Housing advocates and developers across New Jersey are bracing for big changes next year as New Jersey affordable housing rules take effect.

In 2025, New Jersey municipalities will be required to follow new obligations for developing affordable housing following a legal requirement called the Mount Laurel Doctrine, which mandates towns and cities provide their “fair share” of affordable housing.

In March, Governor Murphy signed a bill that amends the state’s fair housing laws to increase affordable housing and strengthen enforcement of the Mount Laurel Doctrine, a constitutional mandate first set by the New Jersey Supreme Court in 1975.

“As residents across New Jersey deal with the pressures and after-effects of inflation, our state’s low and middle-income families are struggling to keep a roof over their heads,” said Governor Phil Murphy at the 2024 New Jersey Governor’s Conference on Housing and Economic Development in Atlantic City in September.

In his keynote address, Murphy described the “incredibly complex” challenge of lowering and stabilizing housing costs across the state. He said recent housing legislation is one of several steps his administration has taken toward stabilizing the state’s economy and affordable housing supply.

But these new rules haven’t come without legal pushback. In early September, nine towns sued the state to overturn the new law, which could delay implementation in building affordable housing.

Housing experts estimate the state faces a shortage of more than 200,000 affordable housing units for low-income families, impacting at least 25% of all renters in New Jersey according to the National Low Income Household Coalition.

This year’s New Jersey Governor’s Conference on Housing and Economic Development gathered 1,300 attendees to discuss the state’s affordable housing crisis. We attended to learn more about how state law impacts local housing development in the state’s 564 municipalities. As housing rules are set to change, here is some of what we heard from policymakers, developers and advocates at the two-day event.

Read the full article about affordable housing in New Jersey by Kimberly Izar at Next City.