildings, totaling not less than 115,000 square feet and not more than 120,000 square feet, located on a single site, and which has been approved for the housing of individuals and families in at least 1,000 beds and across two stories. The bill also specifies that a qualifying support facility means real property located in a qualifying municipality and that consists of one or more buildings, totaling not less than 95,000 square feet and not more than 100,000 square feet, located on a single site, and is not located more than 10 miles away from the selected qualifying facility, and which in its current use has been used to process and house individuals and families for at least 25 years. The bill provides that a qualifying municipality is one the top five most populous municipalities in the State that is also home to the international airport in the State with the greatest passenger volumes.
The bill provides that if a qualifying facility or a qualifying support facility cannot first be acquired by purchase, lease, or gift, the department is authorized to acquire a qualifying facility or a qualifying support facility by the exercise of eminent domain. The department is required to conduct a title search before final acquisition, or as otherwise provided under the provisions of the "Eminent Domain Act of 1971," P.L.1971, c. 361 (C. 20:3-1 et seq.) or by court order. The department is additionally required to conduct a review of all leasehold and contractual interests associated with the property before final acquisition.
Following acquisition of real property, the bill requires the department to modify and renovate real property deemed to be a qualifying facility into safe, sanitary, and high-quality residential dwelling units, with trauma informed designs, for transitional housing and emergency housing, and to ensure that all rehabilitated spaces reflect local housing standards and utilize HEPA and carbon‑based air filtration systems to mitigate health concerns associated the transient environments within qualifying municipalities. The bill also requires that the department modify and renovate real property deemed to be a qualifying support facility into office and community spaces to provide supportive services to individuals and families housed in transitional housing and emergency housing.
The bill requires the Commissioner of Community Affairs to submit a report within 180 days after the effective date of the bill detailing the status of negotiations to acquire real property by purchase, lease, or gift or otherwise by eminent domain; estimated acquisition, renovation and operating costs; community advisory input received; and any policy recommendations to the Legislature on addressing the objectives of the bill.
The provisions of the bill require the Attorney General to review any asserted leasehold or contractual interest relating to the real property before the filing of any eminent domain action.
The bill appropriates from the General Fund to the Department of Community Affairs such sums as may be necessary to acquire real properties pursuant to the provisions of the bill.
The State is currently experiencing a housing crisis as residents face a severe shortage of affordable housing options in addition to the cost of housing rising faster than household incomes. The persistence of a Statewide housing crisis contributes to an increase in overall housing insecurity and further stalls economic development, leading to municipalities facing an influx of housing needs for displaced individuals and families. There is a substantial public interest in the availability of sufficient housing that can provide supportive services, including but not limited to, emergency displacement response, rapid rehousing support, public-benefit programming, education, workforce-development services, language access, and community services.
The most populous cities in the State with air travel connectivity are particularly suitable for the creation of new, publicly owned housing in the face of the ongoing housing crisis. The acquisition of real property through the use of eminent domain, if necessary, within these qualifying municipalities provides an opportunity to aid New Jersey residents and promote the efficient use of housing for homeless or displaced individuals and families. In permitting the acquisition of property for housing and supportive services purposes in the most populous cities in the State, it is necessary that the State acquire real property with sufficient size, scale, infrastructure, and existing facilities to provide housing and supportive services access to a large number of individuals and promote the efficient use of and maximize housing availability for housing insecure individuals and families in the State.
